Briefly Noted

Pitt to Host 2009 Edgar M. Snyder Distinguished Visiting Scholar Program Oct. 21

The University of Pittsburgh School of Law will host the 2009 Edgar M. Snyder Distinguished Visiting Scholar program, titled “Legal Ethics and e-Discovery: Future Problems, Current Solutions.” The event, honoring Snyder (LAW ’66), will take place from noon to 1:30 p.m. Oct. 21 at The Rivers Club, One Oxford Centre, 301 Grant St., Downtown.

A distinguished panel of experts will discuss the intersection of electronic discovery and legal ethics, considered to be two of the most challenging and pressing issues in law practice today. The panel will include legal clients, technology experts, and representatives from the bench and bar.

Rhonda Wasserman, a professor in Pitt’s School of Law, will moderate the event. Panelists are Scott Ardisson, president of bit-x-bit; Susan Ardisson, attorney and CEO of bit-x-bit; Robert J. Cindrich, chief legal officer and general counsel for the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center; Nora Berry Fischer, judge, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania; and Stuart C. Gaul Jr., a partner at Thorp Reed & Armstrong.

The Distinguished Visiting Scholar Program was created in 2006 by Snyder’s wife, Sandy Snyder (EDUC ‘70, A&S ‘70, EDUC ‘74G, KGSB ‘78), to honor her husband’s 40 years of service to the legal profession. It invites practitioners and scholars to address topics beneficial to Pitt students and faculty.

The Pennsylvania Continuing Legal Education (CLE) Board has approved this course for one hour of CLE ethics credit. Preregistration and a $25 check for CLE credit are required by Oct. 16. Checks should be made payable and sent to the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, Barco Law Building, 3900 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15260.

For more information, call 412-648-1305.

—Kristin Shearer

Toker to Give Lecture on Pittsburgh: A New Portrait

Franklin Toker, Pitt professor of art and architecture, will deliver an illustrated lecture on his new book, Pittsburgh: A New Portrait (Univ. of Pittsburgh Press, 2009), from 7 to 9 p.m. Oct. 21 in Carnegie Music Hall, 4400 Forbes Ave., Oakland. The presentation is free and open to the public.

As he does in his book, Toker will introduce the audience to some of Pittsburgh’s most colorful communities and their individual types of architecture. It is these strong neighborhoods and their surprisingly rich architectural history that make Pittsburgh so resilient and appealing, Toker says. From Victorian to Bauhaus, Gothic to Art Deco, and industrial to green, Pittsburgh’s neighborhoods represent every type of architecture, he adds.

Pittsburgh: A New Portrait is receiving coverage in the regional and national press, as well as in L’Espresso, a weekly Rome-based news magazine. The Wall Street Journal calls the book “the great architectural guide that every great American city deserves—and few possess.”

—Sharon S. Blake

Expert to Address Technology’s Impact on Education

Technological innovations such as the laptop computer and wireless Internet have revolutionized the way students learn, taking education out of the classroom and into our homes, libraries, and Internet cafes.

Finding seamless methods to integrate these innovations into America’s educational system will be the topic of discussion as the University of Pittsburgh’s Learning Policy Center (LPC) presents a lecture by Allan Collins, professor emeritus of education and social policy at Northwestern University, at 3 p.m. Oct. 22 in the Glaser Auditorium of the Learning Research and Development Center. The event will launch the 2009-10 LPC Colloquium Series—Preparing Students for Life Beyond K-12: Linking Research, Policy, and Action.

The subject matter of the lecture will be based on Collins’ newly released book, Rethinking Education in the Age of Technology: The Digital Revolution and Schooling in America (Teachers College Press, 2009). In the book, Collins questions whether the U.S. education system has taken full advantage of modern technology. He makes the argument that in order to keep pace with the rest of the world, the nation must rethink the methodology by which it educates future generations. Under Collins’ vision of the future of education, America’s public school system should be remodeled to include such applications as online social networks, distance learning, and digital home schooling.

Also present to discuss aspects of the lecture will be Kevin Ashley, a professor in Pitt’s School of Law; Diane Litman, a professor in Pitt’s Department of Computer Science; and Kenneth R. Koedinger, a professor in Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Computer Science.

The lecture will be followed by a reception at 4:30 p.m. on the 9th floor of LRDC. The event is free and open to the public, but an RSVP is required and can be made on the LPC Web site: www.learningpolicycenter.org. For more information, contact Julia Kaufman at lpc@pitt.edu.

—Patricia Lomando White

Former Judge of European Court of Justice to Speak

Sir David Edward, former judge of the European Court of Justice, will speak at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law’s 18th annual McLean Lecture on World Law at 6 p.m. Oct. 22 in the Barco Law Building’s Teplitz Memorial Courtroom.

The lecture is titled “Nationalism, Constitutionalism, and the Future of the European Union.” The free event is open to the public and will be followed by a reception. It is jointly sponsored by Pitt’s Center for International Legal Education and the Global Solutions Education Fund Pittsburgh.

Edward served as a European Court of Justice judge from 1992 to 2004 and as a judge at the Court of First Instance of the European Commission from 1989 to 1992. A professor emeritus at the University of Edinburgh School of Law, Edward has appeared as counsel before the European Court of Justice and the British House of Lords. He was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1974 and Knight Commander of the Order of St. Michael and St. George in 2004.

Prior to his judicial appointments, Edward appeared in a number of high-profile cases in Scottish and English courts, and also in the European Court of Justice. He also has written extensively on European-related issues.

The McLean Lecture on World Law honors the memory and contributions of Maclean W. McLean, a founder, executive director, and executive vice president of the Pittsburgh World Federalist Association chapter, now Global Solutions Education Fund Pittsburgh.

—Patricia Lomando White

Faculty and Staff Development Program Set

The University of Pittsburgh’s Office of Human Resources is offering its Faculty and Staff Development Program (FSDP) workshops through December.

A variety of workshops is offered to help enhance the professional and personal development of Pitt’s faculty and staff. Among the topics are leadership development, human resources, international services development, diversity education, career development, financial planning, University business and financial services, and organization development and health safety.

The schedule of workshops and registration information can be found at www.hr.pitt.edu/fsdp.

—Kristin Shearer