November 2018

On Sunday, Dec. 9, Performance Music at The University of Scranton will be encouraging area residents to join them in the holiday spirit of giving and music-making at its annual Empty Stocking Fund Benefit Concert.

Set for 7:30 p.m. in the Houlihan-McLean Center, Mulberry Street and Jefferson Avenue, the concert will feature the Scranton Brass Orchestra and University Singers, under the direction of Cheryl Y. Boga, and the Scranton Prep Cavalyrics, under the direction of Daniel Marx.

The event is open to the public, with attendees asked to bring either a new and unwrapped toy or book, new toiletry items (toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo, comb/brush, etc.), or a cash donation.  The donated items will benefit local children and families in need this holiday season.

As always, the concert will include a variety of Christmas classics performed by the ensembles. At the end of the evening, the groups will collaborate with the audience for a lively Christmas caroling session that’s sure to lift the spirits.

“Everyone really gets into that. Because how many chances do you get these days to be part of a good sing-along?” said Boga, conductor and director of Performance Music at the University.

Empty Stocking’s origins go back to 1999, when Boga’s friend, Alan Drake, the former band director at Georgia’s Augusta College (now Augusta University), told her about a benefit Christmas concert held there. When Boga asked Drake if he would mind if she brought the idea back to Scranton, he responded, “Absolutely not.”

For that inaugural year, she and Drake decided to wage a friendly competition to see which concert could raise the most money, and a new tradition was born.

No doubt, the concert’s charitable mission lends it a special resonance, and Boga noted it’s always moving to see the donated items put on display the night of the concert.

And then there’s the warm yuletide vibes produced at the concert. By the time it ends, Boga said, “You can really see people starting to feel the Christmas spirit.”

For more information on the Empty Stocking Fund Benefit Concert, call 570-941-7624, email music@scranton.edu or visit scranton.edu/music.

Continuing a time-honored holiday tradition, Performance Music at The University of Scranton will present its 51st annual Noel Night concert on Saturday, Dec. 1.

Beginning at 8 p.m. in the University's Houlihan-McLean Center, Mulberry Street and Jefferson Avenue, downtown Scranton, the concert will feature The University of Scranton Singers with guest harpist Marg Davis, trumpeter Mark Gould, and pianist Ron Stabinsky. Doors open at 6:45, and the prelude - which begins at 7 p.m. - will include performances by the String Orchestra and Flute Ensemble. Admission is free, with seating on a first-come, first-seated basis.

Noel Night is now more than a half-century into its existence as the University's Christmas gift to the community.

"It's always a deeply meaningful musical evening," said Performance Music Conductor and Director Cheryl Y. Boga.

The 50+ voice student mixed choir is comprised of members of the university community from majors and departments spanning the curriculum -- the vast majority of them undergraduate students, joined by a few graduate students and members of the faculty and staff -- none of whom are music majors, who are all brought together by their mutual love of music-making. They will be joined by guest accompanists Marg Davis, harp, and Ron Stabinsky, piano; Mark Gould, trumpet; and leaders of the University community offering greetings and readings of the Nativity Martyrology and St. Luke Nativity Narrative. The program will include works by Franz Biebl, Benjamin Britten, Rollo Dilworth, Jester Hairston, Morten Lauridsen, Boris Ord, Stephen Paulus, and Ralph Vaughan Williams.

Guest harpist Marg Davis is a graduate of The Juilliard School and Yale University School of Music who has also studied and performed at many high-profile summer music festivals, including the Aspen Music Festival, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, Bowdoin International Music Festival and Chautauqua Music Festival. She has performed at Scranton before as an accompanist, soloist, and chamber musician.
Trumpeter Mark Gould is one of the best known and most influential trumpeters and trumpet teachers of his generation. In addition to his more than three decades of service as principal trumpet with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, he is on the faculty at The Juilliard School and The Mannes School, and has taught and offered masterclasses at conservatories across the globe - many of his former students hold positions with the most highly regarded orchestras and ensembles throughout the world.
Pianist Ron Stabinsky is among the most sought-after freelance pianists in the Northeast. He performs as a solo, ensemble and collaborative pianist throughout the world in concerts and events spanning a wide variety of genres. His recently released his debut album, "Free for One," which received four stars in DownBeat magazine and tied for the No. 1 debut of the year in the 2016 NPR Music Jazz Critics Poll.

