Busy start of school year already underway at university

California State University Channel Islands began its fall semester on Aug. 27.

The university's faculty and staff members have scheduled several events for September. Programs are on the university campus unless otherwise noted.

Additional events are listed on the CSUCI Calendar, which can be accessed through a link at www.csuci.edu.

• A u t h o r Sandra Cisneros will present a reading and book signing at 7 p.m. Mon., Sept. 10 in Malibu Hall 100.

Cisneros is the author of "The House on Mango Street" and "Caramelo." Admission is free.

There is free shuttle service from the Camarillo Metrolink Station/Lewis Road parking lot; a bus runs every 15 minutes. Oncampus parking is $6.

For more information, call Kathleen Contreras, education lecturer, (805) 437-8976 or e-mail kathleen.contreras@csuci.edu.

•Authors Maria Melendez and Paul Willis will present a poetry reading, "Poetry, Science, Spirit," at 7:30 p.m. Wed., Sept. 19 in the Aliso Hall Auditorium. Admission is free.

Melendez serves as associate editor for Momotombo Press and as co-coordinator for "Poetas y Pintores: Artists Conversing with Verse," a traveling exhibition of contemporary Latino art and poetry.

Willis has taught at Westmont College since 1988. He has published poems in journals such as "Poetry," "Ascent, Askew," "Wilderness" and "Christian Century."

For more information, call Brad Monsma, professor of English, (805) 437-8948 or e-mail brad.monsma@csuci.edu.

•Matthew Furmanski, assistant professor of art at CSUCI, and Monica Furmanski will offer an artists' lecture about their work at 4:30 p.m. Wed., Sept. 19 at the Atkinson Gallery in the humanities building at Santa Barbara City College. Their work will be displayed through Sept. 28 at the college gallery. The website is gallery.sbcc.edu.

For more information, call Matthew Furmanski at (805) 4378584 or e-mail matthew.furmanski@csuci.edu.

•"An Evening with Patch Adams" will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Wed., Sept. 26 in Malibu Hall 100. A book signing will follow from 8 to 8:30 p.m.

Tickets are $30 for the public, $15 for CSUCI faculty and staff members, and free for CSUCI students. Tickets can be purchased online at www.csuci.edu.

Free parking and shuttle service to and from the campus is available from the Camarillo Metrolink Station/Lewis Road parking lot from 5 to 9 p.m.

Patch Adams, MD, is a speaker on wellness and humor, as well as healthcare systems.

•Author Peter Richardson will present a lecture titled "American Prophet: The Civic Engagement and Public Scholarship of Carey McWilliams" from 10:30 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. on Thurs., Sept. 27 in Malibu Hall 100. Admission is free.

Free parking and shuttle service to and from the campus is available from the Camarillo Metrolink Station/Lewis Road parking lot from 5 to 9 p.m. Oncampus parking is $6.

Richardson is the editorial director at PoliPointPress in Sausalito, Calif. He is the author or editor of works on language, literature and California public policy, including the biography, "American Prophet: The Life and Work of Carey McWilliams."

For more information, call Frank Barajas, associate professor of history, (805) 437-8862 or e-mail frank.barajas@csuci.edu.