What mental health issues affect child refugees? How can physicians in Maine treat diseases typically found in Africa? What cultural barriers come between refugees from Africa and their American healthcare providers?

These are among topics at issue Oct. 15-17 as ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College hosts African Refugee Health: Best Practices, a regional conference also sponsored by, and presenting from, St. Mary’s Health System and the Central Maine Medical Family in Lewiston, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Following a poster presentation of public health research, conference registration begins at 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 15, on the ground floor of the college’s Pettengill Hall, 4 Andrews Road (Alumni Walk). The keynote presentations (see below) and a are open to the public at no cost, but advance tickets are required.

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Attendance fees for the conference workshops vary, but undergraduate students and ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ faculty may attend at no cost and scholarships are available for African attendees. To register for the paid presentations, to obtain tickets for free events or to learn more, visit or contact Brenda Pelletier at this bpelleti@bates.edu.

Offering keynote presentations at 6:30 p.m. Friday are Dr. Patricia Walker, medical director at HealthPartners Center for International Health in Minnesota and co-editor of the pioneering textbook Immigrant Medicine; and Dr. Martin Cetron, director of the CDC’s Division of Global Migration and Quarantine, which handles refugee health at the federal level.

Closing the conference with a keynote address at 11 a.m. Sunday is Dr. Richard Mollica, director of the Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma and author of Healing Invisible Wounds: Paths to Hope and Recovery in a Violent World.

The public events take place in the Olin Arts Center at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½, 75 Russell St. Presenting research in health, public health and medicine, the poster session precedes the conference at 4 p.m. on the 15th in Perry Atrium, Pettengill Hall.

Conference background

The conference’s nearly three dozen presenters include healthcare workers from across the country and beyond; faculty in diverse disciplines from ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ and other colleges; and interpreters, social workers, counselors and other experts in breaching cultural factors that impede refugee access to healthcare. (See bios of conference presenters.)

The roster is “unique in that we’ve tapped the expertise of the population we are trying to serve by recruiting African healthcare providers and refugees” as presenters, explains Dr. Alice Haines, a conference organizer. A primary care physician in Lewiston, Haines has worked with African patients here and at a refugee camp in Daadab, Kenya, that hosts hundreds of thousands of mostly Somali refugees.

She adds, “We’re pleased to partner with CDC for this event, and hope it will provide tools to help clinicians and public health professionals better serve refugees in their communities.”

The conference also stands out because it will provide both clinical and public health perspectives on the issue of refugee healthcare. “The physicians alone, the nurses alone, the anthropologists and public-health people alone can’t do this,” says ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ psychology professor Kathryn Low, another conference organizer.

“It takes everybody to solve the problem” of providing healthcare to people who are poor, may not speak or read English and who remain unaccustomed to Western medicine and society.

Haines and Low put the event together with Walker, an internationally recognized expert on refugee and immigrant healthcare. The three “wanted to add to the understanding of the distinctive medical and mental health needs of African refugees,” says Haines, “and celebrate the knowledge and effort amassed in Maine, particularly in Lewiston and Auburn,” over years of African settlement in the state.

The mechanisms of healthcare for immigrants and refugees “have had to be invented as we go along,” she says. “I think this community has done pretty well at welcoming them.”

Public health in the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ curriculum

Low is the coordinator of the college’s new general-education concentration in public health, which ranges across the disciplines from anthropology and biology to politics and women and gender studies. Reflecting the college’s ethos of community engagement, the concentration is distinctive for an institution of ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½’ size and, with its emphasis on local engagement, unique among the college’s peers in New England.

Public health as taught at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ “has a very strong social justice piece,” Low says. “People shouldn’t face obstacles to getting care.”

The Maine Community Foundation and the Office of Minority Health at the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention are also providing support for the conference.

Hello from ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½! Here is a preview of public events at the college in October 2010. Except as noted, these events are open to the public at no charge. (Where there is an admission fee, the cost for the general public appears first, followed by the cost for students and seniors.)

For a printable version: If you’re viewing this in the e-mail update, please click the headline above to go to the Events Schedule website. At the website, go to the bottom of the page and click “print”  (as in “print this page”) for the printable format.

For up-to-date events information throughout the month, see our page. Questions or comments? Contact events editor Doug Hubley at this calendar@bates.edu.

Friday, Oct. 1

4:15pm

Q&A with playwright-songwriter Ethan Lipton: , who performs with his band in an evening show today, offers a question-and-answer session expected to range through myriad aspects of living a creative life, from the specifics of crafting lyrics vs. spoken lines to the business of creativity.

