Briefly Noted

Pitt World History Center Plans Nov. 17 Lecture on Cross-Community Migration

The University of Pittsburgh World History Center will present a lecture by Leo Lucassen, a professor of social history at Leiden University, the Netherlands, at 2 p.m. Nov. 17, in Room 3703, Posvar Hall.

The free public lecture, titled “Mobility Transition Revisited, 1500-1900: What the Case of Europe Can Offer to Global History,” will be broadcast online from 2 to 3:15 p.m. that afternoon, with a two-minute delay, at http://mediasite.cidde.pitt.edu. Viewers will be able to submit questions online during the session. Lucassen’s lecture also will be available online following the completion of the broadcast.

A specialist in the fields of social, migration, and urban history, Lucassen has focused his research on the Roma and other itinerant groups. The lecture will address cross-community migration, adapting concepts from Pitt professor of history and director of the World History Center Patrick Manning’s argument that migrants moving over a cultural border are more likely to accelerate modernization. Lucassen considers six distinct forms of migration and also contrasts the regional variations of the Netherlands and Russia.

Lucassen’s recent publications on the theme of global history include Migration History in World History: Multidisciplinary Approaches (Brill Publishers, 2010) and Paths of Integration: Migrants in Western Europe (1880-2004) (Amsterdam University Press, 2006).

The event will be the World History Center’s inaugural presentation of a seminar broadcast worldwide. A reception will follow the lecture. For more information, visit www.worldhistory.pitt.edu.

—By Patricia Lomando White

Katz to Present “Art of Negotiation” Workshop Nov. 18

Pitt’s Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business will host a workshop on improving negotiation skills. Titled “The Art of Negotiation” and led by Heather Arnet and Tara Simmons from the Women and Girls Foundation (WGF), the event will be held from 7:30 to 10:30 a.m. Nov. 18 in Ballroom A of the University Club.

Presenters will help students and alumni identify negotiation opportunities, develop negotiation strategies, and recognize barriers to negotiating. While the program is designed specifically for women, the workshop is open to all alumni and students of the Katz School and the College of Business Administration. This event is free for students and $25 for alumni.

Arnet is executive director of WGF, which works toward achieving equality for women and girls in Southwest Pennsylvania. Arnet has spearheaded WGF’s efforts to increase women’s representation on the public and corporate boards of Pittsburgh and in elective office.

Simmons is WGF’s director of operations and programs. She also oversees the organization’s regional outreach efforts, including cultivating community relationships to increase WGF’s visibility and ability to advance the foundation’s mission throughout the region.

—By Jessica Myers

Pitt Freshman Wins 2010 Pitt-BNY Mellon Jazz Scholarship

University of Pittsburgh freshman Jacob Sacks has been selected the winner of the 2010 Pitt-BNY Mellon Jazz Scholarship. The $5,000 tuition prize is awarded annually to a Pitt music student and is based on submitted tapes of jazz standards that are judged by a panel of nationally recognized jazz musicians.

Sacks, 18, was recognized Nov. 6 at the 2010 Pitt Jazz Concert.

A Mt. Lebanon, Pa., resident, Sacks plans to declare a double major at Pitt in bioengineering and music composition. He grew up in a musical household—his mother, Ruth Sacks, has a PhD in music composition—and he began composing at age 8. His works garnered first-, second-, and third-place honors in the statewide PTA Reflections Program competition. He played piano for five years and violin for eight before discovering in high school his love for the guitar. Sacks has taken master classes with guitarists Joe Negri and Ken Karsh and has studied under R. J. Zimmerman, adjunct professor of guitar at Duquesne University.

This is the 24th year that Pitt and BNY Mellon have funded the scholarship. BNY Mellon Jazz supports nonprofit organizations engaged in live performances and jazz education and recognizes individuals and organizations that have made significant contributions to Pittsburgh’s rich jazz tradition.

—By Sharon S. Blake