University of Richmond

w Two meetings will update the community on plans to expand First Market Stadium, the campus multi-purpose stadium. Jim Miller, director of intercollegiate activities will lead the discussions. The first will take place at 7 p.m. April 1 at Jepson Hall, Room 118 (building 17 on the campus map (see www.richmond.edu/visit/directions/campusmap.pdf). The second will beheld at 7 p.m. April 29 at Weinstein Hall, Brown-Alley Room (building 8 on the campus map). Registration for the sessions is requested. To register or for more information, call 289-8694. For complete information about the stadium project, visit the First Market Stadium Expansion Info Center online at richmondspiders.cstv.com/facilities/stadium-updates.html.

w A one-time Harvard University dropout, now a professor at the university's John F. Kennedy School of Government, will join the first black woman to become a tenured professor at Harvard's law school in the final two programs of the Jepson/WILL Forum on Rhetoric & Reality, both April 2 at the University of Richmond's Jepson Alumni Center. Marshall Ganz, the public policy lecturer who dropped out of Harvard to become a civil rights organizer, will speak on "Leading Social Change: Relationships, Story and Strategy" at noon. Lani Guinier, a law professor and civil rights scholar, will discuss "The Next Vanguard in Civil Rights —Abandoning the Myth of Meritocracy" at 7 p.m.  Seating is limited for the Ganz luncheon, and reservations are required. Contact Shannon Best at 804-287-6522 or sbest@richmond.edu for reservations. Tickets are free but required for the Guinier lecture and can be reserved by calling 804-289-8980.  

w Joseph Wu, Taiwan's chief governmental representative to the United States, will speak at the university April 3 on "Taiwan and the United States: Partners in Security, Prosperity and Democracy." Wu's talk will focus on Taiwan's key role in global high-tech commerce, Chinese culture, Sino-American relations and American policy in Asia. It takes place at Jepson Hall, Room 118, and begins at 4 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. A reception will follow. 

w The men's basketball team will face the faculty of Tuckahoe Middle School  on April 10. The exhibition game will benefit the National Arthritis Foundation (NAF). The event will honor Dymond Carle, a Tuckahoe MS sixth-grader who suffers from juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. NAF representatives will sell tickets at the door to the Tuckahoe MS community for $5 each, and all proceeds go directly to the cause.

w The university will inaugurate Edward L. Ayers as its ninth president April 10-11 during two days of festivities that will include a historical symposium, installation ceremony, environmental awareness activities, campus open-houses, cultural events and musical celebration. Ayers' inauguration will coincide with the university's annual Reunion Weekend April 11-13 so that both local and out-of-town alumni can participate in both events. Other events taking place on campus throughout the inauguration and Reunion Weekend include: campus open houses by the university's schools of arts and sciences, business, continuing studies, law, and leadership studies, and at the Bonner Center for Civic Engagement; University Players performances of "The Meeting"; and art exhibits at the Joel and Lila Harnett Museum of Art, Lora Robins Gallery of Design from Nature, and Joel and Lila Harnett Print Study Center. The Virginia Baptist Historical Society will present an exhibit, "The Richmond Adventure: A Historical Overview of the University of Richmond." Admission to all exhibits is free and open to the public. Tickets to the play are for sale at the Modlin Center Box Office. For more information about the inauguration, call 804-287-1800.

w NASA astronaut and University of Richmond graduate Leland Melvin will present "Reaching for the Stars" at the Robins Center at 2 p.m. April 13. During the multimedia interactive presentation, Melvin will talk about his experiences as an astronaut and his recent space shuttle flight to the International Space Station. A space suit model, Mars rover, astronaut food tray and other items used during space travel will be on display. A brief question-and-answer session will follow, and autographed lithographs of Melvin will be distributed. The event is free and open to the public. Last month, Melvin and six other members of the space shuttle Atlantis crew completed a 13-day, 5.3 million mile mission to expand the size and research capabilities of the International Space Station. Melvin operated the shuttle's robotic arm.