• How Cool is Harvard? A Visit to the New Chilled Water Plant, October 28
• Book Group: The Space Between Us, November 3
• Walking Tour of Harvard....and Slightly Beyond, November 6
• Tour of the New College Theatre, November 12
• The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature, with Professor Steven Pinker, November 18
• Book Group: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, December 4
• Avoiding Fraud in the Workplace, December 16

How Cool is Harvard? A Visit to the New Chilled Water Plant
Presenter: Robert Manning, University Operations Services

Imagine a space, three stories high, half a football field in size, filled with pristine multi-colored pipes, part of Harvard's invisible underground world. The Chilled Water Plant is one of the most vital operational units at Harvard, providing cool air to much of the campus and ensuring that Harvard buildings are temperature controlled. The new Northwest Chilled Water Plant began operations in 2008. This tour will involve a walk through the plant, 67 feet below grade in the basement of FAS' Northwest Building, and an overview of how the cooling is supplied to the University. Participants will get a glimpse into Harvard's famous underground network.

Book Group
The Space Between Us, by Thrity Umrigar

The Space Between Us, Thrity Umrigar's widely-acclaimed novel about a wealthy woman and her downtrodden servant, offers a revealing look at class and gender roles in modern India. Alternatively told through the eyes of Sera, a Parsi widow whose pregnant daughter and son-in-law share her elegant home in Bombay, and Bhima, the elderly housekeeper who must support her orphaned granddaughter, Umrigar creates two sympathetic characters whose bond goes far deeper than that of employer and employee. The Space Between Us shows how the lives of the rich and the poor can be intrinsically connected, yet vastly removed from each other, and vividly captures how the bonds of womanhood are pitted against the divisions of class and culture (adapted from amazon.com). Complimentary copies of this book will be sent to participants upon registration.

Walking Tour of Harvard Yard...and Slightly Beyond
Presenter: Susan Shefte, Office of the Vice President for Administration

Whether you are new to Harvard or a veteran employee who has not ventured too far beyond your own office, you can benefit from learning more about Harvard's campus. Join us for a walking tour that will take you through Harvard Yard, over to the Science Center, and down to the River Houses. You will learn what offices are currently housed in the buildings on the tour and pick up some interesting tidbits from Harvard's past. Tours (given at least once each semester) are led by members of the VPA departments and include information and vouchers for a wide range of fun/interesting things to do at the University. A great way to orient yourself to the University, no matter how long you've been here.

Tour of the New College Theatre
Presenter: Dana Knox, Coordinator, New College Theatre

The New College Theatre, originally built in 1888 as the Hasty Pudding Club, officially re-opened October 17, 2007, after a massive overhaul that preserved the historic façade and front rooms on Holyoke Street, while constructing a six-story theatrical production center behind. The facility, managed by the Office for the Arts, contains a 250-seat state-of-the-art theatre, full rehearsal/dance studio, function hall, administrative and student offices, scene shop, dressing rooms, and wardrobe facilities. As an added benefit, the design is 100% ADA-compliant. Three student groups are in residence in the Club: the Hasty Pudding Theatricals, the Harvard Krokadiloes, and the Radcliffe Pitches. The facility has provided rehearsal/performance space to 30 additional groups during its inaugural year and has hosted over 65 professional guest artists, designers and technicians.

The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature
Presenter: Steven Pinker, Department of Psychology, Harvard University

When people use innuendo, such as sexual come-ons, veiled threats, polite requests or implied bribes, they reveal much about human nature, because our language has to do two things at once: convey information, and negotiate our social relationships. Renowned Harvard College professor, Steven Pinker, known for his ability to be both profound and entertaining, has devoted his life to studying the way people think and communicate. He will share ideas from his latest book, The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature.

Book Group
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, by Barbara Kingsolver

Bestselling author Barbara Kingsolver's first nonfiction narrative is centered on the old adage, "You are what you eat." Part memoir, part journalistic investigation, this book tells how Kingsolver's family was changed by one year of deliberately eating only locally-produced food. With pluck and good humor, Barbara Kingsolver and her family journey away from the industrial-food pipeline to a rural life, where their approach to food is to purchase it in their own neighborhood, grow it themselves, or learn to live without it. Their quest involves some surprising discoveries about turkeys' sex lives and overly zealous zucchini plants, but it also highlights the benefits of a food culture that is better for the neighborhood and better on the table. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle makes a passionate case for putting the kitchen back at the center of family life and diversified farms at the center of the American diet (adapted from www.animalvegetablemiracle.com). Complimentary copies of this book will be sent to participants upon registration.

Avoiding Fraud in the Workplace
Presenters: Michael Monaghan and Gail McDermott, Office of Risk Management, Harvard University

Harvard's employees contribute to the mission of the University in countless ways, serving as caretakers and stewards of its financial and material assets. This program will review employees' responsibilities toward Harvard and the types of things that can go wrong (and have) when people ignore/forget their obligations. Using case studies and real life examples, participants will explore situations that can increase the possibility of fraud and discuss the role of clear internal communications and controls in reducing it.