Fitness center opening delayed because of weather

The Student Recreation Fitness Center opening has been delayed until Sept. 23 because wet weather has slowed construction. The center originally was to open Sept. 15, but humidity has prevented workers from laying the wood floors and the jogging track. The basketball courts will now open in October. A dedication for the new facility is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 25.

Meal plan open for faculty and staff

Faculty, staff and students can sign up for the KU Cuisine meal plan and receive a 5 percent discount on campus food purchases with a $200 or higher deposit. The meal plan is a debit account accessed through the KUID card. For more information on how to register and where the card can be used, see www.kucuisine.com.

National security debates announced

Two debates on national security issues will take place Oct. 8 and 13 under the sponsorship of the KU debate program, the Office of International Programs and the Dole Institute of Politics. Faculty and students who would like to serve as debaters, researchers, advisers or information coordinators within the school should contact Diana Carlin, dean of the graduate school and international programs. This is part of a national debate project promoted by the United Nations Foundation and funded by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and the Open Society Institute.

Jazz group to present Columbia professor lecture

The Interdisciplinary Jazz Studies Group will present a lecture by Robert O’Meally, director of the Center for Jazz Studies at Columbia University in New York City, on Sept. 25 in Alderson Auditorium at the Kansas Union. O’Meally’s talk, “Louis Armstrong’s comic masks,” will begin at 7:30 p.m. KU’s Jazz Combo One will provide a pre-lecture concert at 6:30 p.m. The performance and lecture are free and open to the public.

Lied Center receives educational grants

The Lied Center has received a $7,500 Kansas Arts Commission grant to help fund educator workshops and residencies during the 2003-04 academic year. The Douglas County Community Foundation also underwrote a $2,000 grant to provide arts integration clinics for first- and second-grade teachers in Lawrence. The Lied Center also received three grants totaling $9,025 from the Mid-America Arts Alliance to assist with educator workshops.

Sabbatical leave applications due

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences faculty who wish to apply for sabbatical leave for the 2004-05 academic year must submit an endorsed application to the College office, 200 Strong Hall, by 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 19. (Self nominations are due in the Office of the Provost by Friday, Sept. 12.) Only the applications submitted to the College office by Sept. 19 will be forwarded to the Office of the Provost Nov. 3.

Schowen lecture features Scripps Research president

Richard Lerner, professor of molecular biology and president of the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, Calif., will give the inaugural Richard L. Schowen Lecture in Bioorganic Chemistry at 3:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 26, in Budig Hall. Lerner will speak about “Antibodies and Ozone.” The lecture will be free and open to the public. The Schowen lecture is funded by former students, colleagues and friends of Richard L. Schowen, who retired in July 2000.