The University of Scranton Events

November and December Events Planned at The University of Scranton

Through Nov. 18     Art Exhibit: “Mayan Narratives: San Lucas Tolimán, Guatemala” photographs by Byron Maldonado. Hope Horn Gallery, Hyland Hall. Free during gallery hours. Call 570-941-4214 or email darlene.miller-lanning@scranton.edu.  

Nov. 6 9 a.m.     Open House for prospective students and their families. Various locations on campus. Registration required. Free. Call 888-SCRANTON or email admissions@scranton.edu.  

Nov. 8 7:30 p.m. 36^th annual Henry George Lecture: “Still Worth the Trip? Modern-Era Busing and other Lessons from Urban School Reform” presented by Parag Pathak, Ph.D., professor of economics, MIT. McIlhenny Ballroom, DeNaples Center. Free. Call 570-941-4048 or email janice.mecadon@scranton.edu. 

Nov. 10     Noon. Schemel Forum’s World Affairs Luncheon Series: “On Democracy, Inequality and Jazz Improvisation” presented by Wayne Winborne, Ph.D., executive director, Institute of Jazz Studies, assistant professor arts culture and media, Rutgers University-Newark. Rose Room, Brennan Hall or remote. Registration required. Fees vary. Call 570-941-7816 or email kym.fetsko@scranton.edu. 

Nov. 12     7:30 a.m. Schemel Forum bus trip to New York, New York, to August Wilson’s “The Piano Lesson” $150. Registration required before Sept. 30. Spaces are limited. Call 570-941-7816 or email kym.fetsko@scranton.edu.  

Nov. 12     7:30 p.m. Performance Music: “In Concert” featuring The University of Scranton Symphonic Band. Houlihan-McLean Center. Free. Call 570-941-7624 or email music@scranton.edu. 

Nov. 17     7 p.m. Lecture: “Forced Removal of the Lenape People: History and Homecoming” presented by Curtis Zunigha, enrolled member of the Delaware Tribe of Indians and co-founder/co-director of the Lenape Center. The event is part of “Scranton’s Story, Our Nation’s Story,” a project supported by a NEH grant led by The University of Scranton and community partners.  McIlhenny Ballroom, The DeNaples Center. Free. Call 570-941-4419 or email community@scranton.edu.  

Nov. 17-19     8 p.m. Thursday and Friday; 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday. “Rent” presented by Liva Arts Company. The Royal Theater, McDade Center for Literary and Performing Arts. $5. Call 570-941-7401 or email livaartscompany@gmail.com.  

Nov. 18     6 p.m.. Schemel Forum with the Friends of the Weinberg Memorial Library Collaborative Program: The Royden B. Davis, S.J. Distinguished Author Award Event honoring Ayad Akhtar, Pulitzer Prize winning and Tony Award nominated playwright, novelist and screenwriter. McIlhenny Ballroom, The DeNaples Center. Registration required. Fees vary. Call 570-941-7816 or email kym.fetsko@scranton.edu. 

Nov. 18     7:30 p.m. Performance Music: “In Concert” featuring The University of Scranton String Orchestra. Houlihan-McLean Center. Free. Call 570-941-7624 or email music@scranton.edu. 

Dec. 2     Noon. Schemel Forum’s Munley World Affairs Luncheon Series: “How Putin’s Invasion of Ukraine Changed the World” presented by Trudy Rubin, Worldview columnist, The Philadelphia Inquirer. Rose Room, Brennan Hall or remote. Registration required. Fees vary. Call 570-941-7816 or email kym.fetsko@scranton.edu. 

Dec. 3     8 p.m. Performance Music: “54^th Annual Noel Night” featuring The University of Scranton Singers and Chamber Ensembles. Houlihan-McLean Center. Free. Call 570-941-7624 or email music@scranton.edu. 

Dec. 5     5 p.m. Community Relations Roundtable: “The Journey from ‘Immigrant’ to Citizen” featuring local resource speakers from a range of backgrounds, in collaboration with the Schemel Forum. The event is part of “Scranton’s Story, Our Nation’s Story,” a project supported by a NEH grant led by The University of Scranton and community partners. PNC Board Room, Brennan Hall. Free. Call 570-941-4419 or email community@scranton.edu.  