Olin Arts Center, Room 104

6pm

Volleyball vs. Amherst.
Alumni Gymnasium

7:30pm

Concert: Ethan Lipton and His Orchestra. Likened to “a peek into a curio shop from a hundred years ago” by The Village Voice, songwriter-playwright offers musically spare, conversationally scripted songs about bicycles, life, death, guilt and pets. Tickets are $10 and available at www.batestickets.com. FMI: 207-786-6135 or this olinarts@bates.edu.
Olin Arts Center Concert Hall

8pm

Global Lens film: Please note that Saturday screenings of the Global Lens series have been discontinued, but 6pm Monday shows are now offered. And the location has changed for all Global Lens screenings: The new location is the Ronj, ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½’ student-run coffeehouse. Tonight, the international series presents (Peru, 2008, 91 min.). Sponsored by the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College Museum of Art. Admission: $5. FMI: 207-786-6135 or this olinarts@bates.edu.
The Ronj, 32 Frye St.

Saturday, Oct. 2

Time TBA

Women’s golf: ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Scramble.
Martindale Country Club, Auburn

1:30pm

Volleyball vs. Middlebury.
Alumni Gymnasium

Sunday, Oct. 3

5:30pm

Spiritual gathering: Protestant worship service, emphasizing gospel music led by the gospel choir. The Rev. William Bill Blaine-Wallace, multifaith chaplain, leads the service with faculty, staff and students participating. All are welcome. FMI: 207-786-8272.
ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College Chapel

7:30pm

Concert: Naomi Shelton and The Gospel Queens. This acclaimed brings a soulful blend of gospel and R&B to ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½. The ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Gospelaires, a student ensemble, opens. Learn more. Tickets are $16/$8 and available at www.batestickets.com. FMI: 207-786-6135 or this olinarts@bates.edu.
Olin Arts Center Concert Hall

Monday, Oct. 4

6pm

Global Lens film: (see Oct. 1).
The Ronj, 32 Frye St.

7pm

Lecture: In Evolution of Morality, economist Herbert proposes that human morality results from a dynamic interplay of culture and genes. Hosted by the mathematics department and sponsored by the Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholar Program, which makes distinguished scholars available to colleges and universities with Phi Beta Kappa chapters. FMI: 207-786-6146.
Pettengill Hall, Keck Classroom (G52)

7:30pm

Lecture: Living Downstream: A Scientist’s Personal Investigation of Cancer and the Environment by Sandra , who wrote the first published work correlating data on toxic releases with data from cancer registries. The annual Otis Lecture is made possible by the Philip J. Otis Endowment at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½. Free admission, but tickets required. FMI: 207-786-6135 or this olinarts@bates.edu.
Olin Arts Center Concert Hall

Tuesday, Oct. 5

12:30pm

Noonday Concert: Performer TBA. FMI: Contact 207-786-6135 or this olinarts@bates.edu.
Olin Arts Center Concert Hall

4pm

Men’s soccer vs. Southern Maine.
Russell Street Field

Wednesday, Oct. 6

6–9±è³¾

Figure drawing sponsored by the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College Museum of Art. Artists, bring drawing board and supplies! Easels provided. Admission: $7 (free for ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ students).
Olin Arts Center, Room 259

7:30pm

Concert: . Violinist Chiara Banchini leads this award-winning European early-music ensemble in chamber works and concerti by Albinoni, Muffat, Albicastro and J.S Bach. Tickets are $10/$4 and available at www.batestickets.com. FMI: 207-786-6135 or this olinarts@bates.edu.
Olin Arts Center Concert Hall

Thursday, Oct. 7

4:15pm

Lecture: Episodic Memory in Primates by Bennett Schwartz, a specialist in memory and a psychology professor at Florida International University. Episodic memory means our ability to recollect individual events from our personal past. Often considered the sole domain of human beings, recent research suggests that other animals are capable of remembering episodically as well. Sponsored by the psychology department.
Pettengill Hall, Room G52

Friday–Sunday Oct. 8–10

Parents and Family Weekend: See the full weekend schedule.

Friday, Oct. 8

8pm

Contradance: Traditional New England folk dancing to the band Bustopher Jones. No experience needed; all dances taught and called. Beginners’ workshop at 7:30. Admission $5. Sponsored by the Freewill Folk Society.
Chase Hall Lounge

8pm

Global Lens film: Please note that Saturday screenings of the Global Lens series have been discontinued, but 6pm Monday shows are now offered. And the location has changed for all Global Lens screenings: The new location is the Ronj, ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½’ student-run coffeehouse. Tonight, the international film series presents Masquerades (Algeria, 2008, 92 min.). Sponsored by the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College Museum of Art. Admission: $5. FMI: 207-786-6135 or this olinarts@bates.edu.
The Ronj, 32 Frye St.

