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Roanoke College announces several upcoming events. Roanoke's theme for the year is "The Challenge of Intellectual Inquiry," as the College is launching a new general education curriculum. Many events will focus, as does the curriculum, on what it means to study something deeply - to explore, inquire and examine. Happenings on the Salem campus over the next few weeks include the followin

Lecture: Tuesday, October 27, 5 p.m. Antrim Chapel.(The October 15 release listed this event with a start time of 4:30 p.m.)

George Weigel, official biographer of Pope John Paul II and one of America's foremost Catholic public intellectuals, will speak on "The Meaning of Pope John Paul II for Church and World." The first volume of his two-volume biography of the Pope, "Witness to Hope," was a New York Times bestseller and has been translated into 14 languages. He has authored 20 other books and writes a weekly column that appears in many journals and newspapers. Weigel is currently Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C.

Question & Answer session/Reading: Thursday, October 29, 3/7 p.m. Colket Center Garrett Meeting Room/Antrim Chapel.

Lee Upton is the author of eleven books, including the new novella The Guide to the Flying Island (Miami University Press). She has written five books of poetry, most recently Undid in the Land of Undone, and four books of literary criticism. She is the recipient of a Pushcart Prize, the National Poetry Series Award and awards from the Poetry Society of America. Her poetry and short stories appear widely. She is a professor of English and the writer-in-residence at Lafayette College. Upton will answer questions in the afternoon session and offer a reading the same evening.

Art Exhibit: October 30-December 11. Smoyer and Olin galleries.

Opening Reception: October 30, 6 p.m. Olin Gallery.
Tarbell's artist's lecture: Thursday, October 29, 5 p.m. Olin 231.

Evangeline's artist's lecture: Friday, October 30, 5:30 p.m. Olin 231.

In Smoyer Gallery, Rob Tarbell presents his work titled Diagnostics, a series concentrated on the effect of smoke on paper. While the smoke is controlled and manipulated, it is allowed to remain true to its nature and explores Tarbell's interest in the manipulation of "traditional materials." Diagnostics has evolved Generators, a series of "work that combines elements of the parlor game ‘Ghost of My Friends' with the responses from the Rorschach Inkblot test." Tarbell hopes his work will "both balance accident with control and give permanence to the ephemeral."

Olin Gallery will present Margaret Evangeline's Polychromatic Series from Roanoke College's permanent collection. As a New York based and Louisiana-born artist, Evangeline explores different mediums that "deepen the immediacy of a moment." Her gunshot Polychromatic Series shows a departure from the traditional concepts of art and embraces a charged aesthetic language. Evangeline's video eXile also will be shown. eXile encompasses the dynamic world of fashion photo shoots through the eyes of an artist. It is an infusion of the process of Abstract Expressionism, coupled with the visual vibrancy of pop culture.

Lecture: Wednesday, November 4, 8 p.m. Colket Center Pickle Lounge. For further information, please call the Colket Center Information Desk at (540) 378-5125.

Barry Drake, often called a walking encyclopedia of music, will present a rock and roll multimedia show, "The Roots of Rock and Roll: 1953-63." Drake, one of rock music's foremost historians, will celebrate, examine, clarify and put into perspective one of the most exciting decades in music history. The show will feature a "behind the music" look at the 1950s and the pre-British invasion years of the early 1960s.

Lecture: Monday, November 9, 7:30 p.m. Massengill Auditorium.

Terrorism, particularly the possibility for unconventional terrorist attacks using chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear weapons, has been a major factor shaping U.S. domestic and national security policy over the last eight years. There is considerable debate about the risk of CBRN terrorism, with some analysts believing such attacks are straightforward for terrorist groups to carry out and others viewing them as more difficult than they might appear.

The 2009 Dr. Charles H. Fisher lecture will examine the recent history of chemical and biological terrorism, looking at historical incidents that shaped thinking about these threats as well as recent plots to acquire and use these weapons.

The speaker, Brian A. Jackson, is associate director of the Homeland Security research program at the RAND Corporation and an adjunct associate professor in the Security Studies program at Georgetown University . His research focuses on tactical and operational learning by terrorist groups and terrorist groups' use of technology. Jackson holds a Ph.D. in bioinorganic chemistry from the California Institute of Technology and a Master's degree from George Washington University in Science, Technology and Public Policy.

Fowler Lecture: Wednesday, November 11, 7:30 p.m. Bast Center. Tickets are free, but required and will be available after October 1 by visiting www.roanoke.edu/tickets or calling (540) 378-5125.

Nicholas Carr will speak on "The Shallows: Mind, Memory and Media in an Age of Instant Information." Carr, the author of three books on the influence of new media on how organizations use information, is an acclaimed writer and speaker. This talk is part of this year's College-wide series, "Intellectual Inquiry." Carr's visit is hosted by the Henry H. Fowler Public Affairs Lecture Series.

Theatre Roanoke College Fall Production: November 13 - 14, 19 - 21, 7:30 p.m. Olin Theater. $10/$7. For tickets and more information, please call the Olin Hall Box Office at (540) 375-2333.

TRC proudly presents the fabulously fantastical musical "The Fantasticks."

College Choir Concert : Sunday, November 29, 3 and 5 p.m. St. Andrew's Catholic Church. 631 Jefferson Street, Roanoke.

Join the acclaimed Roanoke College Choir for its 25th consecutive presentation of Lessons and Carols of Christmas. Beautiful Christmas music, old and new, congregational singing of the traditional carols and Scriptural readings combine to make this annual favorite "the unofficial opening of the Christmas season in the Valley." A free-will offering to support the work of Roanoke Area Ministries will be received.