“Bud, Not Buddy,” a novel by award-winning author and UM-Flint alumnus Christopher Paul Curtis, is presented at 7:30 p.m. March 26 and 27 and 2 p.m. March 28 at UM-Flint Theatre’s main stage in an adaptation by Reginald Andre Jackson.
“When one door closes, don’t worry, because another door opens.” Armed with this philosophy, part of his mother’s legacy, 10-year-old Bud journeys from Flint to Grand Rapids to find his father.
The play received the Newbery Medal for excellence in American literature in 2000, as well as the Coretta Scott King Award, which recognizes outstanding African-American writers.
Following high school Curtis worked for 13 years on the line at Fisher Body Plant No.1, and completed his Bachelor of General Studies degree at the university in 2001. He is this year’s recipient of the Myron and Margaret Winegarden Visiting Professorship.
Carolyn Gillespie directs the all-student cast. For tickets call 810-237-6520.
Haiti disaster response reviewed
The weeklong 24th annual Public Health Students of African Descent Minority Health Conference at the School of Public Health concludes with a 1 p.m. session Thursday on “Disaster Response in Developing Nations: Haiti’s Reconstruction, Medical and Development Needs,” and a closing speech at 3 p.m. Friday at Palmer Commons by Dr. Stephen Blount, director of the CDC Center for Global Health.
The session devoted to Haiti will be presented in SPH Crossroads, Room 1680. It will feature panelists Ruth Barnard and Gina Athena Ulysse.
Dr. Blount is the lead strategist for CDC’s global activities and manages key partnerships with ministries of health, other U.S. government agencies, U.N. organizations, the World Bank, private foundations, multi-national corporations, nongovernment organizations and academic institutions.
Prison Creative Arts Project returns
From behind the walls of Michigan prisons, many inmates turn to art as a means to express themselves. For 15 years, U-M has hosted an exhibition of the varied and oft-times revealing works of the incarcerated presented by the Prison Creative Arts Project.
More than 300 art works created by 200 artists will be on display with an emphasis this year on artists’ response to social impact of the state’s troubled economic situation.
An opening reception is from 5:30-8 p.m. Tuesday at the Duderstadt Center Gallery on North Campus. Those attending include Provost Theresa Sullivan, exhibit curators and Patricia Caruso, director of the Michigan Department of Corrections.
Curated by professors Buzz Alexander, Janie Paul and Jason Wright, the exhibit has grown to become the largest exhibition of prisoner art in the country. Last year, more than 4,000 people attended.
A symposium at 7:30-9 p.m. Friday in the Palmer Commons Forum Hall features a keynote address by Marc Mauer of The Sentencing Project. Beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday, a panel discussion will be presented in the Kuenzel Room, Michigan Union.