Saturday, Oct. 9

9am

Men’s tennis: Wallach Invitational
Wallach Tennis Center

11am

Men’s soccer vs. Williams.
Russell Street Field

Noon

Dance performance: The ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College Modern Dance Company features work by students, faculty members Rachel Boggia and Debi Irons, and guest choreographer Monica Bill Barnes. Free; no reservations. The show will last just under an hour.
Schaeffer Theatre

Field hockey vs. Williams.
Campus Avenue Field

1pm

Football vs. Williams, in the first official game on the newly renovated , featuring a state-of-the-art FieldTurf playing surface and a new scoreboard and grandstand.
Garcelon Field

2pm

Spiritual gathering: A celebration of the Hindu holiday of Navratri with Kirtan chanting led by Unitarian Universalist minister Ben Fowler. Details are tentative; contact the Multifaith Chaplaincy for more information at 207-786-8272 or this aberard@bates.edu.
ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College Chapel

Women’s soccer vs. Williams.
Russell Street Field

3:30pm

Exhibition opening: Les Femmes du Maroc: An Exhibition by Lalla Essaydi. Nick Capasso, senior curator at the DeCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, offers a gallery talk on Essaydi and the exhibition (described under ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College Museum of Art below). Reception follows. Sponsored by the museum, the Davis Family Foundation and the Harward Center for Community Partnerships. FMI: 207-786-6158 or this museum@bates.edu.
Olin Arts Center, ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College Museum of Art

7:30pm

Concert: The Rest Is Music, a program of new work by the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Composers Society, a campus-wide community of composers and musicians. Free, but tickets required. FMI: 207-786-6135 or this olinarts@bates.edu.
Olin Arts Center Concert Hall

Sunday, Oct. 10

Time TBA

Men’s golf: ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Invitational.
Martindale Country Club, Auburn

9am

Men’s tennis: Wallach Invitational.
Wallach Tennis Center

Noon

Dance performance: Modern Dance Company (see Oct. 9).
Schaeffer Theatre

5:30pm

Spiritual gathering: Protestant worship service (see Oct. 3).
ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College Chapel

Monday, Oct. 11

4:30pm

Lecture: Helping People and Orangutans Through Video, a presentation of Phillips Fellowship-supported work by Robert Little ’12. Sponsored by the dean of the faculty’s office. FMI: 207-753-6952.
Chase Hall Lounge

6pm

Global Lens film: Masquerades (see Oct. 8).
The Ronj, 32 Frye St.

7:30pm

Reading: Novelist Debra Spark, author of The Ghost of Bridgetown and Good for the Jews. The Language Arts Live series is sponsored by the English department, the Learning Associates Program, the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Humanities Fund, the programs in African American studies and American cultural studies, and the John Tagliabue Poetry fund. FMI: 207-786-6326 or 207-786-6256, or this rfarnsworth@bates.edu or this eosucha@bates.edu.
Chase Hall, Skelton Lounge

Tuesday, Oct. 12

12:30pm

Noonday Concert: Music’s Quill. FMI: 207-786-6135 or this olinarts@bates.edu.
Olin Arts Center Concert Hall

4pm

Men’s soccer vs. Amherst.
Russell Street Field

Wednesday, Oct. 13

3:30pm

Women’s soccer vs. Maine-Farmington.
Russell Street Field

4:30pm

Lecture: Unite for Sight by Emily Howe ’11 and Beyond the Culture of War by Theodore Sutherland ’11 are presentations of Phillips Fellowship-supported work. Sponsored by the dean of the faculty’s office. FMI: 207-753-6952.
Chase Hall Lounge

5pm

Field hockey vs. Southern Maine
Campus Avenue Field

6pm

Lecture: Artist Wally Reinhardt discusses his work in the exhibition Metamorphoses: A Collaboration with Ovid (described under ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College Museum of Art below). Sponsored by the museum, the programs in classical and medieval studies and interdisciplinary studies, and the Division of Humanities. FMI: 207-786-6158 or this museum@bates.edu.
Olin Arts Center, Room 104

6–9±è³¾

Figure drawing sponsored by the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College Museum of Art (see Oct. 6).
Olin Arts Center, Room 259

7:30pm

Panel discussion: Wrestling with School Reform in Maine: National Strategies, Local Realities. Panelists include Glenn Cummings of the U.S. Department of Education; Norm Fruchter of the Annenberg Institute for School Reform, Brown University; and representatives from Maine school systems. Part of the Harward Center for Community Partnerships’ Civic Forum series. FMI: 207-786-6202.
Edmund S. Muskie Archives