For further information on the Noel Night concert, call 570-941-7624, email music@scranton.edu or visit scranton.edu/music.

If You Go
What: 51st annual Noel Night concert, featuring The University of Scranton Singers with guest harpist Marg Davis and pianist Ron Stabinsky, presented by Performance Music at The University of Scranton
When: Saturday, Dec. 1, 8 p.m., with a 7 p.m. prelude featuring performances by the University String Orchestra and Chamber Ensembles
Where: Houlihan-McLean Center, Mulberry Street and Jefferson Avenue, downtown Scranton
Admission: Free

The University of Scranton will host a talk by Keith Edwards, Ph.D., a nationally recognized speaker and educator on sexual violence prevention, men’s identity and social justice education, on Wednesday, Nov. 28. The presentation, which will focus on preventing sexual assault, consent and being an active bystander, will begin at 6 p.m. in the PNC Auditorium of the Loyola Science Center on campus. The presentation, titled “Stepping In and Stepping Up: Becoming Men and Women for Others,” is free of charge and open to the public.

Dr. Edwards has spoken and consulted at more than 150 colleges and universities, presented more than 150 programs at national conferences, and has written more than 15 articles or book chapters on sexual violence prevention, men’s identity, social justice education, curricular approaches and leadership. His research, writing and speaking have received national awards and recognition.

 Dr. Edwards recently co-chaired the American College Personnel Association’s (ACPA) Presidential Task Force on Sexual Violence Prevention in Higher Education and co-edited the group’s publication, “Beyond Compliance: Addressing Sexual Violence in Higher Education.”

His scholarship interests include diversity and social justice education and college men’s issues from a feminist and social justice perspective. A national leader in social justice education, Dr. Edwards founded and served as chair for ACPA’s Commission for Social Justice Educators, and has chaired and regularly served as a faculty member for ACPA’s Residential Curriculum Institute. In addition, he consults with campuses implementing an intentional student learning focused approach in student affairs. He was recognized by ACPA as a Diamond Honoree for his outstanding and sustained contributions to higher education and to student affairs in 2013.

Dr. Edwards received his bachelor’s degree from Hamline University (St. Paul, Minnesota), his master’s degree from Colorado State University, and his Ph.D. from the University of Maryland. His dissertation, “Putting my man face on: A grounded theory of college men’s gender identity development,” was recognized as Dissertation of the Year by ACPA College Student Educators International in 2008.

The presentation is sponsored by a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Education “It’s On US PA” and is hosted by the University’s Office of Equity and Diversity and Cross Cultural Centers. For additional information, call 570-941-6645 or email Jennifer Pennington at jennifer.pennington@scranton.edu.

In 2010, American Express launched Small Business Saturday on the Saturday after Thanksgiving to encourage people to shop small and bring holiday shopping to small businesses. In 2017 there were 7,200 small businesses participating in all 50 states. Since it started, U.S. Customers have reported spending an estimated total of $85 billion at independent retailers and restaurants on Small Business Saturdays!

The initiative in Downtown Scranton was spearheaded in 2011 by Scranton Tomorrow.
Many of these small businesses are located right in Downtown Scranton, with over 50 retailers and restaurants offering special promotions. Check out the Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce to learn about some of the Shop Small deals being offered at our local businesses.

For those local vendors who do not have brick and mortar locations, they are being offered a spot at the Marketplace at Steamtown from Nov. 23-25 for Shop Small Steamtown, which will also include food, drink, and live entertainment.

More information on Shop Small Steamtown can be found here. 
Click here to find out more about the history of Small Business Saturday.

Wells Fargo contributed $15,000 to support The University of Scranton’s University of Success, a multi-year, pre-college program for high school students designed to develop the skills needed to successfully gain entrance to college.

Students enter the University of Success at the completion of the eighth grade and continue through their high school years. The program offers enrichment courses in study skills, SAT prep, public speaking, math, science, art and cultural activities, as well as financial aid and wellness seminars. The ultimate goal is for University of Success students to be accepted into a four-year college or university.

The University of Success, offered free of charge to participants, is funded almost entirely by corporate and foundation grants. Wells Fargo has provided continuous support of this program since 2011.

For additional information, visit the University of Success web site.

