Provided

"Mr. Hublot" is among animated Oscar nominees showing at Cornell Cinema.

‘Speaking of Sex’

Cornell Library’s Human Sexuality Collection 25th anniversary exhibition, “Speaking of Sex,” opens Feb. 14, Valentine’s Day, in Samuel L. Hirshland Gallery, Kroch Library.

Along with rare books, letters, photographs, original artwork and films, the exhibition features erotica and a variety of ephemera related to sexuality, much of it ignored or shunned by academia and society at large when the collection began.

A vital resource to the field of sexuality studies, the collection focuses on marginalized and contested areas of sexuality, encouraging us to think about sex from many angles. It includes items from the original 1988 Mariposa archives gift to the library, through very recent acquisitions.

The exhibition runs through National Coming Out Day, Oct. 11. An opening reception March 18 follows a public lecture with sex writer Susie Bright, author/filmmaker David France (“How to Survive a Plague”) and activist Urvashi Vaid in conversation.

The gallery is open Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Know your shorts

Cornell Cinema prepares film lovers for the Academy Awards March 2 with three “Oscar Nominated Shorts” programs (animated, live action and documentary) next week.

Animated Short Subject nominees, featured Feb. 19, 21 and 23, include Mickey Mouse and friends in “Get a Horse!” plus “Possessions,” “Feral,” “Room on the Broom” and “Mr. Hublot.” The program includes three highly commended shorts, “A La Francaise,” “The Missing Scarf” and “The Blue Umbrella.”

Live action shorts are showing Feb. 20-21; and documentary short subjects Feb. 23 ($5 admission).

Winter Party: Tickets are on sale now for Cornell Cinema’s 10th annual Elegant Winter Party, Saturday, Feb. 22 at 7:15 p.m.

The event features a 9 p.m. screening of Alfred Hitchcock’s “Champagne” (1928), the last in the repertory cinema’s “Selections from the Hitchcock 9” silent film series, with live piano accompaniment by Philip Carli. The film features art deco sets, classic Hitchcock comic touches, and Betty Balfour as a frivolous flapper whose millionaire father decides to teach her a lesson by feigning bankruptcy.

The evening begins with a reception, including a complimentary glass of champagne, jazz piano by A.J. Strauss, hors d'oeuvres and desserts, a cash bar and drawings for door prizes.

Tickets are $45 for the general public, $25 for students, available at CornellCinemaTickets.com. At the door, prices are $55 and $35. Proceeds help support Cornell Cinema programming year-round.

Marine mammal stories

If you’ve always been curious about fish mash, baby belugas and elephant seals … or dolphins serving in the echolocation of underwater booby-traps … or how sea lions assisted in the apprehension of enemy divers, you can hear about it from a veteran marine mammal expert, Feb. 18 at 5:30 p.m. in Vet Education Center Lecture Hall 1. Free and open to the Cornell community.

Dr. Bill Van Bonn, DVM, will talk about his experiences as a veterinarian at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, where he is vice president of animal health; the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, Calif., where he treated and rehabilitated thousands of sea lions, seals and otters each year; and his 15 years with the U.S. Navy's Marine Mammal Program.

Women’s leadership summit

More than 20 alumnae involved in business, government and non-profit organizations will share their stories with students Feb. 21-22 at the first Symposium on Women in Leadership. Sponsored by the Dyson School, the event features 13 student organizations, speakers, workshops and panel discussions on gender-related challenges in the workplace and other topics.

Barbara Novick ’81, cofounder/vice chairman of asset management company BlackRock, gives the Feb. 21 keynote, “Own Your Choices,” 7:30 p.m. in the of the Statler Hotel Ampitheatre. Free and open to the public.

Feb. 22 events (registration required) include talks by former senior advisor at the U.S. Department of State Shelly Porges ’74, MPS ’77, of Ready for Hillary; Amy Siskind ’87, president of The New Agenda, a national organization addressing issues of economic independence, gender representation, bias, sexual assault and domestic violence; and Erica Nicole, founder of YFS (Young, Fabulous and Self-Employed), a digital magazine for entrepreneurs.

One in 8 million

Cornell Library celebrates the arrival of its 8 millionth volume, “Comte de Paris,” a Civil War photograph album assembled for French prince Louis-Philippe d’Orleans, Feb. 21, 5-6:30 p.m., in Olin Library’s Amit Bhatia ’01 Libe Café. Free and open to the public.

Featuring 265 rare photographs by Mathew Brady and others, the album includes unusual images of infantry, artillery and cavalry units preparing for battle; military field operations, gun emplacements and camp scenes, and rare portraits of Union and Confederate officers, prisoners of war and Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln. The book, a gift from Beth and Stephan Loewentheil, J.D. ’75, will become part of the Loewentheil Family Photography Collection.

University Librarian Anne Kenney, Stephan Loewentheil and visiting associate professor of art Bill Gaskins will give remarks at 5 p.m. A reception with light refreshments follows at 5:30 p.m.