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ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ will devote its annual spring Convocation for Honors on April 7, 2011, to an in-depth examination of five great problems facing humanity. Brian Williams, anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News, will moderate a panel discussion titled "We can be better: Courageous voices confront our greatest challenges." Distinguished panelists will explore tough choices that must be made to respond to threats to our democracy, economies, public education, the environment and civil stability around the world.

General admission tickets to ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ's Convocation for Honors on Thursday, April 7, are available at ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ's box office. Brian Williams, anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News, will moderate a discussion titled "We can be better: Courageous voices confront our greatest challenges." Read this note for important ticket information.

J.C. Watts, former Republican congressman from Oklahoma and a commentator and strategist, will hold a question-and-answer session at 11 a.m. today in Whitley Auditorium. Watts is visiting campus as the seventh Isabella Cannon Distinguished Visiting Professor of Leadership. He delivered a public lecture last night in McCrary Theatre.

NPR correspondent Rob Gifford, author of ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ's 2010-11 Common Reading selection China Road: A Journey into the Future of a Rising Power, will speak Tuesday night for the Common Reading Lecture. The book describes Gifford's 3,000-mile journey across Route 312 from Shanghai to China's western border with Kazakhstan.

Annie Leonard, the activist behind the short film “The Story of Stuff,” comes to ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ for an April 22 evening lecture on the costs associated with the nation’s consumer-driven culture. Leonard’s appearance in McKinnon Hall, which is free and open to the public, coincides with Earth Day 2010.

A report that clarifies the mission of the Multicultural Center, to build on its strengths and reflect an expanded role for diversity education activities, is now available online for students, faculty, staff and other members of the ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ community to read.

ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ will present a second concert with this summer's Eastern Music Festival on Monday, July 13, when guest conductor Chelsea Tipton leads EMF's two student orchestras in a lively pops concert on the lawn Under the Oaks. The music begins at 7:30 p.m.

Jeffrey D. Clark, whose career has taken him to theatre companies in Massachusetts, Missouri and North Carolina, has been named the new executive director of cultural and special programs at ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ.