Welcome to Spring Semester

Welcome to Spring Semester at UAlbany! Before classes start tomorrow, help kick off the University’s 175th anniversary today with a celebration that includes giveaways, food and prizes.

The fun begins at 2 p.m. in the Campus Center Lobby – the main entrance off the Podium by the small fountain. Stop by for refreshments, speeches and some free commemorative items including T-shirts, beanies, stickers and cellphone kickstands. Stop by the activity stations for a chance to win $50 campus gift cards, courtesy of UAS. Strike a pose with friends at our selfie station and help spread the word about all the happening this spring at UAlbany.

Some of those happenings:

The Big Purple Growl and Ferocious Feast, Feb. 2

It’s the biggest indoor party of the year. The Ferocious Feast, from 5-6:45 p.m., includes a huge buffet, music, games and activities for all ages and free T-shirts for registered guests.

Then at 7 p.m. the men’s basketball team takes on Binghamton in the annual Big Purple Growl game. Come for the food, stay for the game. To register, contact the UAlbany Alumni Association.

The University Art Museum will reopen for the semester Feb. 1 with three new exhibitions by contemporary women artists.

Sculptor Nicole Cherubini incorporates wood, fiberboard and found objects into her primary medium – clay – and proposes distinct vantage points for viewingthe works in her installation, “we are here.”

Photographer Carrie Schneider’s “Rapt” features images of women reading, as well as large-scale back-and-white works that explore photo-based printing techniques.

Louise Lawler’s “Birdcalls 1972/81” is an installation of text and audio designed as a response to the way men and women artists are differently valued and portrayed. The audio loop turns the names of male artists into a series of birdcalls.

The New York State Writers Institute launches its spring season with a full array of visiting writers, workshops, film and panel events. Highlights include visits from writers Susan Orlean, Sarah Kessler, Richard Russo and T.C. Boyle.

On Jan. 28 “The Lessons of Hurricane Maria” brings together experts on disaster and recovery – including President Havidán Rodríguez and dean’s Robert Griffin and David Holtgrave – to discuss Puerto Rico’s response to the hurricane and how to prepare for future disaster.

And on April 26, four acclaimed area musicians will gather to talk about the art of songwriting.

UAlbany’s men’s lacrosse team, currently ranked No. 15 in the nation, starts its season Feb. 16 at Syracuse. The first home game is March 5 vs. UMass. Last year the team earned a No. 1 ranking with a 16-3 record, reaching the NCAA Championship weekend for the first time in program history.

Single-game tickets for the 2019 season go on sale Feb. 11.

The Performing Arts Center has a full array of music, theater and dance events.

See the Israeli troupe Ephrat Asherie Dance on Saturday, Feb. 16 at 7:30 p.m. Dancer and choreographer Bounce Asherie layers the rawness of breaking, hip-hop, house and vogue styles in the high-energy piece “Odeon,” set to a score by Brazilian composer Ernesto Nazareth that melds classical romantic music with popular Afro-Brazilian rhythms.

And stay tuned for the Performing Art Center’s Gold Celebration at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 16 – exactly 50 years since the first performance. Details to come on a special performance commemorating the occasion.