Pitt Jazz Ensemble Will Perform with Jazz Greats Benny Golson And Curtis Fuller

The Pitt Jazz Ensemble will present its annual spring concert, “Return of the Jazz Masters,” at 8 p.m. April 21 in the Assembly Room of the William Pitt Union (WPU). Tickets, available at the WPU box office, are $10 for general admission and $5 for students or senior citizens. For more information, call 412-624-4187.

This year’s concert will feature, in addition to student members of the ensemble, internationally renowned saxophonist, composer, and arranger Benny Golson and legendary trombonist Curtis Fuller, both founding members, together with trumpeter Art Farmer, of the1960s sextet, Jazztet.

Golson is an acclaimed composer of film and television music, as well as jazz standards like “Killer Joe” and “I Remember Clifford.” He began his career as a saxophonist, playing with many of the top artists in jazz, and went on to perform with, and compose tunes for, Dizzy Gillespie’s band. In 1967, Golson moved to Los Angeles and arranged tunes for Sammy Davis Jr., Diana Ross, and Mel Torme, among other performers. He wrote music for popular TV shows, including M*A*S*H, Mission: Impossible, and Mannix. In the late 1970s, he returned to regular live work and, in 1982, he toured Europe with a reunited Jazztet. The following year, he recorded a celebrated tribute album dedicated to his old Philadelphia jamming partner, John Coltrane.

Fuller is regarded as one of the most distinctive trombonists in jazz. He emerged from the thriving Detroit music scene of the late 1940s and early ’50s, and after just eight months in New York City, the 22-year-old had recorded six albums as a leader and appeared on 15 others. He performed and recorded with Coltrane, Bud Powell, Miles Davis, Gillespie, Lester Young, Art Blakey, and many others. He is featured in “Moment’s Notice” on Coltrane’s classic “Blue Train” album. Fuller toured with the Count Basie Band, led the quintet Giant Bones, and performed and recorded with the revamped Jazztet.

—Sharon S. Blake

Student Honored for Community Service

Rosemary Pawlowski, chair of the Pitt-Johnstown advisory board’s public affairs committee, presents the board’s Service-to-Community Award to UPJ senior Kerri Weir.

The Pitt-Johnstown Advisory Board presented its eighth Service-to-Community Award to Kerri E. Weir of Dover, Pa., at the board’s spring meeting last month.

The award recognizes students, faculty, and staff who have contributed to the quality of life in the Johnstown area. The UPJ advisory board’s public affairs committee evaluated nominees based on volunteerism and service that has significant impact or enduring effect.

Weir was cited for her involvement with the successful voter registration drive of UPJ students resulting in more than 900 registrations for the 2004 U.S. presidential election. She also worked the telephones, attended rallies, and organized debates on campus to “get the vote out.” A senior political science major, Weir also has served as a UPJ student senator for three years. She is a UPJ admissions tour guide, was selected for the Pitt-Johnstown President’s Diversity Working Group, and is a founding member and president of the UPJ Blue and Gold Society alumni and undergraduate network.

—Kimberly M. Miller

Pitt Center on Race And Social Problems Presents Lecture on Racial Stigma

Glenn Loury, professor of economics at the University of Boston and prominent social critic on issues of racial inequality and social policy, will speak at Pitt from noon to 1:30 p.m. April 22 in the William Pitt Union’s Kurtzman Room.

The free, public event, part of the Reed Smith Spring 2005 Lunchtime Speaker Series, is sponsored by Pitt’s Center on Race and Social Problems within the School of Social Work. Lunch will be provided, and registration is not required.

Loury’s lecture, titled “Racial Stigma: Toward a New Paradigm for Discrimination Theory,” will explore the interconnections between race and economic inequality in the United States, with a focus on African Americans. Loury will argue that it is important to distinguish between racial discrimination and racial stigma in the study of this problem.

Loury has been a contributing editor for The New Republic and has published more than 100 essays, reviews, and commentaries in U.S. and foreign public affairs journals. He is a fellow of the Econometric Society and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and past vice president of the American Economics Association.

For more information, call 412-624-7382.

—Sharon S. Blake

Generations Together Founder Recognized For Intergenerational Studies Work

Sally Newman, founder and first executive director of Generations Together—Pitt’s program of intergenerational studies—has been recognized by a national professional organization for her extensive work in intergenerational studies and for keeping that field at the forefront of programming and research in many colleges and universities.

At its recent annual meeting in Oklahoma City, the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education (AGHE) gave Newman its Clark Tibbits Award, citing her “significant contributions for the advancement of gerontology as a field of study.”

Sally Newman

Newman links gerontology programs with intergenerational studies through practice and theory. She strongly believes in a multidisciplinary approach to aging and addressing issues concerning older adults in the context of their social, psychological, economic, health, and educational needs. Her research demonstrates that older adults who interact with younger generations as mentors or tutors, or who are the recipients of young people’s services, reap the benefits of these interactions throughout their lifetime.

“The quality of life of older persons is best expressed in relationship to how they fit as productive citizens in society at large,” says Newman. “Intergenerational programming can have a profound impact on their learning, socialization, and cognitive functions.”

Newman, who retired in 2002 as executive director of Generations Together and researcher in the University Center for Social and Urban Research, promotes intergenerational work around the globe. She is founder of the International Consortium of Intergenerational Programs and founding editor of the Journal of Intergenerational Relationships, which publishes articles focusing on intergenerational programs, policy, and research from a global perspective. Newman has recently returned from Spain, where she is helping to promote intergenerational academic and social policy initiatives.

—Sharon S. Blake