Talk discusses journalism

CHAPEL HILL — The early years of journalism education at UNC will be the topic of a free public talk on campus Oct. 15.

Tom Bowers, professor emeritus at UNC’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication, will give the talk, this year’s Gladys Coates University History Lecture, at 5:45 p.m. in the Wilson Special Collections Library.

His lecture will accompany the exhibit “Consecrated to the Common Good: 100 Years of Journalism Education at UNC-Chapel Hill,” on view in Wilson’s North Carolina Collection Gallery through Jan. 31. An exhibit viewing and reception at 5 p.m. will precede Bowers’ talk.

Bowers was associate dean and senior associate dean of the school for 24 years and interim dean in 2005-2006.

For program information, contact Liza Terll, UNC Friends of the Library, (919) 962-4207 or liza_terll@unc.edu.

PEP founder speaking today

CHAPEL HILL — Catherine Rohr, founder and chief executive officer of the Prison Entrepreneurship Program (PEP), an innovative and high-impact prisoner rehabilitation program based in Texas, will be featured speaker at a free public lecture and reception today at UNC.

Rohr and former offender and program graduate Jason Wang will discuss the program and answer questions at the event, which begins at 5:30 p.m. in the Maurice J. Koury Auditorium at Kenan-Flagler Business School. A reception will follow in the Kenan Center Dining Room. Those who wish to attend should respond to rsvpkenan@unc.edu.

Rohr’s nonprofit has helped inmates redirect their ambitions through values-based entrepreneurial training and ongoing support, enabling them to re-enter society as productive citizens. The program’s results include a return-to-prison rate of less than 10 percent, an employment rate of more than 80 percent within 30 days of release and a rapidly growing network of entrepreneurial startups.

UNC student Jane Murchison, a senior economics and history major and entrepreneurship minor in the College of Arts and Sciences, arranged Rohr’s visit to inspire students who are interested in using their knowledge and skills to address pressing social concerns.

Planetarium shows rock out

CHAPEL HILL — Get ready to rock out this fall as the Morehead Planetarium and Science Center pulses with hit music set to choreographed multicolor laser imagery for the first time in five years. Now through Nov. 22, the following laser shows are scheduled on Friday and Saturday nights:

- 7 p.m., Laser Classic Rock

- 8 p.m., Laser U2

- 9 p.m., Pink Floyd: Dark Side of the Moon

- 10 p.m., Laser Zeppelin

- 11 p.m., Pink Floyd: The Wall

Morehead also plans a special Laser Halloween show during the daytime on Oct. 31. The planetarium will be closed Halloween night.

Tickets are $9.50 for adults and $7.50 for students and Morehead members. Since laser shows are premium shows, discounts and coupons cannot be applied. For more information, visit www.moreheadplanetarium.org or call (919) 962-1236.

Southern Spaces topic of talk

CHAPEL HILL — Emory University American studies professor Allen Tullos will discuss “Southern Spaces: Critical Regionalism and the Digital Humanities” at 4 p.m. Oct. 13 at UNC.

The free public lecture will be in the George Watts Hill Alumni Center on Stadium Drive.

Southern Spaces is a peer-reviewed, multimedia Internet journal of regional studies. Its content includes text, audio, still images and video — a range that distinguishes Southern Spaces from other online scholarly journals.

Tullos, senior editor of the journal, will explore the editorial and production processes of Southern Spaces and examine how the journal engages regional studies, U.S. Southern studies and the emerging field of digital humanities.

For more information, call the center at (919) 962-5665.