Continuing a time-honored holiday tradition, Performance Music at The University of Scranton will present its 51^st annual Noel Night concert on Saturday, Dec. 1.

Beginning at 8 p.m. in the University’s Houlihan-McLean Center, Mulberry Street and Jefferson Avenue, the concert will feature The University of Scranton Singers with guest harpist Marg Davis and pianist Ron Stabinsky.

Doors open at 6:45 p.m., and the prelude, which begins at 7 p.m., will include performances by the String Orchestra and Flute Ensemble.

Admission is free, with seating on a first-come, first-seated basis.

Noel Night is now more than a half-century into its existence as the University’s Christmas gift to the community. “It’s always a deeply meaningful musical evening,” said Performance Music Conductor and Director Cheryl Y. Boga.

The 50-plus voice, student-mixed choir is comprised of members of the University community from majors and departments spanning the curriculum – the vast majority of them undergraduate students, joined by a few graduate students and members of the faculty and staff – none of whom are music majors, who are all brought together by their mutual love of music-making. They will be joined by guest accompanists Davis, harp, and Stabinsky, piano, and leaders of the University community offering greetings and readings of the Nativity Martyrology and St. Luke Nativity Narrative. The program will include works by Franz Biebl, Benjamin Britten, Rollo Dilworth, Jester Hairston, Morten Lauridsen, Boris Ord, Stephen Paulus and Ralph Vaughan Williams.

Davis, guest harpist, is a graduate of The Juilliard School and Yale University School of Music, who has also studied and performed at many high-profile summer music festivals, including the Aspen Music Festival, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, Bowdoin International Music Festival and Chautauqua Music Festival. She has performed at Scranton before as an accompanist, soloist and chamber musician.

Stabinsky is among the most sought-after freelance pianists in the Northeast. He performs as a solo, ensemble and collaborative pianist throughout the world in concerts and events spanning a wide variety of genres. His recently released his debut album, “Free for One,” which received four stars in DownBeat magazine and tied for the No. 1 debut of the year in the 2016 NPR Music Jazz Critics Poll.

For further information on the Noel Night concert, call 570-941-7624, email music@scranton.edu or visit scranton.edu/music.

“The Peacemaker,” a documentary film by James Demo, will be shown on Thursday, Dec. 6, at 5:30 p.m. in the Pearn Auditorium of Brennan Hall.

“The Peacemaker” follows international negotiator Padraig O’Malley, who helps make peace for others but struggles to find it for himself. The film takes us from O’Malley’s isolated life in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to some of the most dangerous crisis zones on Earth, including Northern Ireland, Kosovo, Nigeria and Iraq, as he works a peacemaking model based on his recovery from addiction. In Demo’s documentary, we meet O’Malley in the third act of his life in a race against time to find some kind of salvation for both the world and himself.

Reservations are required to attend this free event that is presented by the University’s Schemel Forum in collaboration with the Department of Political Science.

To make a reservation or for more information, contact Alicen Morrison, Schemel Forum assistant, at 570-941-6206 or alicen.morrison@scranton.edu.

Pulitzer-prize winning author Colson Whitehead will deliver the Lackawanna County Library System’s annual American Masters Lecture on Thursday, Nov. 15, at 7 p.m. in the Scranton Cultural Center. Whitehead’s lecture will focus on his 2016 historical fiction novel, The Underground Railroad.

The Underground Railroad, set in the time of slavery in the US, imagines a literal underground railroad, set up to transport slaves from plantations in the South to the North via real underground trains. Escaped slaves Cora and Caesar follow as they attempt to find freedom. Many obstacles plague their journey and try to hold them back along the way. Copies of the book can be found online.

The Underground Railroad received many awards, including the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2017, the Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction, and the National Book Award. Oprah selected the novel for her Book Club, and it was featured on President Obama’s 2016 summer reading list and was a New York Times bestseller. It was also celebrated as a Best Book of the Year for the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and more.

Whitehead graduated from Harvard College, and lives in New York City. He has taught at many colleges and universities, including Columbia University and New York University, and has been a Writer-in-Residence at several universities, including the University of Richmond. He has written eight novels, with his ninth novel The Nickel Boys set for release in 2019.

Attendance is free. To save a seat, reserve your free tickets online at www.lclshome.org/tickets, or by contacting any library in the Lackawanna County Library System. The Albright Memorial Library, adjacent to the Scranton Cultural Center and the closest Lackawanna County library, can be reached at 570-348-3000.

