The University of Miami’s Creative Writing Program welcomes award-winning author Peter Selgin February 13-17 for a week of new beginnings. Selgin, author of the “Your First Page” blog and 179 Ways to Save a Novel: Matters of Vital Concern to Fiction Writers, is a renowned editor of opening sentences, paragraphs, and pages. Join the Creative Writing Program as Selgin reads at Books and Books, conducts one-on-one manuscript consultations for senior creative writing students, and hosts the seminar “In the Beginnings” to discuss manuscript openings. Please visit http://www.as.miami.edu/english/creativewriting/writerinresidence for details.

For more information, please contact M. Evelina Galang, director of the Creative Writing Program, at [email protected] or Jen Mehan at [email protected].

The Miami Law Review Symposium “The Future of the Death Penalty in America” will be held Friday and Saturday, February 17-18 at Storer Auditorium at the School of Business Administration.

Several recent developments serve as proof that the death penalty in America may be at a crossroads: the abolition of the death penalty in New Mexico and Illinois, the switch to a single drug lethal injection protocol in Ohio and Washington, and the American Legal Institute’s decision to abandon capital punishment. Through keynote speaker Jordan M. Steiker, professor at the University of Texas School of Law, and four panel discussions, this symposium will explore whether or not the death penalty is near its end in the United States, the debate over new lethal injection protocols and whether drug shortages may lead to a resurgence of more visceral forms of execution, the reasonableness of death penalty alternatives and whether such punishment is just for the most heinous crimes, and the role of social science in examining the death penalty.

For a schedule of panel topics and speakers and to register for the symposium, visit http://lawreview.law.miami.edu/.

The College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Art and Art History presents the solo exhibition Legerdemain, by photographer Jeffrey Stern, on view February 6 to 24 at Wynwood Project Space, 2200-A N.W. Second Avenue, Miami. An opening reception will be held on Saturday, February 11.

The exhibition features recent work that explores an unseen view of the interaction of people, their environment, and the interplay of light. Through a series of 40 photographs, Stern has captured views of everyday life that we all pass by, unaware of their existence.

For more information about the exhibition or Wynwood Project Space, call 305-284-2543 or email [email protected]. For a full schedule of exhibitions, visit www.as.miami.edu/art.

The Department of Theatre Arts 2011-2012 season resumes with Stage Door, which will run February 15-25 at the Jerry Herman Ring Theatre.

Stage Door is a witty and stylish 1937 American comedy centering around a group of aspiring actresses crammed into a theatrical boarding house in Manhattan while awaiting their big break on Broadway’s Great White Way. Stage Door showcases love affairs, betrayals, snappy wisecracks, rejections, drama, despair, and plenty of delicious comedy. The central plot focuses on Terry Randall (Katherine Hepburn in the 1937 film), a stage-struck actress totally driven by her talent and ambition who refuses to be enticed by the money and glamour of the movies. What the other young residents of the boarding house bring to the play is a veritable carnival of memorably eccentric characters. Stage Door is a genuine valentine to the theatre as well as a comic send-up of the Hollywood film industry. The Jerry Herman Ring Theatre production features talented theatre students performing in glamorous period costumes and scenery.

Tickets go on sale Monday, February 6 at noon. Prices: weeknights and matinee general admission $18; seniors and UM faculty, staff, and alumni $16; students $10. Friday and Saturday nights general admission $20; seniors and UM faculty, staff, and alumni $20; students $12. For more information visit www.as.miami.edu/theatrearts/ring.html.

On February 17, the Miller School’s Claes Wahlestedt will lead a collaborative research exchange forum on drug discovery.

The Miller Office of Research will host the seventh Collaborative Research Exchange Forum (CREF) on Friday, February 17 from 1:30 to 6 p.m. at the Lois Pope LIFE Center, seventh-floor auditorium. The CREF will focus on drug discovery and will be led by Claes Wahlestedt, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and associate dean for therapeutic innovation. The forum is organized by Norma Sue Kenyon, senior associate dean for translational science, and Andrew Vinard, manager of biotechnology resources. Read the full story