March 27 Robert Smalls Lecture Series, "This Little Light of Mine," Cleveland Sellers, director of the University's African American Studies Program, will address the loss of innocence and the lives sacrificed during the height of the Civil War. 7 p.m., BA Building, Belk Auditorium, Room 005. Reception will follow. Free and open to the public. Sponsored by S.C. Legislative Black Caucus, as well as the University's Women's Studies Program, African American Professors Program, Association of African American Studies, Institute of Southern Studies, Institute for Families in Society, and College of Arts and Sciences.

March 28 Chemistry and biochemistry, Graduate Research Symposium, the top three poster contest winners from Visitation Weekend on March 15 will give 20-minute presentations and will compete for the Guy Lipscomb Award for Excellence in Chemistry and Biochemistry, $1,000; the IRIX Pharmaceuticals Award, $500; and the Oakwood Products Award, $500. 4 p.m., Jones Physical Science Center, Room 006. Refreshments at 3:45 p.m.

March 28 and 29 Journalism and mass communications, Society of Professional Journalists Region 3 Spring Conference, with special guests William Douglas, White House Correspondent, and Joe Grimm, recruitment editor, Detroit Free Press. For more information, contact Ernie Wiggins at 261-1791 or ernest.wiggins@gmail.com.

March 31 Caught in the Creative Act, lecture on Francine du Plessix Gray's Them, 5:45 p.m., Gambrell Hall Auditorium.

March 31 Southern Studies, reading, book signing, and reception with Dorothy Allison, author of 2005 novel Bastard Out of Carolina and native of Greenville, SC. Fourth in a series of six public appearances this spring by contemporary Southern novelists. Sponsored by the USC Institute for Southern Studies and the Friends of the Richland County Public Library. 6 p.m., Richland County Public Library, downtown Columbia. Free and open to the public.

March 31-April 4 Mass Communications and Information Studies, I-Comm Week 2008, college showcase of events and presentations. Deans' Lecture will feature Brian Lamb, chairman and CEO of C-SPAN; Rome Hartman, executive producer of BBC Worldwide; Natalie Daise, Gullah storyteller; and many more. For more information and a complete list of events, go to www.sc.edu/cmcis.

April 2 Computer science and engineering, "Multiparty Communication Complexity," William Gasarch, Department of Computer Science, University of Maryland at College Park, 2:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m., Swearingen Engineering Building, Room 1A03, Faculty Lounge.

April 2 Caught in the Creative Act, Francine du Plessix Gray, 5:45 p.m., Gambrell Hall Auditorium.

April 4 Chemistry and biochemistry, "Screening and Scaling in the Pharmaceutical Industry," Carrie Wagner, senior principle scientist, chemical research and development, Pfizer, Inc. 4 p.m., Jones Physical Science Center, Room 006. Refreshments at 3:45 p.m.

April 7 Caught in the Creative Act, lecture on writer Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children, 5:45 p.m., Gambrell Hall Auditorium.

April 8 Southern Studies, reading, book signing, and reception with Jill McCorkle, writer whose works include novels The Cheer Leader and Carolina Moon, and short story collection Crash Diet: Stories. First in a series of six public appearances this spring by contemporary Southern novelists. Sponsored by the USC Institute for Southern Studies and the Friends of the Richland County Public Library. 6 p.m., Richland County Public Library, downtown Columbia. Free and open to the public.

April 9 Caught in the Creative Act, Salman Rushdie, 5:45 p.m., Belk Auditorium, BA Building.

April 10 Chemical engineering, Educational Lecture Seminar, "Computing in the Chemical Engineering Curriculum," Bruce Fynlayson, University of Washington, 3.30pm, Faculty Lounge, Swearingen Engineering Center.

April 11 Chemistry and biochemistry, Kenneth Poeppelmeier, Northwestern University, 4 p.m., Jones Physical Science Center, Room 006. Refreshments at 3:45 p.m.

April 11-12 Archaeology and anthropology, Colonial Frontiers Conference. For more information, contact Nena Rice at nrice@sc.edu or 7-8170.

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