Briefs

River and estuary research: President Hunter Rawlings has been named to serve on a statewide advisory committee that over the next year will oversee planning for a river and estuary research and educational facility on the banks of the Hudson River. New York Gov. George Pataki announced the formation of the advisory committee and a related task force April 20 in Hudson River Park. In a news release issued by his office, the governor said he "envisions the creation of a world-class research and educational institute with an annual budget of $50 million to support as many as 500 employees, including research scientists, faculty and staff." To be modeled after the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts, the institute would be supported by state, federal and private funding. Pataki committed $1 million in the state budget for planning and has given the advisory committee and task force one year to make recommendations for establishing the institute. The rivers institute's task force is chaired by John P. Cahill, commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

Mind and Memory grants: The Cornell Council for the Arts (CCA) is offering teaching grants to faculty interested in teaching one section of the spring 2001 four-credit course Mind and Memory: Explorations of Creativity in the Arts and Sciences. Five grants of $5,000 each are available. Applicants should discuss with their department chairs the options of a direct grant or release time. Proposals also are discussed with Joyce Morgenroth, associate professor in dance and Mind and Memory course leader, and Bruce Leavitt, CCA faculty director. Proposals should include plans for teaching one section that includes a topic for a public lecture and that shows how the applicant will present the creative process and interact with students and how the resources of the section could be employed in future Mind and Memory courses. Mind and Memory explores the nature of creativity in science and art through public lectures, discussion sections and flexible labs. The public lectures are given by Cornell professors and special guests in diverse disciplines. Six to eight sections of 20 students each meet for discussion, and flexible lab time is set up to create a project. Deadlines: All interested faculty should offer proposals to their department chairs by the end of May. Proposals should be presented to Bruce Leavitt, Department of Theatre, Film and Dance, between May and Sept. 1.

Prize submissions sought: The Messenger Chalmers Graduate Prize of $750 will be awarded to the thesis by a graduate student "giving evidence of the best research and most fruitful thought in the field of human progress and the evolution of civilization during some period in human history or during human history as a whole." Submit entries (please include current address and phone number) on or before May 12 to Professor Barry Strauss, Department of History, 450 McGraw Hall.