The University Record, April 15, 1998
Clinton
From the Office of the Vice President for Research
First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton will visit campus April 28. Her 2 p.m. address at Hill Auditorium celebrates the U-M’s 1997-98 Year of Humanities and Arts (YoHA) and especially the Arts of Citizenship Program, which embodies the vision of the White House special cultural initiative, the Millennium Program.
Clinton’s appearance is sponsored by the University and YoHA, a set of programs that celebrate the arts and humanities by encouraging experimentation and exploration. YoHA has been organized by the Office of the Vice President for Research under the direction of Julie Ellison, associate vice president for research and professor of English. YoHA opened last fall with a celebratory symposium following the inauguration of President Lee C. Bollinger. The First Lady’s speech marks the culmination of a successful year of programs and events, and recognizes the energy and University-public-private collaborations that have been given a jump-start by YoHA.
One of the key YoHA initiatives is the Arts of Citizenship, directed by David Scobey, assistant professor of history and of American culture. The Arts of Citizenship is a group of linked programs that explore the role of the humanities and arts in sustaining a vibrant public culture, and the responsibility of a democratic culture to sustain the arts and humanities through community projects and intellectual conversations. The Arts of Citizenship “Talking Bridges” series has included the free community premiere of the PBS documentary, “Porgy and Bess: An American Voice,” and lectures by former U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Hass and Dwight Pitcaithley, chief historian for the National Park Service.
The “Students on Site” program involves U-M faculty with teachers from Mack Elementary School and Community High School to capitalize on a rich historic and cultural area of Ann Arbor in the development of innovative projects that address student writing skills. The project is supported in part by a grant from the Michigan Humanities Council.
The White House Millennium Program is a multi-year initiative that will celebrate the accomplishments of America in this century, recognize and initiate projects, and engage every sector of society in conveying our rich heritage to future generations.
Led by the First Lady and directed by Ellen McCulloch-Lovell, the Millennium Program will plan ways for the White House to honor the past and imagine the future.” The program includes the “Millennium Evenings,” a lecture series at the White House. The first lectures were given by historian Bernard Bailyn of Harvard University and physicist Stephen Hawking of Cambridge University.
Other federal agencies, from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), to NASA, the National Archives, and the Peace Corps, will participate in the Millennium Program with initiatives of their own. The NEA is providing nearly $5.9 million in funds for “Millennium” projects throughout the country. They will include a photographic survey of the United States at the turn of the century and a program by the American Dance Festival in Durham, N.C., to commission new jazz and dance works.
For further information, send e-mail to [email protected], or check the YoHA Web site at http://www.yoha.umich.edu.
Ticket Information
Tickets for Clinton’s appearance will be distributed to members of the campus community and the public April 22-27.
Admission to the program is free, but tickets for reserved seating are required. Tickets will be available at the Michigan Union Box Office, and U-M students will have priority when requesting tickets. Box office hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays, and 9 a.m.-noon p.m. Saturday. Tickets may be reserved by members of the general public by calling 763-TKTS beginning April 25. Students, faculty and staff must request tickets in person at the Box Office.
The distribution schedule will be:
Students: Beginning Wednesday, April 22 (seniors only April 22). One ticket per person; U-M ID required.
Faculty and staff: Beginning Friday, April 24. One ticket per person; U-M ID required.
All others: Beginning Saturday, April 25. No more than four tickets per person.
Phone orders will be taken only on the designated days. Students, faculty and staff will be required to have U-M identification when picking up their order.
Any remaining tickets will be available Tuesday, April 28, at the Hill Auditorium Box Office beginning at 10 a.m.
Guests driving to the speech are encouraged to park their vehicles in the AATA “park-and-ride” lot on South State St. University shuttle buses will transport guests from the commuter lot to Hill Auditorium beginning at 12:45 p.m. There is no charge to ride the bus.
Shuttle buses will return guests to the commuter lot following Clinton’s talk. Buses leaving from Hill Auditorium may be boarded on eastbound North University Avenue at the Kraus Natural Science Building.
