Coming events

The SIU men's tennis team hosts SIU-Edwardsville at 3 p.m., today, Wednesday, March 26, at University Courts. The match will be held at Sports Blast in Carbondale in case of inclement weather. Admission is free.

"Texas Gold," a film about Diane Wilson, a mother of five, and "one of the most dedicated and unlikely muckrakers of this generation," will be shown at 7 p.m., Wednesday, March 26, in the Student Center's Mississippi Room. A discussion will follow. Admission is free. The event is part of Women's History Month.

Shannon Jackson, a visiting lecturer/artist from the University of California at Berkeley, presents a free seminar and lecture, "What is the 'Social' in Social Practice? Experiments across the Visual Arts and Performance," at 3:30 p.m., Thursday, March 27, in the Kleinau Theater.

The annual Roxana Rivera Memorial Poetry Contest Ceremony is at 4 p.m., Thursday, March 27, in the Student Center Auditorium. Contest winners and the judge, poet Sandy Longhorn, will read from their works. Admission is free. The event is part of Women's History Month.

The seventh annual Health and Nutrition Fair is from 4 to 6 p.m., Thursday, March 27, in the lower level of Grinnell Hall. This year's fair has Las Vegas casino theme, "Cash in Your Chips: Take a Gamble on Good Nutrition," and hosts more than 20 exhibits from SIUC and the Carbondale community providing practical health and nutrition information and free gifts. University Housing sponsors the fair as part of National Nutrition Month, and will give the first 400 fairgoers a free "Take a Gamble on Good Nutrition" T-shirt. An mp3 player as well as many other prizes will be given away during the afternoon. The event is free.

Patrick J. Fitzgerald, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, presents the Morton-Kenney Public Affairs Lecture at 7 p.m., Thursday, March 27, in Shryock Auditorium. His prosecutorial career includes cases against former Illinois Gov. George Ryan on federal fraud and racketeering charges and former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby for obstruction, perjury and lying to the FBI in connection with a probe into the leaked identity of former CIA official Valerie Plame. Fitzgerald previously served 13 years in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, including chief of the Organized Crime-Terrorism Unit. Admission is free.

"Blood From a Stone: Mining Elemental Genealogies (a performance)," is performed Thursday through Saturday, March 27-29, in Kleinau Theater. Performances begin at 8 p.m. Tickets are $7 for the general public; $5 for students. To purchase tickets, call 618/453-5618.

The closing reception for Women's History Month: "Her-Story in the Making," is from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Friday, March 28, in the Student Center's J.W. Corker Lounge. The program begins at noon. Admission is free.

The SIU men's and women's track teams host its lone home regular season outdoor meet of the season Friday and Saturday, March 28-29, with the SIU/Gill Athletics Spring Classic at McAndrew Stadium. Field events begin at 2 p.m. Friday, and 10:30 a.m. Saturday, with running events starting at 11 a.m. Saturday. The Salukis will also host the Missouri Valley Conference track championships, May 16-18.

The New Arts Jazztet performs at 7:30 p.m., Friday, March 29, at Shryock Auditorium. Tickets are $7.50 apiece and available through Ticketmaster.

The SIUnity and Diversity Celebration Open House is from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Saturday, March 29, at the Student Center. Visitors have an opportunity to attend a myriad of activities, including attending information sessions, taking campus and housing tours, and meet individually with admissions, financial aid and housing representatives. A diversity celebration is planned at the end of the day. For more information, call 618/536-4405 or visit http://www.admissions.siu.edu/

The SIU women's softball team hosts Illinois State with a three-game homestand this weekend at Charlotte West Stadium. The Salukis face the Redbirds in a doubleheader that starts at noon, Saturday, March 29. The Salukis and Illinois State then play a single game to close out the series at noon, Sunday, March 30.

"Dinosaur World: Wire Sculpture 1," is 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., Saturday, March 29, at University Museum. The event coincides with an exhibit of dinosaurs and prehistoric animals sculpted by Fred Myers. Participants will make dinosaurs with wire. The free program is best suited for children ages 7 to 14, and participants must pre-register by calling the museum at 618/453-5388.

The Heartland Jazz Honor Bands and SIUC Studio Jazz Orchestra under the direction of Tyler K. Kuebler, assistant professor in the School of Music, perform at 3 p.m., Saturday, March 30, at Shryock Auditorium. The event is free.

A "Complementary Health Care Conference: What You Should Know," explores the past, present and future of complementary health care. The conference is set for 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Monday, March 31, in Student Center Ballroom D. The symposium also looks at legal, regulatory and consumer protection issues. The keynote speaker is Dr. Tierona Low Dog, a former member of the White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine. She is the director of education in the Program on Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona. Admission is free, but required for space and meal considerations. For more information, contact the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at 618/453-4009.

The seventh annual Undergraduate Research Forum is from 1 to 4 p.m., Monday, March 31, in the Student Center Ballrooms. The forum features dozens of poster presentations by students in a range of disciplines. Forum award winners and 2008-2009 Undergraduate Research/Creative Activity Awards will be announced at 3:30 p.m. Admission is free.

"Calling the Ghosts: A Retrospective Return to a Politics of Bodies in Abjection," documentary film screening and discussion is at 7 p.m., Monday, March 31, in the SIU Student Center's Mississippi Room. Admission is free. The event is part of Women's History Month.

The SIUC Jazz Ensemble from the School of Music performs classical music for babies through pre-kindergarten children in Klassics for Kids, at 10 a.m., Tuesday, April 1, in Altgeld Hall, Room 112. Performances are free.

Grammy Award winner Emanuel Ax, one of the world's greatest pianists, performs Beethoven's "Emperor" Concerto with the Southern Illinois Symphony Orchestra on Tuesday, April 1, in Shryock Auditorium. The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $55 apiece, $10 for students of any age and are available through Ticketmaster. In addition, the SIU Alumni Association is hosting a desert reception at $10 per person at 6 p.m. in Shryock Auditorium's upper lobby, and offering upper balcony tickets for $40 apiece.

A workshop from the Office of Research Development and Administration for proposal writing for graduate students will be held from 1:30 to 3 p.m. Wednesday, April 2, in Woody Hall, Room C-227. The free workshop will discuss the process of finding grant opportunities and writing proposals to external agencies to fund graduate research. Seating is limited, so call 618/453-4540 to reserve a seat.

The SIU women's softball team hosts St. Louis in a doubleheader Wednesday, April 2, at Charlotte West Stadium. The first game begins at 4 p.m.

The School of Music presents "Outside the Box," the second annual Festival of New Music at SIUC, April 3-16. "Outside the Box" features more than 20 concerts and events at various locations across campus and in Carbondale involving dozens of composers and musicians from SIUC plus a variety of guest composers, performers, and ensembles. Most concerts and events are free, all are open to the public.  For details about these and more events, visit "Outside the Box '08."