Presentation on race relations

The presentation "Dispatches from (A)mended America" will be shown April 9 at 7 p.m., Flex Theatre, Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts, 430 College Ave. Based on a documentary about two interviewers traveling through the South in the month preceding President Obama's inauguration, this presentation is the culmination of a semester-long project in which students conducted interviews and then wrote a play based on race relations on the Cornell campus. Free and open to the public.

Art and dessert

The conclusion of a three-part series on art and food, the April 10 "Sunday Artbreak" at 3 p.m. will explore objects in the Johnson Museum's collection related to desserts. Educator Carol Hockett will lead this free event. Desserts will be served. Information: http://museum.cornell.edu/.

Skorton on 'Sunday Forum'

President David Skorton will discuss the university's past, present and future under his leadership and answer audience questions during a special edition of "Sunday Forum" with Tommy Bruce, April 10, 6-7 p.m., airing on 93.5 WVBR-FM. The show will be broadcast live from Willard Straight Hall's Browsing Library, and video recorded and live-streamed on CornellCast.

The format will be a mix of interviews about Skorton's presidency and "town hall" style Q&A with the audience. Listeners can e-mail questions to sundayforum@wvbr.com before and during the show. Free and open.

Foreign policy

G. John Ikenberry, foreign policy distinguished speaker, will present "The Future of Liberal Internationalism," April 11 at 4:30 p.m., G10 Biotechnology Building. From Princeton University, Ikenberry is the author of "After Victory: Institutions, Strategic Restraint and the Rebuilding of Order After Major Wars," recognized as a best book in international history and politics. The book has been translated into Japanese, Italian and Chinese. Free and open.

Unilever CEO gives lecture

Johnson's 2011 Durland lecture will be given by Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever, April 11 at 4:30 p.m., 305 Ives Hall, speaking on "Sustainable Business Models for the 21st Century." Polman, whose career includes stints at Nestle and Procter and Gamble, assumed his current position at the multinational Anglo-Dutch food and detergent company in 2009. Free and open.

Museum soiree

Art, culture, poetry and pastry come together April 12 at the Johnson Museum: A book launch for Shawkat Toorawa's "Islam: A Short Guide to the Faith" will be at 4 p.m. The cover art and three of the images used in it are from the museum's collection, and a tour of those artworks will be included in this event. At 5 p.m., a special "dr. T Project (Cornell hitchhiker's guide to culture) " session will focus on the museum, followed by the launch of the student-curated "2NGC New York City Poetry and Prints" exhibit at 5:30 p.m., which features poetry selected by students, matched with museum artworks. The exhibit will run April 12-21. At 6 p.m., the annual Near Eastern Studies Poetry Night will focus on Near Eastern, Francophone and world poetry.

'King's Speech' writer

Written by screenwriter David Seidler '59, "The King's Speech" will be shown April 12 at 8 p.m., Willard Straight Theatre. Seidler will introduce the film and take questions afterward. He was inspired to write the story of King George VI and his stutter because Seidler was a stutterer as a child and grew up listening to the king on the radio during WWII. Nominated for 12 Academy Awards, the film took multiple Oscars. Tickets at http://CornellCinemaTickets.com and the Cornell Cinema Office, 104 Willard Straight Hall, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.: $10 general, $7 seniors, $6 students. The film will also screen April 16 at 7 p.m. and April 17 at 4:30 p.m.

Bush adviser on Israel

Dan Senor, former foreign policy adviser in the administration of George W. Bush and senior adviser to the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq, will speak about his book, "Start-up Nation: The Story of Israel's Economic Miracle," April 13 at 4:30 p.m., 101 Phillips Hall. Open to the Cornell community.

Nobelist presents Bethe lecture

Recipient of the 2011 Nobel Prize in physics, Wolfgang Ketterle, professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and director of the MIT-Harvard Center for Ultracold Atoms, will present a public lecture, "When Freezing Cold Is Not Cold Enough," April 13 at 7:30 p.m., Schwartz Auditorium, Kennedy Hall. He will also present two class lectures, April 11 and 12.

Classical fusion music

Shubhendra Rao, sitar, and Saskia Rao de Haas, cello, with Biplab Bhattacharrya on tabla, will perform a program of Indian and Western classical fusion, April 13 at 8 p.m., Barnes Hall Auditorium. Free and open.

Communication in trade defense

Joanna Krzeminska-Vamvaka, a head of sector in the Trade Defense Services of the Directorate General for External Trade, European Commission, will present the Einaudi Chair Lecture, "Global Dialogue on Due Process and Transparency: Channels of Communication in Trade Defense," April 14 at 4:30 p.m., 225 ILR Conference Center. Krzeminska-Vamvaka is the author of "Freedom of Commercial Speech in Europe," which examines the constitutional status of commercial speech under the European Convention on Human Rights, in the European Union and in Germany and Poland. A reception will follow. Information: http://www.einaudi.cornell.edu/Europe.

Finance reforms

Yaron Zelekha, former accountant general for the State of Israel, will be on campus to present a talk, "Fiscal Inefficiency, Corruption and Growth: The Israeli Story," April 14 at 4:45, 233 Plant Sciences. Appointed by then-Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Zelekha spearheaded transparency reforms in the Finance Ministry's budgeting processes. Information: http://www.cipa.cornell.edu.

St. Petersburg Philharmonic

The St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, with Nikolai Alexeev, conductor, and pianist Nikolai Lugansky, will perform in Bailey Hall, April 15 at 8 p.m. The orchestra is Russia's oldest symphonic ensemble, founded in 1882 under Alexander III, and served as the court orchestra for Nicholas II. The concert features Rachmaninoff's Second Piano Concerto and the symphonic suite "Scheherazade" by Rimsky-Korsakov. Admission: general $28, $36 or $39; students $20, at http://www.cornellconcertseries.com or http://www.BaileyTickets.com, in-person at Ticket Center Ithaca, 171 The Commons, and by phone at 607-273-4497 or 800-284-8422.

Change in concert venue

The Cornell University Chorus and Glee Club, both directed by Scott Tucker, were slated to sing J.S. Bach's Mass in B Minor in Syracuse with the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra (SSO) and guest soloists. The closing of the SSO has resulted in a change of venue: The concert will be April 16 at 7:30 p.m., St. Paul's United Methodist Church, downtown Ithaca. Tickets: $20 adults; $10 students; available at Ticket Center Ithaca (171 The Commons, 607-273-4497), http://www.IthacaEvents.com and at the door (if available).