New wing, new art

The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art hosts a reception Oct. 15, 1 to 5 p.m., to celebrate the grand opening of its new wing and Japanese garden. The event features tours of the 16,000-square-foot wing and new exhibitions, family art activities from 1 to 3 p.m., and live music by the Sim Redmond Band from 3 to 5 p.m. All events are free.

"Bursts of Light and Rifts of Darkness: American Expressionism from the Meinig Collection" is the first exhibition on display in the wing. New exhibitions in the main building include "Essence of Indian Textiles"; "Precious Paper: Master Drawings from the Permanent Collection," ranging from the late 15th century to contemporary artists; and "A Private Eye, Revisited: A Selection from the Brandt Collection." All are on display through Dec. 31. Information: http://museum.cornell.edu.

Acupuncture for animals

The 2011 DeeDee Arrison Holistic and Integrative Wellness Seminar, Oct. 15, 
9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
 at the College of Veterinary Medicine, will focus on various aspects of acupuncture, including its therapeutic benefits.

Veterinarian Carolina Medina will give lectures and presentations throughout the day in the John Murray Lecture Hall in Cornell's Veterinary Education Center. Medina is a clinical assistant professor, service chief of the Acupuncture and Rehabilitation Service at the University of Florida's College of Veterinary Medicine and a founder of the American Association of Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine.

The Rising Stars of the Stradivari Society -- pianist Robert Koenig and violinists Tim Fain and Anna Lee -- will perform at 12:45 p.m. in the Veterinary Education Center Atrium. Admission to all events is free. Information: http://www.vet.cornell.edu/news/arrison11.cfm.

History and poetry

Kappa Alpha Professor of English Robert Morgan will read from his two recent works at a reading and publication party, Oct. 18 at 4:30 p.m. in Hollis E. Cornell Auditorium, Goldwin Smith Hall. Free and open to the public.

The books are "Terroir" (Penguin) -- Morgan's first full-length poetry collection since 2004's "The Strange Attractor" -- and "Lions of the West: Heroes and Villains of the Westward Expansion" (Shannon Ravenel), a historical account of the fulfillment of America's Manifest Destiny, told through the lives of 10 men who influenced it -- including Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, Kit Carson and John ("Johnny Appleseed") Chapman.

Morgan's other works of poetry, fiction and nonfiction include the national best-sellers "Gap Creek" (1999) and "Boone: A Biography" (2007).

Evolution and parenting

A.D. White Professor-at-Large Sarah Hrdy will give public lectures on campus and at the Tompkins County Public Library Oct. 17-18.

She will speak on "The Origin of Emotionally Modern Humans: What It Means to Develop and Evolve as a Cooperatively Breeding Ape," Oct. 17 at 4 p.m. in G10 Biotechnology Building; and on "Why Is Paternal Care So Variable in the Human Species?" Oct. 18 at noon in the Tompkins County Public Library's Borg Warner Room. The library event is co-sponsored by Family and Children's Services of Ithaca. Both events are free.

Hrdy is visiting from Oct. 15 to 23. An emerita professor in anthropology at the University of California-Davis, she is a distinguished anthropologist, primatologist and human behaviorist with major contributions to the fields of evolutionary and behavioral biology, primatology, human ecology and development, and the evolution of the family.

Development council meets

Leaders from academia, business and government in New York's Southern Tier will meet Oct. 19 at Cornell to discuss a regional initiative for economic development. The meeting, 3 p.m. in G10 Biotechnology Building, is free and open to the public.

The meeting will be co-chaired by N.Y. Lt. Gov. Robert Duffy and President David Skorton, and is hosted by the Southern Tier Regional Economic Development Council, N.Y. Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Cornell.

Due to a full agenda, no one will be admitted after 3 p.m. Members of the public are encouraged to participate during the public-comment period. Information on Cuomo's economic development initiatives is available at http://www.governor.ny.gov.

Sustainable solutions

Internationally known sustainability advocate Mathis Wackernagel will discuss potential sustainable solutions for governments and economies in a pair of public lectures on campus.

Wackernagel, a Frank H.T. Rhodes Class of 1956 Professor, has developed the Ecological Footprint as a resource accounting tool for measuring human impact on the Earth so we can make more informed choices.

He will examine how resource constraints such as food and energy crises affect social stability and economic performance, and how governments can respond to them, in "The True Resource Curse," Oct. 18 at 5 p.m. in Uris Auditorium.

On Oct. 20 at 5 p.m. in 142 Goldwin Smith Hall, Wackernagel will lecture on "The Ecological Footprint -- Realigning Our Economies With Nature's Budget."

Both lectures are free and open to the public.

Lurie at lunch

Novelist Alison Lurie will be the featured reader Oct. 28 at a Literary Luncheon at the Cayuga Heights residence of Professor Robin Davisson and President David Skorton.

Lurie is the Frederic J. Whiton Professor of American Literature Emerita and the best-selling author of 10 novels including "Foreign Affairs," winner of the 1985 Pulitzer Prize; "The Truth About Lorin Jones" (1989) and "Truth and Consequences" (2005). Her other publications include "Women and Ghosts," a collection of supernatural stories; "Familiar Spirits," a memoir of poet James Merrill; and "The Language of Clothes," a study of the psychology of fashion.

A light lunch will be served at 11:30 a.m., with Lurie's reading at noon. The event is free and open to the first 25 people responding by Oct. 21 to special-events@cornell.edu.

Eclectic balladeer

British musician Brian Peters performs an eclectic repertoire of traditional, contemporary and original songs at a Cornell Folk Song Society (CFSS) concert, Oct. 21 at 8 p.m. in the Willard Straight Hall Memorial Room.

Peters plays traditional folk ballads, ragtime, blues, hillbilly rock, sea chanteys, jigs and reels on squeezeboxes (concertina, accordion and melodeon) and guitar; and enlivens ancient ballads about ghosts, dragons, devils, beggars and kings. He is also dedicated to resurrecting the traditional dance music of Northern England.

Tickets are $15 in advance, $17 at the door; $10/$12 for Cornell students. CFSS gives $3 rebates at the door to members, senior citizens and teenagers. Children age 12 and under attend free. Tickets are available at Ludgate Farms, Ithaca Guitar Works, GreenStar, Autumn Leaves Book Store, Bound for Glory shows and online. Information: http://www.cornellfolksong.org, 607-279-2027.