Thursday, Oct. 14

7:30pm

Concert: Two beloved chamber works — Dvorák’s “American” Quartet and Schubert’s “Trout” Quintet — are performed by two prominent names in Maine music, the DaPonte String Quartet and pianist Chiharu Naruse of ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½â€™ applied music faculty. Admission is free, but tickets required. FMI: 207-786-6135 or this olinarts@bates.edu.
Olin Arts Center Concert Hall

Friday, Oct. 15

4pm

Poster session: Celebrating the development of an undergraduate public health concentration at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½, the poster presentation Health, Public Health and Medicine precedes the African Refugee Health conference (see next item).
Pettengill Hall, Perry Atrium

6:30pm

Conference: Keynote lectures by prominent experts in refugee healthcare begin the three-day conference African Refugee Health: Best Practices: A Clinical and Public Health Perspective. Speakers are: Martin Cetron, director of the CDC’s Division of Global Migration and Quarantine, and Patricia Walker, medical director of the Center for International Health in Minnesota. Sponsored by ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½; the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; the Central Maine Medical Family; and St. Mary’s Health System. Space is limited and reservations required. Contact 786-6400 or this bpelleti@bates.com, or visit the website.
Olin Arts Center Concert Hall

7:30pm

Theater: Fuddy Meers by David Lindsay-Abaire. For an independent study, Michelle Schloss ’12 directs this story of an amnesiac who awakens each morning as a blank slate on which her husband and teenage son must re-imprint the facts of her life. Free; no reservations. FMI: 207-786-6161.
Black Box Theater

8pm

Global Lens film: Please note that Saturday screenings of the Global Lens series have been discontinued, but 6pm Monday shows are now offered. And the location has changed for all Global Lens screenings: The new location is the Ronj, ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½’ student-run coffeehouse. Tonight, the international film series presents Leo’s Room (Uruguay, 2009, 92 min.). Sponsored by the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College Museum of Art. Admission: $5. FMI: 207-786-6135 or this olinarts@bates.edu.
The Ronj, 32 Frye St.

Saturday, Oct. 16

11am

Men’s soccer vs. Wesleyan.
Russell Street Field

Noon

Field hockey vs. Wesleyan.
Campus Avenue Field

1pm

Football vs. Wesleyan.
Garcelon Field

2pm

Spiritual gathering: A celebration of the Hindu holiday of Navratri with yoga and Kirtan chanting. Details are tentative; contact the Multifaith Chaplaincy for more information at 207-786-8272 or this aberard@bates.edu.
Benjamin Mays Center

Women’s soccer vs. Wesleyan.
Russell Street Field

7pm

Performance: Performers from Africa appear in conjunction with the weekend African Refugee Health conference. Featured are spoken word poetry by IBe, readings by Somali poet/playwright Omar Ahmed and Somali rap by Jamal and Friends. Space is limited and reservations required. Contact 786-6400 or this bpelleti@bates.com, or visit the website.
Olin Arts Center Concert Hall

7:30pm

Performance: Fuddy Meers (see Oct. 15).
Black Box Theater

Sunday, Oct. 17

11am

Lecture: Dr. Richard Mollica, director of the Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma, offers a keynote address on a topic TBA to conclude the conference African Refugee Health: Best Practices (see Oct. 15). Space is limited and reservations required. Contact 786-6400 or this bpelleti@bates.com, or visit the website.
Olin Arts Center Concert Hall

2pm

Performance: Fuddy Meers (see Oct. 15).
Black Box Theater

5:30pm

Spiritual gathering: Protestant worship service (see Oct. 3).
ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College Chapel

6pm

Spiritual gathering: A celebration of the Hindu holiday of Navratri with traditional prayers, dance and food. Details are tentative; contact the Multifaith Chaplaincy for more information at 207-786-8272 or this aberard@bates.edu.
Benjamin Mays Center

7:30pm

Concert: After an amazing performance at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ in 2008, Israeli bassist Avishai Cohen returns with his highly personal Aurora project, reflecting Israel as a crossroads of many cultures. Tickets are $12/6 and available at . FMI: 207-786-6135 or this olinarts@bates.edu.
Olin Arts Center Concert Hall

Monday, Oct. 18

Time TBA

Poetry reading: Meena Alexander, author of six highly regarded volumes of poetry and diverse other works, is tentatively scheduled to read from her writings. Please visit the page for further information, or call 207-786-8294.
Benjamin Mays Center

6pm

Global Lens film: Leo’s Room (see Oct. 15).
The Ronj, 32 Frye St.

