The Division of Continuing and International Education and Kaplan Test Preparation will host a workshop for parents and students on Saturday, May 2 from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in Allen Hall. The workshop will focus on preparation for the SAT or ACT, financing a college education, application essay writing tips, and will include a question-and-answer session with one of UM’s own admission officers. Seating is limited; RSVP by Thursday, April 30 by calling 305-441-5323, ext 5010 or e-mailing [email protected].

Filmmaker Astra Taylor accompanies some of today’s most influential thinkers on a series of unique excursions through places and spaces that hold particular resonance for them and their ideas. Offering privileged moments with great thinkers in fields ranging from moral philosophy to cultural theory, Examined Life reveals philosophy’s power to transform the way we see the world around us and imagine our place in it. Admission is $6 for all University of Miami alumni, faculty, and staff, and is free for students. General admission is $8. The film screens on Friday, May 1 at 9 p.m., Saturday, May 2 at 2 and 6 p.m., and Sunday, May 3 at 4 p.m. For more information, visit www.cosfordcinema.com.

A lonely, isolated 30-something young professional seeks an escape from his mundane existence with the help of a devious soap salesman. They find their release from the prison of reality through underground fight clubs, where men can be what the world now denies them. Their boxing matches and harmless pranks soon lead to an out-of-control spiral towards oblivion. Admission is $6 for all University of Miami alumni, faculty, and staff, and is free for students. General admission is $8. The film screens on Saturday, May 2 at 10 p.m., and Sunday, May 3 at 8 p.m. For more information, visit www.cosfordcinema.com.

Attend a discussion and concise update on the frequent gastrointestinal complaints received in family medicine practice. The discussion is hosted by the Department of Family Medicine and the Division of Gastroenterology. This event offers CME credits at no charge. It will be held at UM Hospital, Seminar Center, on Saturday May 2 at 7:30 a.m. (registration).  A continental breakfast will be available, and the program runs from 6:15 a.m. to 12 p.m. For more information and to attend, e-mail [email protected] or call 305-243-6404.

Shall We Kiss? is a essentially contemporary meditation on the myriad implications of a simple smooch. When Gabriel and Emilie meet by chance, he offers her a ride, and they spend the evening talking, laughing, and getting along famously. At the end of the night, Emilie declines Gabriel’s offer of “a kiss without consequences.” Emilie admonishes him that the kiss could have unexpected consequences, and tells him a story, unfolding in flashbacks, about the impossibility of indulging your desires without affecting someone else’s life. Admission is $6 for all UM alumni, faculty, and staff, and is free for students. General admission is $8. The film screens on Friday, May 1 at 7 p.m., Saturday, May 2 at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Sunday, May 3 at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. For more information, visit www.cosfordcinema.com.

This course, designed for the retina specialist as well as comprehensive ophthalmologists who diagnose and treat retinal diseases, will review the 2009 highlights in retina with an equal emphasis on medical and surgical retina. In a two-hour Fluorescein/OCT Imaging Conference, faculty and fellows will present and discuss interesting and unusual cases. Retina topics will include vitreoretinal surgical techniques as well as an update on the latest in medical retina. The course will be held Friday and Saturday, May 1-2 at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, Retter Auditorium. For more information and registration, please visit http://bascompalmer.org/site/info/pdf/VitreoretinalCourse2009.pdf, or contact Monica Sotolongo at 305-326-6110 or via e-mail at [email protected].

Spring has returned and nature beckons discovery and exploration—even in art form. The annual two-part UM Student/Master of Fine Arts Exhibitions are viewable at the Lowe Art Museum. Also on view: UM’s Faculty Exhibition, featuring Carsten Meier’s Naturell. A preview and reception for the juried student exhibition and Naturell will be held Friday, April 17 from 7 to 10 p.m. The evening will be highlighted with a special lecture by Meier. A preview reception for the MFA exhibition, on view from May 14-June 14, will be held Wednesday, May 13 from 7 to 9 p.m. Both receptions are free and open to the public. Regular admission to the Lowe (not including special events) is $10; $5 for seniors and non-UM students; and free for Lowe Art Museum members, UM students, faculty and staff, and children under 12 years of age. For more information, call 305-284-3535 or visit www.lowemuseum.org.

Don't miss an opportunity to see Hello, Dolly! at the Ring Theatre.

Where else but the Jerry Herman Ring Theatre could Hello, Dolly! belong-on the stage where composer, lyricist, and UM alum Jerry Herman, A.B., ‘53, got his start.

Attend this production of Hello, Dolly!, an ebullient and irresistible story featuring one of the most fabulous and memorable characters of the American musical theatre stage: Dolly Gallagher Levi. Featuring such beloved songs as Hello, Dolly!, Put On Your Sunday Clothes, Ribbons Down My Back, Before the Parade Passes By, Elegance, It Only Takes A Moment, and So Long, Dearie, Jerry Herman’s Tony Award-winning musical promises to be the thrilling conclusion to the theatre’s season.

Tickets go on sale starting Monday, March 30 at 12 p.m. Box office hours are from 12 to 5 p.m. on weekdays and two hours before each performance. Performances run from April 22 - May 2. For more information or to charge tickets by phone, call the box office at 305-284-3355. To learn more about the theatre, click here.