A University of Scranton alumnus and long-time benefactor also renowned for his rare-book collection has donated a one-of-a-kind book to the Panuska College of Professional Studies.

Edward Leahy ’68, H’01, the former international business lawyer and litigator, who now works in international finance as managing partner of Solsuus LLC in Washington, D.C., has always had collecting preferences, including important 15^th-century books, especially Bibles, first-edition English literature, fine bindings, illuminated manuscripts dating to 1260, children’s books, Gothic horror and science fiction. But recently, he was invited by a reputable rare book dealer to take a look at an odd manuscript volume of “Nursing Notes.”

Although he was a bit skeptical, he asked the dealer to send the book to him for review.

Leahy was, to say the least, very impressed.

“Nursing Notes” is exactly as billed, i.e., a highly detailed complete set of classroom notes taken by nursing student Ella V. Wilderson during her course of study at Boston City Hospital School of Nursing from 1894 through 1897. The notes, Leahy said, are meticulous – “neat, precise and careful” – and handwritten using the Palmer Method, developed in the late 1800s.

The notes contain the date and topic of each lecture and the name of the professor who gave it and were taken in the type of ledger book common to that day.

With the content nothing short of fascinating and covering everything from pregnancy and pediatrics to wound care, surgery and anesthesia, Leahy knew he had something special and the perfect place to receive it. He purchased the book immediately, recalling how when he taught law at Oxford University from 1998 until 2016 he became aware of a master’s program at Oxford called The History of Medicine. He recommended the program to undergraduates who were considering applying to medical school, he said, reasoning there can be no better preparation for a medical career than to understand medicine’s history.

“That same thought ran through my mind when I received this book,” he said. “I thought, ‘If I give this book to Scranton, I would want it on the Intranet so all nursing students can see it and read it.’”

“If I were a nursing student,” Leahy said, “I would not pass up an opportunity to read every single one of these lessons. The notes will captivate readers.”

The University accepted the gift with extreme gratitude, said Debra Pellegrino, Ed.D., dean of the Panuska College of Professional Studies, where Leahy sits on the Board of Visitors, and indeed will place the book on the Intranet before donating it to the Weinberg Memorial Library with Leahy’s blessing.

“It’s like a piece of history, like going back in time,” Dr. Pellegrino said. “If you would see the penmanship, my goodness, there used to be a time when everyone would write like that.”

Any who see the book in its final library home are likely to marvel not only at the Palmer penmanship but at the careful restoration Leahy commissioned. He took the book to Donald Rash, a Wilkes-Barre bookbinder, who refurbished its leather spine, replaced its leather corners, reinserted the fly leaves and generally tightened the volume. He also constructed a special clamshell case to house the book, in beautiful Scranton purple, Leahy said.

 “They are amazingly comprehensive notes,” Leahy said, adding he did some further research on Ella Wilderson and learned that, by 1906, a mere nine years after graduating from nursing school, she was the principal of nursing training at the Woman’s Hospital in New York City.

“She was obviously very bright,” said Leahy, whose own background in books goes back to his days as a Scranton student, when he spent a good part of his four years working in the basement of what was then Alumni Memorial Library repairing old, damaged books.

“My job was to save as many books as I could,” he recalled, noting his continuing passion for the importance of the craft, especially in the case of “Nursing Notes” for today’s nursing students.

“If you know where a subject was,” he said, “you might have a better insight into where it might go.”

The weekend of Nov. 16-17, 2018 Performance Music at The University of Scranton will host two programs featuring acclaimed violist Andrew Gonzalez.

On Friday, Nov. 16, the Andrew Gonzalez Trio will perform a recital beginning at 7:30 p.m. Then, on Saturday, Nov. 17, Gonzalez will return to serve as guest soloist at a 7:30 p.m. concert featuring The University of Scranton String Orchestra (who will also perform one piece with Gonzalez at the Friday concert.)

Both performances will take place in the University’s Houlihan-McLean Center, Mulberry Street and Jefferson Avenue. Admission is free, with seating on a first-come, first-seated basis.

In addition, at 2:30 p.m. on Nov. 17, Gonzalez will give a free strings masterclass. The class is open to local amateur and professional strings players ages 16 and up. Those interested in taking part should email music@scranton.edu to pre-register and receive further information on the masterclass.

