John McConnell, Carleton College Class of 1986 and former White House speechwriter, will present the weekly convocation address at Carleton College on Friday, September 25 at 10:50 a.m. in the Skinner Memorial Chapel. McConnell served the Bush-Cheney Administration as Deputy Assistant to the President and Senior Speechwriter to the President and Vice President for both terms held in office. He was with the vice president on the morning of September 11, 2001, and was a member of the speechwriting team that composed the president's memorable National Cathedral address to the nation in the wake of that tragic event. Brilliant, warm, funny and loyal, McConnell has earned widespread respect for his skills as a wordsmith. The title of his presentation is "Notes on Eight Years in the White House." This event is free and open to the public.

The Carleton College Department of Sociology and Anthropology announces a new ongoing lecture series entitled “Anthropologists on Globalization,” taking place each Friday from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m., beginning Friday September 18 and running through Friday, November 13. The nine-part series, which is free and open to the public, will be held on the Carleton campus in Leighton Hall, room 330. Coffee and bagels will also be served.

Speaking in Tongues, an eclectic musical ensemble featuring Carleton College faculty member Gao Hong along with multi-instrumentalist Sowah Mensah, bassist Enrique Toussaint, and percussionist Marc Anderson, will perform in concert at Minneapolis' acclaimed Cedar Cultural Center on Saturday, September 26 at 2 p.m. This special performance is part of the 2009 Cedar Cultural Center Global Roots Festival. Tickets are $12 in advance and $15 the day of the show. On Friday, September 25, the ensemble will be featured on the public television program, "Almanac," performing twice during the live broadcast, from 7 to 8 p.m. CST on Twin Cities Public Television (TPT) in St. Paul, Minn.

Members of the Jewish community at Carleton College are set to observe the Jewish High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur during the coming weeks. All services and observances are free and open to the public.

Carleton will host SITI Company, the acclaimed innovative New York-based theater ensemble, as they rehearse for their upcoming world premiere of Irish playwright Jocelyn Clarke’s starkly contemporary adaptation of Sophocles’ classic tragedy, Antigone. During the week of September 21-26, 2009, members of SITI Company, including founder and artistic director Anne Bogart, will prepare for this highly anticipated production not in New York City but rather on the Carleton campus, holding a series of open rehearsals and workshops which will provide students and community members with the unique opportunity to witness SITI Company’s creative process and methods first-hand. Considered one of today’s most acclaimed theater ensembles, SITI Company will conclude their residency at Carleton with two “dress rehearsal” performances of Antigone before the production officially premieres in New York City on October 28. Additionally, Bogart will also host a special “Arts Town Hall Meeting,” sharing her passion, insights, and groundbreaking aesthetic with the Northfield community and engaging participants in a productive dialogue about the creative process. All events are free and open to the public.

On Tuesday, September 15, 2009, construction will begin on the new Waterford Bridge, located over the Cannon River in the Carleton College Cowling Arboretum, on Canada Avenue just south of County Road 47 in Waterford Township. New sections of road will also be constructed to connect the new bridge to the existing roadway. During construction, the existing bridge and Canada Avenue between 320th Street and County Road 47 will be closed. The road will reopen to traffic after the new bridge is complete. Access to residences and the Cowling Arboretum will remain open throughout construction.

On Wednesday, September 9, Carleton College welcomes the Class of 2013 to campus. There are 533 students in the class, selected from a pool of 4,784 applicants. The students represent 44 states and 17 countries, with 110 students coming from Minnesota, followed by Illinois (52), California (38), Washington and New York (28 each), and Wisconsin (19).

Carleton College and WeCar, a car-sharing program by Enterprise Rent-A-Car, announce a new partnership, making the College WeCar’s first customer in Minnesota. With car sharing, Carleton is advancing its sustainability initiatives and providing a more cost effective and convenient transportation solution to its students 18 years of age or older.

The Carleton College Art Gallery kicks-off the new academic year with In Between: Works By Kelly Connole and Beth Lo, showcasing the works of these two important ceramic artists who delight in story telling and artistic experimentation. The exhibit opens Friday, September 18 and runs through October 17, 2009, with a special opening reception on September 18 from 8:30 to 10:30 p.m. As part of the opening event, Connole, an assistant professor of art at Carleton, will present an artist’s talk prior to the reception at 7:30 p.m. in the College’s Boliou Hall Auditorium. Entitled “Plumb Bobs and Other Curiosities: Recent Work,” her presentation will highlight both women as artists working “in between” zones: Connole navigating different artistic mediums and environments, while Lo’s work emphasizes the various places where cultures combine. Both events are free and open to the public.

Gary Paul Nabhan, PhD, a globally recognized food and farming advocate and conservationist, will present Carleton’s opening convocation on Monday, September 14, 2009, at 3 p.m. in the Skinner Memorial Chapel. Nabhan’s address, titled “Renewing America’s Food Traditions,” centers on his extensive involvement in various grassroots initiatives that promote agricultural sustainability. The opening convocation is an all-college annual celebration of the new academic year and recognizes academic achievement. Prior to the convocation, Carleton will award Nabhan with an honorary degree of Doctor of Science, honoris causa. This special event is free and open to the public.

Carleton invites all Northfield area community members to an open house celebrating the completion of the College’s two new residence halls, Cassat Hall and Memorial Hall, on Wednesday, Aug. 26 from 4-6 p.m. The event will take place in Cassat Hall’s main-floor lounge and will be your chance to check out the new facilities and receive a tour of the new facilities.

Beginning Monday, July 27, work will begin on a project designed to rehabilitate two bridges along the paved trail in Carleton's Cowling Arboretum. The work on the bridges, located in the “Upper Arb,” will stabilize and repair the bridge foots, repair cracks in the walls and underneath each bridge, and replace the concrete caps. Several trees at each bridge will need to be removed to facilitate construction and to maintain the integrity of the bridges. The paved surface of the trail will also be replaced at each bridge. The project is expected to reach completion by August 28.