Chancellor's Installation, Academic Symposium to Highlight Four-Day
Fall Celebration at UNC Asheville October 5-8

UNC Asheville Chancellor James H. Mullen Jr. will be formally installed at 2 p.m. Friday, Oct. 6, on the Ramsey Library terrace. UNC President Molly Corbett Broad will preside over the ceremony, which will include a keynote address by Chancellor Mullen and a reading by Robert Pinsky, 39th Poet Laureate of the United States. Mullen, who took office in August 1999, is UNCA's fifth chancellor.

The public is invited to attend the installation ceremony as well as a host of other special events, including Founders Day, Family Weekend and Fall Fling, that are part of UNCA's Fall Celebration October 5-8.

* An academic symposium, "Stepping Down from the Ivory Tower: A University's Responsibility to Its Community," featuring keynote speaker Evan S. Dobelle, president of Trinity College in Hartford, Conn. will be held at 12:45 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 5, in Highsmith Center. The panel of respondents will include Scott Dedman of Mountain Housing Opportunities, Holly Jones of the Asheville YWCA, Pamela Myers of the Asheville Art Museum, Rusty Pulliam of Pulliam Properties, and Oralene Simmons of the YMI Cultural Center. David Hurand, WCQS Public Radio news director, will moderate. The event is free.

Dobelle is known nationally as an innovator who has led his college in efforts that successfully combine the intrinsic value of a liberal arts education and the challenges of building community and living responsibly in a fast-changing world.

* Robert Pinsky, 39th Poet Laureate of the United States, will read from his work and speak at 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 5, in Lipinsky Auditorium. The reading is sponsored by UNCA's Cultural and Special Events Committee and the Creative Writing Program's P.B. Parris Visiting Writers Series. Admission is $10.

* A symposium featuring the undergraduate research conducted by UNCA students will be held from 9:30 to 11 a.m. Friday, Oct. 6, in Karpen Hall Lobby.

* Noted author and historian Wilma Dykeman, Class of 1938, will be presented the Distinguished Alumna Award at the Founders Day dinner, 6:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 6, in Owen Conference Center. Dinner is $15 per person. For reservations, call UNCA's Alumni Relations office at 828/251-6512.

* Saturday, Oct. 7, events include the Fall Fling Festival, featuring food, games and fun on the University Quadrangle from 1 to 5 p.m. A concert showcasing the high-energy music of Mandorico follows at 8 p.m. The events are sponsored by UNCA's Student Affairs Division.

* A Saturday afternoon Foreign Film Festival will screen four films, with discussions led by UNCA faculty and film study specialists. At 1 p.m. the French film "Chocolat" will be shown in Karpen Hall room 038 while the German "Keiner liebt mich" plays in Karpen Hall room 011. At 4 p.m. the festival continues with a presentation of the French film "Le Festin de Babette" in Karpen Hall room 011 and the Spanish film "Guantanamera" in Karpen Hall room 038. Admission is free.

* Saturday evening events includes "North Carolina Poets: This is the Place Where I Live," a stage performance celebrating 100 years of North Carolina poetry in song, dance and recitation. The free performance begins at 7:30 p.m. in Lipinsky Auditorium.

* An innovation production of Shakespeare's "Macbeth" will be staged by Theatre UNCA October 5-8 in the Carol Belk Theatre. For curtain times and tickets, call 828/232-2291.

* Three art exhibits will be on view during Fall Celebration. "American Indian Art, Past and Present," will be open daily in the Blowers Gallery, Ramsey Library. A Chancellor's Installation exhibit will be on view in Ramsey Library lobby, and an Alumni Art Exhibit will open with a reception at 5:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 6, in University Gallery, Owen Hall.

* Seven alumni reunions will be held during Fall Celebration. On Friday, Oct. 6, Undergraduate Research alumni will meet at 8:30 a.m. in Karpen Hall lobby; Teaching Fellows and Education alumni, 10 a.m. in Zagier Hall lobby; History alumni, 4 p.m. in Carmichael Hall lobby; and Biology alumni, 4 p.m. in Robinson Hall lobby. On Saturday, Oct. 7, Psychology alumni will meet at 11 a.m. in the second floor Zagier Hall lobby; Foreign Languages alumni, 3 p.m. Karpen Hall lobby; and Mathematics alumni, 4 p.m. Robinson Hall, lower level.

For more information about UNCA's Fall Celebration or for a brochure, call 828/251-6600, or visit Web site.

Media Contacts:

• Ed Subkis, WCQS Public Radio, 254-6835 or 800-768-6698
• UNCA Public Information, 828/251-6526