Praised by The Strad magazine for his “warmhearted playing and mellow tone,” the Juilliard-trained Gonzalez has toured the world as a soloist, chamber musician, teacher and entrepreneur, and has collaborated with such music icons as Itzhak Perlman, Gil Shaham and Shmuel Ashkenasi.

Performance Music Conductor and Director Cheryl Y. Boga said Gonzalez and the other members of his trio, clarinetist Bixby Kennedy and pianist Carlos Avila, are all highly respected world-class musicians.

“Andrew has been here a number of times over the years,” Boga said. “He’s collaborated with a number of the top players in the world and has performed all over the globe.”

As part of Carnegie Hall’s Ensemble Connect, Gonzalez has given multiple chamber music performances at Carnegie Hall, done two residencies at Skidmore College, and participated in their inaugural Paris and Colorado winter and spring residencies.

Gonzalez has performed at numerous venues around the country, including Barge Music in New York, the Clark Arts Center recital series at the Perlman Music Program, the Sundays at Four series in Smithfield, Virginia, and the Beckler Museum recital series in North Carolina.

Clarinetist Bixby Kennedy is also a member of Ensemble Connect and has performed as a soloist with orchestras throughout the U.S. He has played solo recitals, chamber music and orchestral concerts around the world. Avila is one of the most in-demand pianists on the international classical music scene, and also is the pianist in the Boreal Trio.

The Scranton String Orchestra is a 30-member ensemble consisting of members of the University community from majors and departments spanning the curriculum. With no music majors among them, the orchestra has been brought together entirely by their mutual love of performing.

For further information on the shows, call 570-941-7624, email music@scranton.edu or visit scranton.edu/music. For more on Gonzalez, visit www.andrewgonzalezviolist.com.

The University of Scranton Players will present “The Beyoncé” by Eliza Bent, directed by José Zayas, Thursday through Sunday, Nov. 15-18, in the Studio Theatre of the Joseph M. McDade Center for the Literary and Performing Arts. Thursday, Friday and Saturday performances begin at 8 p.m., and the Sunday performance begins at 2 p.m. Seating is limited.

“The Beyoncé” is a contemporary comedy based on Anton Chekhov’s short story “The Fiancé.” Bent puts a modern spin on Chekov’s classic story about Nadia, a young woman who is engaged, and finds herself struggling with finding her place in the world. Nadia is content with settling into marriage and motherhood until her lifelong friend Sasha arrives in town for the wedding and inspires her to confront her aspirations for a bigger life.

Bent is the inaugural, 2018-19 Humanities Initiative Artist-in-Residence. A prolific theatre artist, she has collaborated with renowned New York theatre groups and artists as well as worked for American Theatre magazine. Her play “The Hotel Colors” premiered at Bushwick Star, and she has most recently been featured at Abrons Arts Center in her solo show, “Aloha, aloha, or when I was queen.” Bent was the recipient of the 2014 Payne Award for Outstanding Theatrical Event.

The production of “The Beyoncé” features: Nia Moore of Temple Hills, Maryland, as Nadia; Nicolas Gangone of Howard Beach, New York, as Sasha; Ali Basalyga of Scranton as Nina; Zachary Pavlocak of Middlesex, New Jersey, as Andre Andre; Victoria Pennington of West Wyoming as Gran Marfs; Ellie Rosentel of Kingston as Pops; and Julia Consiglio of Oceanside, New York, as Consuelo. Basalyga is a graduate of West Scranton High School, Pennington is a graduate of Wyoming Area Secondary Center and Rosentel is a graduate of Wyoming Seminary.

Tickets may be purchased by calling the box office inside the McDade Center, 570-941-4318, or online at thescrantonplayers.com. Tickets are $10 for adults and $7 for senior citizens, students, and University of Scranton faculty and staff.

For more information, contact players@scranton.edu or follow the University Players on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

The University of Scranton is among the most environmentally responsible colleges in the nation, according to The Princeton Review. Scranton was listed in the 2018 edition of “The Princeton Review Guide to 399 Green Colleges,” which was published in October.

