The Miami-Florida European Union Center of Excellence, a partnership with Florida International University, and the Jean Monnet Chair of the University of Miami, will host a lecture by Markus Thiel, assistant professor in the Department of Politics and International Relations at FIU. Thiel will present “European Identity: EU Integration and External Consequences” on Monday, April 16 from 3:30 to 5 p.m. at the Ferre Building, Room 126.

Thiel’s research interests are in nationalism and identity (politics) and the political sociology of the European Union. He has published several articles and book chapters related to the EU. He recently published The Limits of Transnationalism: Collective Identities and EU Integration (Palgrave, 2011) and also co-edited two volumes, one with Lisa Prügl on ‘Diversity and the European Union’ (Palgrave, 2009) and the other with Roger Coate on Identity Politics in the Age of Globalization (First Forum Press, 2010). His current research focuses on the promotion of rights policies based on the EU’s Fundamental Rights Charter.

For more information, contact Maxime Larivé at [email protected] or 305-284-3266.

Yongtao Guan Li, professor of management science in the School of Business Administration, will present “Optimal Estimation of the Intensity Function of a Spatial Point Process” on Monday, April 16 at 2 p.m. in the Clinical Research Building, Room 988. To RSVP for the seminar email Michele Gomez at [email protected]. For more information on the seminar, click here.

The Miller School of Medicine will co-host the 26th International Conference on Screening for Lung Cancer on Monday, April 16 from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on Tuesday, April 17 from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Lois Pope LIFE Center, seventh-floor auditorium. The conference will focus on lung cancer screening for high-risk individuals who have a history of smoking. It will also review screening for non-smoking individuals who have been exposed to secondhand smoke and are at risk for developing lung cancer and other diseases.

Space is limited. If you are interested in attending, please email Richard Thurer at [email protected]. For more information, please contact Marie Jeannette Charles at [email protected] or 305-243-9069.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum opens April 11 at UM's Ring Theatre.

The Jerry Herman Ring Theatre presents A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, one of the funniest farces ever written. Taking comedy back to its roots, this light, fast-paced, irreverent romp combines situations from Roman comedies with the slapstick energy of classic vaudeville. The result is a nonstop laugh-fest in which a crafty slave, seeking to earn his freedom, struggles to win the hand of a beautiful courtesan for his young master. With so much advance demand for this Broadway classic, a third week of shows has been added.

Since its Broadway debut in 1962, Forum—book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart, music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim—has won several Tony awards, including Best Musical and Best Book.

The Ring Theatre is at 1312 Miller Drive, Coral Gables. Show time is 8 p.m. on April 11 to 14, 18 to 21, and 26 to 28. There is also a 2 p.m. matinee on April 14, 15, 21, and 28.

Regular admission for weeknight and matinee shows is $22; seniors and UM faculty/staff/alumni pay $20; student tickets are  $10. Regular admission for Friday and Saturday nights is $25; seniors and UM faculty/staff/alumni pay $25; student tickets are  $15.

Tickets are on sale currently. Box office hours are 12 to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and two hours before each performance.  All major credit cards are accepted. Call the box office at 305-284-3355, visit in person at 1312 Miller Drive, Coral Gables, or go online at www.miami.edu/ring. To purchase tickets with Ovationtix, call 1-866-811-4111 from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekends.

Michele Reid-Vazquez, assistant professor of history at Georgia State University, will speak on “The Year of the Lash: Free People of Color in Cuba and the 19th-Century Atlantic World” on Monday, April 16 from 3:30 to 5 p.m. at the Richter Library, third-floor conference room, as part of the Department of History Speakers Series.