KU professor to discuss hope

A Kansas University professor whose research focuses on hope will give his inaugural lecture as the M. Erik Wright distinguished professor of clinical psychology today.

C.R. “Rick” Snyder will speak on “The Science of Hope” at 5:30 p.m. in Alderson Auditorium in the Kansas Union.

Snyder has taught at KU since 1972. He has written several books on psychology.

Dinner to benefit sister city scholarships

A Sister Cities International Scholarship Dinner and Auction will be at 6:30 p.m. Saturday in Stidham Union at Haskell Indian Nations University.

Gourmet American Indian cuisine, including Kiowa corn soup, native baked salmon, roasted buffalo and baked acorn squash, will be served.

A live auction featuring works by Lawrence artists Nancy Bjore, Louis Copt, Nancy Marshall, Roger Shimomura and Robert Sudlow and a silent auction of artworks by Haskell students will be after the dinner.

The money raised from the event will create a scholarship fund to assist junior and senior high school students who want to study overseas at one of Lawrence’s two sister cities: Eutin, Germany, and Hiratsuka, Japan.

Tickets are $50. Checks are payable to the Lawrence Sister Cities Scholarship Fund in care of Gina Ross, 218 Ariz., Lawrence 66049. Reservations should be made by Tuesday. To buy tickets to the event, or for more information, contact Kathleen Hodge at 865-1400 or 832-1404.

Herpetology society seeks help counting critters

Frogs, snakes and turtles.

You can help count them at the Kansas Herpetological Society’s official fall amphibian-, reptile- and turtle-counting event in Washington, Kan.

The excursion will begin at 9 a.m. Saturday at the society’s group camp at the Washington Fairgrounds and Park and will conclude about noon Sunday.

The free event is open to the public.

Participants should dress for the field and the weather. Boots and gloves are suggested. Hats, sunscreen, drinking water, sack lunch, field guides and cameras also are advised.

Information obtained during the outing will be published in the Journal of Kansas Herpetology and made available to state wildlife and conservation agencies.

For more information about the field trip, contact Mark Ellis at (785) 836-2272 or makarusa@mindspring.com.