The guide profiles selected schools based on their “Green Rating” scores assessing the “sustainability-related policies, practices and programs” at colleges as complied from data from the Princeton Review’s survey of school administrators. The Princeton Review weighted analysis of more than 25 data points to assign a college’s Green Rating score, which was done on a scale of 60 to 99. Colleges with Green Rating scores of 80 or higher made it into this guide.

According to The Princeton Review’s Editor-in-Chief Robert Franek, college applicants and their parents are increasingly concerned about the environment and sustainability issues. Among nearly 11,000 teen-aged students and their parents The Princeton Review surveyed earlier this year for its 2018 “College Hopes and Worries Survey,” 63 percent overall said having information about a college’s commitment to the environment would “influence their decision to apply to or attend the school.”

Scranton’s long-established sustainability efforts include academics, facilities and community education and outreach. Scranton has infused issues of sustainability in courses across the curriculum, ranging from theology, to business, to the natural sciences, to education, as well as other disciplines. Scranton uses numerous “green” procedures in building maintenance practices, as well as in building design and construction. Scranton currently has three Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified buildings: Leahy Hall, the Loyola Science Center and the DeNaples Center, which became the city’s first LEED certified structure in 2008. The University also conducts multiple community educational programs organized through its Office of Sustainability, which include a community garden, an Earth Day Essay Contest, an Earth Day Fair and an Evening of Environmental Science program for area children and families.

University’s community garden, which now occupies nearly three quarters of a city block, was used by nearly thirty families, staff, faculty, clubs and neighbors in the 2017-18 academic year. Biology professor Anne M. Royer, Ph.D., also used an area of the garden for research this summer. Fresh vegetables grown through-out the summer were donated to the University’s Leahy Center food pantry.

In addition, the Sustainability Office began a Work Study Program that engages work-study students in service-learning opportunities to help them grow in knowledge practical applications of sustainability concepts taught in their classes.

In addition to its “Guide to 399 Green Colleges,” The Princeton Review has listed Scranton in its “Best Colleges” guidebooks for 17 consecutive years, also ranking Scranton in its 2019 edition among the nation’s “Best Campus Food” (No. 15) and “Best Science Labs” (No. 16).

The University of Scranton Symphonic Band will offer a free concert on Saturday, Nov. 10. The concert, presented by Performance Music at the University, will take place at 7:30 p.m. at the Houlihan-McLean Center, Mulberry Street and Jefferson Avenue. Admission is free, with seating on a first-come, first-seated basis.

The program will include works by composers Andrew Boysen Jr., Larry Daehn, Elliot del Borgo, W. Frances McBeth, Vincent Persichetti and Alfred Reed, and arrangements for band of works by Dmitri Kabalevsky, Pascual Marquina and J.S. Bach.

The University of Scranton Symphonic Band is a 65+ member ensemble comprised of members of the University community from majors and departments spanning the curriculum – the vast majority of them undergraduate students, joined by a few graduate students and members of the faculty and staff – none of whom are music majors, who are all brought together by their mutual love of music-making.

For further information on the concert, call 570-941-7624, email music@scranton.edu. For more information on Performance Music at The University of Scranton, please visit scranton.edu/music.

Women in northeastern and central Pennsylvania who want to become more involved in government can attend Ready to Run NEPA Program at The University of Scranton on Saturday, Nov. 17. The nonpartisan training session, open to women in Bradford, Carbon, Columbia, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe, Montour, Northampton, Northumberland, Pike, Schuylkill, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Wayne and Wyoming counties, is titled “Wanted: More Women Like You in Government.” The daylong program will begin at 9 a.m. at the Kane Forum of Leahy Hall on the University’s campus.

            The Ready to Run program, first developed by the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University, trains women to run for office, work on campaigns and get more politically engaged in their community. Participants will learn from elected and appointed women leaders, campaign consultants and scholars with expertise on government and politics. They will also receive insight on the different perceptions voters have of the credibility of women and men candidates, advice for becoming a credible and viable candidate, fundraising and media skills, campaign planning and the inspiration to launch a political campaign.

The League of Women Voters of Lackawanna County is co-sponsor for the program. WNEP is the media partner.

            Registration is $50 for the general public or $15 for students with ID. A limited number of partial scholarships are also available. Registration is required to attend and includes continental breakfast, lunch and an information binder.

For additional information visit Scranton.edu/readytorun, call 570-941-7520 or email linda.walsh@scranton.edu.