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California State University, Fresno’s Centennial celebration kicks into a higher gear with a Homecoming week of activities culminating in a parade through campus, the Tailgate of the Century and a football game against New Mexico State all on Oct. 16.

A centerpiece event of the week is the Fresno State Alumni Association’s Top Dog Alumni Awards Gala, recognizing individuals from throughout the university who have distinguished themselves after leaving campus. The gala begins at 5:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 15, in the Save Mart Center.

Athletics kicks off the week with a Western Athletic Conference soccer game in Bulldog Stadium between the Bulldogs and Hawai’i at 1 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 10.

At 3 p.m., the Armenian Studies program hosts a reception for alumni and supporters at the Henry Madden Library and there will be a “History of Jazz Band A” concert, featuring an alumni combo, at 8 p.m. in the Concert Hall of the Music Building.

On Monday, Oct. 11, student Homecoming events begin at 11 a.m.-1 p.m. with the traditional minibike races, “Jeopardy!”-style trivia contests, music and more, followed by daily activities leading up to Saturday.

At 4 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 13, the College of Arts and Humanities begins its Centennial Exhibit at the Leon S. Peters Ellipse Gallery on the second floor of the Table Mountain Rancheria Tower at the Henry Madden Library. The exhibit – part of the college’s monthlong Centennial celebration – begins an intensive run of events that will bring distinguished alumni to campus.

Highlights of the college’s events:

• Thursday, Oct. 14, Smittcamp Alumni House – Posthumous induction of Roger Tatarian into the Mass Communication and Journalism Alumni & Friends Hall of Fame. Mr. Tatarian retired from a distinguished journalism career as editor in chief of United Press International to become a Fresno State professor and mentor to a generation of journalism practitioners.
• Oct. 14, Leon S. and Pete P. Peters Education Center (in Student Recreation Center) – Phebe McClatchy Conley Centennial lecture by Dr. Carlos Noreña, a University of California history professor whose expertise is the Roman Empire.
• Friday, Oct. 15 – Distinguished alumni panel discussions organized by the departments of Communication, Music, Mass Communication and Journalism, Art and Design, Linguistics, English, Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures, Philosophy and Theatre Arts.
• Saturday, Oct. 16 – Film screenings of “Ratatouille” (1 p.m., Alice Peters Auditorium, University Business Center) and “The Wild Bunch” (4 p.m., Peters Education Center), by alumni Brad Lewis and Sam Peckinpah, respectively.

Oct. 16’s events will bring thousands to campus to mark Fresno State’s 100-year metamorphosis from a teacher-training school in 1911 to a broadly diverse, community-serving 21st century university distinguished by academics, research and athletics.

The “Tailgate of the Century” begins at 1:30 p.m. in the Peace Garden, adjacent to the library and will continue until 6:30, an hour before the football game kickoff. The event, sponsored by the Fresno State Alumni Association, will include a tri-tip dinner ($35 per person) and appearances by the Spirit Squad, TimeOut and the Fresno State Bulldog Marching Band.

Tailgaters also will be able to view the parade as it passes through campus.

The parade, featuring vintage cars, floats and other attractions, steps off at 3 p.m. from a parking lot north of the Save Mart Center. The route runs north on Woodrow Avenue, west on Barstow Avenue, south on Campus Drive and then the sidewalk to Keats Avenue, then east to the Smittcamp Alumni House and back to the parking lot.

Halftime activities at the football game will include recognition of the Top Dog Alumni Award winners and a Centennial salute by the marching band. After the game, which will be televised nationally on ESPNU, there will be a brief fireworks display.

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PHILADELPHIA – The Morris Arboretum will host a dedication ceremony for its new $13 million Horticulture Center at Bloomfield Farm, across the street from the Arboretum’s public garden, at 11 a.m., Oct. 5. The Horticulture Center marks the first new building to be built on the property since the founding of the Morris Arboretum in the early 1900s. 

University of Pennsylvania President Amy Gutmann will speak at the dedication ceremony as well as Dorrance Hamilton who has been a key supporter of the Horticulture Center.  Also in attendance will be Peter and Bonnie McCausland, long-time Morris Arboretum supporters and now, the Arboretum’s new neighbors at Erdenheim Farm. Both Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell and State Sen. Steward Greenleaf have the dedication on their calendars.

 The completion of the new Horticulture Center Complex at Bloomfield signifies a time of great excitement and achievement for the Morris Arboretum. The complex utilizes modern sustainable energy and water management technologies, reflecting the stewardship and teaching intentions of its founders, John and Lydia Morris. Designed and built to achieve LEED® Platinum standards, the highest rating of the US Green Building Council, the Horticulture Center is a demonstration of best land use practices of our time. 

Some of the design features of the Horticulture Complex that will qualify it for Platinum Level LEED® Certification include the following:

• An efficient ground-source heat pump will provide heating and air conditioning for the building, using only about one-forth the energy of a typical boiler/air conditioning system.
• Photovoltaic panels will provide on-site generation of renewable energy, with peak electricity production during the hot summer months when the demand for electrical power is highest.
• The building will be well insulated to eliminate infiltration of outside air and reduce the energy lost through the walls.
• Fresh air will be maximized for ventilation inside the building.
• Solar hot water heaters will provide much of the building’s hot water.
• Storm water will be collected in cisterns and used to flush toilets and provide water for irrigation.
• The building’s lighting system is designed to take full advantage of natural daylight and minimize energy use by using skylights and roof monitors to supplement artificial lighting.  Photocell sensors will automatically dim the electric lights in use on bright days to reduce energy use.
• Rain gardens and other collection systems were built to mitigate storm water run off
• The green roofs on the equipment storage garages will capture and absorb rain, slowing the surge of stormwater to the site drainage system.  A green roof also helps reduce the ambient summer temperature by providing a cool roof surface instead of the “heat island” associated with most asphalt or rubber roofs. The two green roofs on the garages are very visible examples of sustainability.  The 4-bay garage has a four inch deep planting area with various types of sedum.  The 6-bay garage roof is eight inches deep and was planted by hand with an experimental mix of plant species including north American species and other plants that are native to this region. 