Dec. 9     Noon. Schemel Forum’s World Affairs Luncheon Series: “Process of Peace, Palermo: An Experience, a Model” presented by Leoluca Orlando, professor, former mayor of Palermo, honorary mayor of Palermo Huila Columbia and cofounder of Global Parliament of Mayors. Rose Room, Brennan Hall or remote. Registration required. Fees vary. Call 570-941-7816 or email kym.fetsko@scranton.edu. 

Dec. 11     7:30 p.m. Performance Music: “Empty Stocking Fund Benefit Concert.” Performance Music student musicians perform solo, duet, trio and small group renditions of a variety of Christmas favorites. Houlihan-McLean Center. Admission: one new unwrapped toy, new toiletry items or a monetary donation. Call 570-941-7624 or email music@scranton.edu. 

The University of Scranton Will Present a Recital by Pianist Llewellyn Sanchez-werner

On Sunday, Oct. 23, Performance Music at The University of Scranton will present a recital by critically and popularly acclaimed award-winning pianist Llewellyn Sanchez-Werner. The performance begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Houlihan-McLean Center, Mulberry Street and Jefferson Avenue. Admission is free, with seating on a first-come, first-seated basis.

Conductor and Director of Performance Music Cheryl Y. Boga says, “I first became of aware of Llewellyn and his incredible talent when my son (Joseph) would text me from his classes at Juilliard to tell me about this amazing 13-year-old who was already enrolled in pursuit of his undergraduate degree and – according to Joseph – ‘played piano like craaaazy!’ Now, at age 25, he is already one of the most virtuosic, vibrant and socially committed musicians of his generation.”

Described as “a gifted virtuoso” by the San Francisco Chronicle, Sanchez-Werner has been performing with orchestras since the age of 6. The California native has played internationally with the Royal Concertgebouw in the Netherlands, CultureSummit Abu Dhabi, the Louvre and Grenoble Museums in France, Smetana Hall in the Czech Republic, State Philharmonic Hall in Slovakia, Verbier Festival in Switzerland, Ashford Castle in Ireland and the Gijon International Piano Festival in Spain. In the United States, he has performed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Lincoln Center and National Sawdust in New York City, Mary B. Galvin Hall in Chicago, Richardson Auditorium at Princeton University, Paramount Theater in Oakland, and the Kennedy Center, the Smithsonian Art Museum and Warner Theatre in Washington, D.C.

Pulitzer Prize-winning Author Ayad Akhtar Honored at University of Scranton

Pulitzer Prize-winning and Tony Award-nominated playwright, novelist and screenwriter Ayad Akhtar will receive the 2022 Royden B. Davis, S.J., Distinguished Author Award from The University of Scranton’s Friends of the Weinberg Memorial Library on Friday, Nov. 18. The award will be presented at a reception and dinner in the McIlhenny Ballroom of the DeNaples Center. Reservations and tickets are required for the dinner and award presentation, which begins at 6 p.m. Proceeds from the event benefit the Friends of the Library Endowment Fund, which supports special gifts for the Weinberg Library collections and services.

Akhtar was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2013 for his play “Disgraced,” which also received a Tony Award nomination. The play examines the role of religion, politics and identity in post-9/11 America. His play “Junk,” about junk bonds and Wall Street culture of the 1980s, won the 2018 Edward M. Kennedy Prize for Drama Inspired by American History. His work has been published and performed in over two dozen languages.

Akhtar is the author of “Homeland Elegies,” which The Washington Post called “a tour de force” and The New York Times called “a beautiful novel…that had echoes of ‘The Great Gatsby’ and that circles, with pointed intellect, the possibilities and limitations of American life.” His first novel, “American Dervish,” was published in over 20 languages. In addition to “Junk” and “Disgraced,” his plays include “The Who & The What” and “The Invisible Hand,” which received the Obie Award, Outer Critics Circle John Gassner Award and Olivier, among other accolades.