ucla4u
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Photo by Reed Hutchinson UCLA
Photographic Services
Art historian Albert Boime kicks off the Professor in the
Union series for this school year. |
Lunch 'n' learn prove to be a popular combo
by anne burke
ucla today staff
In a meeting room in Ackerman Union during the lunch hour on a
recent Tuesday, the art historian and UCLA Professor Albert Boime
discussed the scientific realism in Vincent van Gogh’s “Starry
Night.” His audience listened attentively while biting into
gourmet chicken sandwiches.
This intellectual munchfest was part of what is quickly becoming
one of the hottest events on campus — a free lunch and lecture,
courtesy of ASUCLA.
The Associated Students launched the Professor in the Union program
last school year as a way to let faculty members meet and mingle
with the campus community in an environment that is casual but nourishing
— both intellectually and physically.
Each week, ASUCLA invites a faculty member to speak on a subject
of his or her choosing. Boime kicked off the current season with
an elucidation of how “Starry Night” is less the product
of a hallucinatory mind than an astronomically realistic depiction
of the sky at daybreak. Today, Professor Patricia Gilmore-Jaffe
speaks on “Toward More Confident Writing: Academic or Creative.”
Since its inception, the program has attracted 30 lecturers and
more than 1,000 attendees. Faculty and staff are welcome to join
the chow line. Events are so popular that diners line up early to
get a seat. “This is about the 10th one I’ve been to,”
said Maryam Zarkesh, a graduate student in education, as she waited
in line last quarter.
The meals, prepared by ASUCLA Catering, are as varied as the lecture
topics. Attendees may feast on gnocchi Bolognese one week and Japanese
food the next. Lunch is served on white china by bow-tied waiters
and waitresses.
Though speakers earn nothing more than a square meal and a round
of applause, professors are signing up in such numbers that there
is now a waitlist of those wishing to speak. To see a schedule of
upcoming speakers, go to www.asucla.ucla.edu/proser_pro.asp?ref=professor.
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