THE THIRD NORTHEAST ANNUAL COLLEGIATE ROMANIAN CULTURAL CONFERENCE
ROMANIA : PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE
Friday, April 30 th 2004 , 9 AM - 5 PM
Kellogg Center , International Affairs Building , 15th floor,
Columbia University in the City of New York
9:00-10:00 Registration
10:00-10:25 Opening remarks ( Prof. John S. Micgiel , Director, The East Central European Center, Columbia U. ), Nadia Crisan (First Secretary Embassy of Romania Washington))
10:25-10:45 Dr. Mona Momescu - Romanian Studies - an interdisciplinary field
10:45-11:15 Revd. Prof. John A. McGuckin - Romanian Monasticism
11:15-11:35 Dr. Mihaela Albu - Romanian-American Writers
11:35-12:05 Dr Filon Morar - Romania in the International Media
12:05-12:30 Razz Serbanescu - Better Business Bureau - A Bridge for Romanian-American Business
12:30-2:00 Lunch
2:00-2:30 Prof. Doru Tsaganea - Development Opportunities after Romania 's Admission to NATO
2:30-2:50 Andrei Postelnicu - Romania 's image abroad - Why it's awful and how it can be fixed.
2:50-3:20 Dr. Michael M Dediu - Romania and Mathematics
3:20-3:50 Dr. Theodor Damian - Theology and Philosophy: The Image of God in Our World Today
3:50-4:05 Kirsten Muetzel - Economic Development in Romania
4:05-4:30 Mark Meyer - Resolving Investors Concerns in Romania
4:30-5:00 Ella Veres -Is there a way out of the Eastern European Cultural Ghetto?
5:00 Closing Remarks
7:00 Dinner at Casa Romana
Prof. John S. Micgiel is the Director of the East Central European Center , the Executive Director of the Institute for the Study of Europe, the Director of the Harriman Institute and an Adjunct Associate Professor of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University .
Dr. Mona Momescu - Romanian Studies - an Interdisciplinary Field
How can we define Romanian Studies? Is there a methodology that enables the students and researchers to get a coherent image of Romanian Studies?
From ethnology to history, from literature to contemporary popular culture, Romanian Studies seems to become a keyword for those who are interested in or want to develop a career in "facts about/evaluation of Romania ".
Dr. Mona Momescu (mmm2120@columbia.edu) is a lecturer at Ovidius University , Constanta a lecturer of the Nicolae Iorga Chair of Romanian Language and Culture at Columbia University .
Revd. Prof. John A. McGuckin - Romanian Monasticism
Romania , over many centuries, developed a world-renowned monastic culture that often held the nation together in numerous times of political oppression.
Prof. John McGuckin (jam401@columbia.edu) is a priest of the Romanian Orthodox Patriarchate, (Archdiocese of Western Europe) and is currently Professor of Byzantine Christianity at Columbia University , and Professor of Church History at Union Theological Seminary.
Dr. Mihaela Albu - Romanian-American writers.
The presentation focuses on the activity of the most important Romanian/American writers, who now live and write in the US, but who never abandoned their Romanian identity.
Dr. Mihaela Albu (malbu_10@yahoo.com) is professor at the University of Craiova and currently, lecturer at Columbia University .
Razz Serbanescu - Better Business Bureau - a bridge for Romanian-American business
Presentation of Better Business Bureau Romania , in premiere to the Romanian community in the US .
Razz V. Serbanescu (Romania@BBB.ro, www.BBB.ro) is President and CEO of Better Business Bureau Romania
Dr. Filon Morar - Romania in the International Media
Romania is either absent, or present with rather exotic stories in the international media. Is this a peculiarity of the "Romanian case"? What can be done to project an image of Romania closer to reality in the media?
Filon Morar (filon.morar@romaniaun.org) is Second Secretary at the Romanian Mission to the UN and Assistant Professor at the School of Political Sciences , University of Bucharest .
Prof. Doru Tsaganea - Development Opportunities after Romania 's Admission to NATO
If security represented the major problem before this event, now cooperation in the economic, politic and social fields between Romania and the other NATO members is essential.
Prof. Doru Tsaganea teaches Political Sciences at Baruch College .
Andrei Postelnicu - Romania 's image abroad - Why it's awful and how it can be fixed
To most of the world, Romania is known for prostitutes, institutionalized children, and corrupt politicians. Misguided efforts by Romanian officials to promote the country's rich history and past in order to promote its present achievements go unnoticed and ignored. As a result, Romania 's image is the subject of frustration to Romanians everywhere, be they in positions of authority or ordinary people.
Andrei Postelnicu (Andrei.Postelnicu@ft.com) is a Reporter for Financial Times, US Capital Markets
Dr. Michael M Dediu - Romania and Mathematics
Many Romanian mathematicians achieved remarkable results, which contributed to the progress of the field. Names lake Spiru Haret, Traian Lalescu, Dimitrie Pompeiu, Simion Stoilow, Gheorghe Titeica, Dan Barbilian (also a poet,Ion Barbu), are well known in the mathematical community.
Dr. Michael M. Dediu (michael.dediu@derc.com) is President of DERC, Inc. (Dediu Research & Consulting) a Boston based company.
Dr. Theodor Damian - The Theology and Philosophy: The Image of God in Our World Today
From the perspective of a theologian and professor of philosophy, the presentation analyzes our contemporary world from the perspective of its major problems and discusses how the image of God in man is the ground of our existence and of our multi-level relationships.
Dr. Theodor Damian (tdamian@metropolitan.edu) is a Professor of Philosophy and Ethics, Metropolitan College of New York, editor of the cultural review Lumina lina , poet.
Kirsten Muetzel - Economic Development in Romania
While people have heard of Romania 's economic struggle since the revolution in 1989, many are not familiar of what development efforts are underway to advance Romania 's economic situation. Peace Corps Romania supports Romanian communities in their economic development efforts. Also, USAID currently funds a multi-million dollar microfinance project with the goal of developing the Romanian Small and Medium Sized Enterprise Sector.
Ms Muetzel (klm2107@columbia.edu) is a CPA, currently completing her MA program at SIPA. Ms. Muetzel worked in Romania in a Peace Corps program during which she engaged in social work and teaching.
Mark Meyer - Resolving Investor's Concerns in Romania
The concerns foreign investors have about Romania and the efforts that are slowly emerging to resolve these matters.
Mr. Meyer is Chairman of the Romanian-American Chamber of Commerce and the European Affairs Committee of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York .
Ella Veres - Is there a way out of the Eastern European cultural ghetto?
Ella Veres (www.ellaveres.com) is an itinerant writer/performer/artist, affiliated with the off-Broadway Neighborhood Playhouse Theater. Her journalistic work has been published in various Eastern European national papers and in The New York Times. Her photography and word exhibition Farewell, My Transylvania! and its concurrent performance are in continuous display throughout the country.
We would like to thank:
The East Central European Center Columbia University
The Romanian Club of
Columbia University
The Nicolae Iorga Chair of Romanian Language and Culture
Columbia University
Casa Rom ân a Restaurant (40 th St. & Queens Blvd. ) tel.718-784-4768
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/romanian