7:30pm

Lecture: Taiwan’s Health Reforms: Lessons for the U.S. and Maine by William Hsiao, a professor of economics at the Harvard School of Public Health and architect of Taiwan’s universal health care system. Part of the Harward Center for Community Partnerships’ Civic Forum series. FMI: 207-786-6202.
Edmund S. Muskie Archives

Tuesday, Oct. 19

12:30pm

Noonday Concert: Performer TBA. FMI: Contact 207-786-6135 or this olinarts@bates.edu.
Olin Arts Center Concert Hall

3:30pm

Women’s soccer vs. St. Joseph’s.
Russell Street Field

5pm

Field hockey vs. New England College.
Campus Avenue Field

Wednesday, Oct. 20

6–9±è³¾

Figure drawing sponsored by the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College Museum of Art (see Oct. 6).
Olin Arts Center, Room 259

Wednesday–Friday, Oct. 20–22

Fall Recess: No classes, but administrative offices remain open.

Sunday, Oct. 24

5:30pm

Spiritual gathering: Protestant worship service (see Oct. 3).
ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College Chapel

Monday, Oct. 25

4pm

Lecture: Kiado Cruz, community organizer for a food-sovereignty network in Mexico, speaks on sustainable agriculture, community organizing and effects of U.S. trade policies and increasing privatization. Organized by the Latin American studies concentration faculty with support from a Mellon Innovation Grant, the environmental studies program and the anthropology department. FMI: 207-786-8295.
Pettengill Hall, Room G21

Tuesday, Oct. 26

12:30pm

Noonday Concert: Jazz by two members of the faculty, guitarist John Smedley of the physics department and pianist Tom Snow, director of the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Jazz Band. FMI: 207-786-6135 or this olinarts@bates.edu.
Olin Arts Center Concert Hall

Wednesday, Oct. 27

6–9±è³¾

Figure drawing sponsored by the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College Museum of Art (see Oct. 6).
Olin Arts Center, Room 259

Thursday, Oct. 28

7:30pm

Reading: One of Maine’s best-known poets and poetry advocates, Wesley McNair has written eight collections of poetry including this year’s Lovers of the Lost. For more about the Language Arts Live series, see Oct. 11.
Chase Hall, Skelton Lounge

Friday, Oct. 29

3pm

Field hockey vs. Colby.
Campus Avenue Field

4pm

Men’s soccer vs. Colby.
Russell Street Field

8pm

Global Lens film: Please note that Saturday screenings of the Global Lens series have been discontinued, but 6pm Monday shows are now offered. And the location has changed for all Global Lens screenings: The new location is the Ronj, ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½’ student-run coffeehouse. Tonight, the international film series presents My Tehran for Sale (Iran, 2009, 97 min.). Sponsored by the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College Museum of Art. Admission: $5. FMI: Contact 207-786-6135 or this olinarts@bates.edu.
The Ronj, 32 Frye St.

Saturday, Oct. 30

TBA

Men’s and women’s tennis: Alumni Match.
Wallach Tennis Center

1pm

Football vs. Colby.
Garcelon Field

Sunday, Oct. 31

5:30pm

Spiritual gathering: Protestant worship service (see Oct. 3).
ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College Chapel

Exhibition

Oct. 8–17

In celebration of the Hindu holiday of Navratri, images and statues of Hindu goddesses are displayed. FMI: 207-786-8272 or this aberard@bates.edu.
ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College Chapel

ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College Museum of Art

Museum hours: 10am-5pm Tuesday-Saturday. FMI: 207-786-6158 or this museum@bates.edu.

Oct. 8–Dec. 18
Les Femmes du Maroc: An Exhibition by Lalla Essaydi: The images in Essaydi’s most recent body of work present Moroccan women in staged narratives. These women inhabit a place that is literally and entirely circumscribed by text, written by the artist herself directly on their bodies, apparel and surroundings. The photographs, based on 19th-century Orientalist paintings, critique contemporary social structures, but simultaneously confront historical attitudes that have helped construct representations of Arab women. Made possible by the Lois and Richard England Family Foundation and the Davis Family Foundation.

Metamorphoses: A Collaboration with Ovid by Wally Reinhardt: Reinhardt since the 1980s has focused his work solely on interpreting Ovid’s Metamorphoses. His gouaches vividly bring to life many of the favorite characters of classical mythology. Reinhardt’s exhibition is offered in co-sponsorship with the programs in classical and medieval studies and in interdisciplinary studies, and by the Division of Humanities.