Seminar scheduled in advance of AAALAC site visit

In preparation for a March 10-13 site visit by the Association for the Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care International to evaluate all aspects of Johns Hopkins' animal care and use program, the Animal Care and Use Committee is hosting this week a special seminar called "AAALAC: What Are the Expectations?"

Attendance is strongly encouraged at the event, which will be held at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 12, in the Tilghman Room, Turner Building, East Baltimore campus. Presenters will be James Owiny and Julie Watson. For more information, contact the ACUC at 443-287-3738.

Wednesday Noon Series offers Black History Month drama

The Sacrifice, a theater piece by Benedict A. Dorsey with Benediction Productions, will take the stage at Shriver Hall at noon on Wednesday, Feb. 12, in observance of Black History Month. The drama centers on an African-American mother's agonizing decision to remove the life support from her 17-year-old Harvard-bound son, further complicated by the reappearance after 16 years of the absentee father.

Dorsey is the founding director of the Dunbar Baldwin Hughes Theatre Company on the Homewood campus. He established Benediction Productions in 1991, and the nine plays in the company's repertoire have been performed in Baltimore at the Arena Playhouse and in Washington, New York and Delaware.

This performance is part of the Wednesday Noon Series presented by the Office of Special Events and is co-sponsored by the Office of Community Relations and Volunteer Services and the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs. For more information, call Special Events at 410-516-7157.

Neighborhood Author Series examines mood disorders

Johns Hopkins psychiatrist Francis Mark Mondimore, an expert on mood disorders, will be the February speaker in the Johns Hopkins University Press Neighborhood Author Series, a monthly event featuring Baltimore-based writers of books published by the Press.

Mondimore, the author of Depression: The Mood Disease, Bipolar Disorder: A Guide for Patients and Families and Adolescent Depression: A Guide for Parents, will speak at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 12, in the Peabody Room at the Episcopal Diocesan Center on the corner of North Charles Street and University Parkway. Parking is available.

Among the topics to be discussed: when moodiness indicates a more serous medical condition; how to recognize depression and bipolar disorder; the different types of depression; the causes, symptoms and treatment options; and how to find a good treatment team, deal with health insurance and cope with emergency hospitalizations.

The Neighborhood Author Series is organized by Johns Hopkins University's Office of Community Affairs and the Johns Hopkins University Press.

Children's Center offering free child safety seat checks

As part of National Child Passenger Safety Week, the Johns Hopkins Children's Center Child Passenger Safety Team is hosting a free safety seat check on Valentine's Day, Friday, Feb. 14. National Highway Safety Administration certified technicians and senior checkers will secure all types of safety seats in vehicles brought between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. to the lower level of the Caroline Street garage at the Outpatient Center.

The project is a collaboration of the Central Maryland Regional Safe Communities, the Johns Hopkins Children's Safety Center, the Johns Hopkins Children's Center Pediatric Emergency Department, the Johns Hopkins Children's Center Trauma Department, the Harriet Lane Primary Care Clinic, the Child Life Department, Pediatric Social Work and the Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy.

Former Fed Reserve chair Paul Volcker to speak at SAIS

Paul Volcker, former chairman of the Federal Reserve System, will speak at SAIS at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 11. His lecture, "Corporate Governance Reform in a Market Economy," is hosted by the SAIS Center for International Business and Public Policy.

The event will be held in the Nitze Building's Kenney Auditorium. Non-SAIS affiliates should reserve a place by calling 202-663-5648 or e-mailing fklubes@jhu.edu.

Heartfest raises $100,000 for Preventive Cardiology Center

Despite wintry conditions on Jan. 18, approximately 1,100 guests gathered at Martin's West to participate in Heartfest 2003, an evening of heart-healthy dining, dancing and consumer education to benefit the Johns Hopkins Preventive Cardiology Center. The event raised $100,000 for the center, which was established in memory of the legendary JHU lacrosse coach Henry A. Ciccarone.

Entertainment was provided by Stevie V. and the Heart Attackers, a band comprised of cardiologists, cardiac surgeons and other health care professionals; and by celebrity honoree Vickie Lawrence, who performed a comedy routine and sang. The medical honoree was Bernadine Healy, a former SOM faculty member and head of the American Red Cross, who is now a senior writer and columnist for US News & World Report. Stephen Geppi, president/CEO of Diamond Comic Distributors and owner of Baltimore magazine, was the community honoree.

JHU Debate Team hosts North American tournament

With teams streaming in from 31 schools around the continent, the Johns Hopkins Debate Team recently had the honor of hosting the prestigious North American Parliamentary Debate Tournament, which is held in the United States every other year. Hopkins also hosted the event in 1997. Homewood's Hodson Hall was the hub of the activity and for three days was filled with teams from Stanford to Smith to the University of British Columbia.

Debating undergraduates were required to create "cases" based on resolutions such as "this house supports the parental role of government." After six rounds of discussion, debaters were judged upon individual speaking prowess and team victory records.

Finishing above the 128 debaters of the tournament, Emily Schleicher of NYU walked away from the weekend with the top seat in the Parliamentary Debate circuit. Patrick Nichols and Phil Larochelle of MIT seized the title of Top Varsity Debate Team in North America.