The newly created Horticulture Center will provide flexible work space for the Arboretum’s horticulture, education, maintenance, and facilities staff, providing important infrastructure for staff and equipment.. The 20,840-square-foot facility will provide space for staff to manage their extensive responsibilities for the Morris Arboretum’s 167-acre property in the most efficient and cost-effective manner possible.  It will contain:

• 24 office spaces

• Two conference rooms

• Kitchen

• Break room

• Men’s and women’s locker rooms

• Mechanic and arborists shop

• Storage for Arboretum vehicles including trucks, garden carts, lawn mowers and other large equipment

The added space will enhance research opportunities, providing additional room for preserving and studying the Arboretum’s plant collection.  It will also provide suitable storage and maintenance areas for the variety of equipment needed to care for the property.  The new complex is not open to casual visitors to the Morris Arboretum, but will be open for scheduled tours and special events.

The Horticulture Center was designed by architects from Overland Partners of San Antonio, TX, Muscoe Martin of Philadelphia’s M2 Architecture, and Adropogon Associates, Morris Arboretum’s Philadelphia based landscape planning partner since 1977.

The overarching goals for the Arboretum’s new Horticulture Center include creating a “forward looking” building of national significance that incorporates the highest standards in sustainable principles. It is a structure that is respectful of its site and surroundings, and a facility that meets programmatic needs for the Morris Arboretum. It presents a vision whose time has come.

John and Lydia Morris purchased the Bloomfield Farm property in 1913, establishing a working farm with rich soils and a working mill with water rights. The farm provided fresh food for the household, and supplied animal feed, vegetables, poultry and dairy products for the community.

The Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania is located at 100 East Northwestern Avenue in the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia.  The 92-acre horticulture display garden features a spectacular collection of mature trees in a beautiful and colorful landscape. The Arboretum features numerous picturesque spots such as a formal rose garden, Japanese gardens, swan pond, an elegant Fernery and the 2010 Best of Philly Award Winning Out on a Limb canopy walk that transports you 50 feet above the ground.  The Morris Arboretum is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is the official arboretum of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. For more information, please visit www.morrisarboretum.org.

PULLMAN – The geology and sacred and commercial history of the Himalaya mountains will be the focus of the free public Common Reading Tuesday faculty lecture at 7 p.m. Sept. 7 in Smith CUE 203.   The mountain system supplies water to one-fifth of the world’s population. John Watkinson, professor of geology, will discuss that, as well as: why earthquakes occur there; why the mountains are the largest and tallest on earth; and how they interact with global weather patterns.   The Himalaya system is the setting of this years WSU Pullman freshman Common Reading book, “Stones into Schools: Promoting Peace with Books, not Bombs, in Afghanistan and Pakistan.”   For more than 40 years, Watkinson has worked in and visited the world’s major mountain systems, from the Andes to the Pyrenees. However, none made an impression as great as the Himalaya.   These mountains are superlative in all senses – the tallest, the prime water source for Asia, the lure for extreme climbers, and the best 3D view of mountain geology on the planet, he said. This has been the motivation and inspiration for all my years teaching tectonics at WSU.   And in the context of this marvelous geography, we should remember that for several thousand years (these mountains) also have been a place of sanctuary and pilgrimage, religious monuments, and at the heart of Asian trade routes.   The Himalaya: A Great Convergence of Tectonic Plates, Sanctuary, Myth and Imagination is hosted by the Common Reading program at WSU Pullman.   The Common Reading Tuesdays lecture series will continue through the 2010-11 academic year, with author Greg Mortenson speaking on Jan. 26 in Beasley coliseum. Upcoming lectures will feature WSU faculty, staff and guests presenting topics related to this years book.   The Common Reading program is an initiative of the University College at WSU.   Stones into Schools is WSU Pullmans fourth Common Reading book in as many years. As in years past, the book will be used in Freshman Focus and other classes across campus, as well as in library, residence hall and University College programming.
For more information, visit http://CommonReading.wsu.edu or www.facebook.com/CommonReading. For more information about University College, visit http://UniversityCollege.wsu.edu.

PHILADELPHIA — Marybeth Gasman, an associate professor in the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, will speak at the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities conference in Washington, D.C., during National HBCU Week, which runs Sept. 12-15.

Gasman and Nelson Bowman III, director of development at Prairie View A&M University of Texas, will speak about “Fundraising at HBCUs: An All-Campus Approach” on Monday, Sept. 13, at 2 p.m., at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City Hotel at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

Recently awarded the 2010 Ozell Sutton Medallion of Justice by the president of Philander Smith College in Little Rock, Ark., for her research on historically black colleges and universities, Gasman is an expert in African-American philanthropy and educational leadership. 

She’s the author of “Envisioning Black Colleges: A History of the United Negro College Fund” and “Understanding Minority-Serving Institutions.”