Take the A-Train back to the days of Lindy-hopping while reminiscing with the big band sounds of Glenn Miller, Count Basie, Duke Ellington and more in American Big Band (June 10). A talented cast of singers, dancers and musicians brings the big band story to vivid life in a show that features hits such as String of Pearls, Mona Lisa, In the Mood and more.

Round out your Father’s Day celebration with Sweet Baby James: The Music of James Taylor (June 15, 4 p.m.) Sweet Baby James was the album that started it all for Taylor. Ranked as one of the 500 greatest albums by Rolling Stone magazine, it propelled him into the folk/rock spotlight and set the tone for his later projects. The first half of Sweet Baby James: The Music of James Taylor celebrates this seminal work, while the second half pays tribute to Taylor’s other great hits.

Remember when rock was fun? The Piano Men – Starring Jim Witter (June 27) is a musical journey through the 1970s, featuring the songs of Billy Joel and Elton John. A respected recording artist in his own right, Witter has been entertaining audiences for more than 20 years. A few years ago, Witter came up with the concept of featuring music from his two mentors. The result is a multimedia rock musical that features the biggest hits of Joel and John including Don’t Ask Me Why, Crocodile Rock and, of course, Piano Man. The performance is sponsored by 92.5/95.5/107.9 WIND-FM, The Classic Rock Station.

It takes two performers to fill the blue suede shoes of “The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll.” Performers Mike Albert and Scot Bruce re-create the hits that made “The King” rock ‘n’ roll’s greatest and most enduring icon. Relive the greatest moments of his 30-year career with songs such as Blue Hawaii, Heartbreak Hotel, and It’s Now or Never in Blue Suede Shoes (The Ultimate Tribute) Starring Mike Albert, Scot Bruce and the Big E Band (July 5).

Björn Again – The ABBA Show (July 11) is the ABBA-endorsed, interactive concert that makes audience members part of the show! Celebrate the music of a generation and experience the glitter-laden fun that has crowds singing and dancing all night to ABBA’s greatest hits Dancing Queen, Waterloo, Take a Chance on Me and more.

Especially for our younger audience members, UFPA presents The Backyardigans Live!

(July 24, 4 p.m., 7 p.m.) Nickelodeon’s backyard friends, The Backyardigans, come to life for preschoolers in this brand-new live show, The Backyardigans Live! Tale of the Mighty Knights! Join Knights Uniqua and Tyrone as they embark on a quest to protect King Pablo’s unpredictable egg. Along the way, Grabbing Gobblin Austin and Flighty Fairy Tasha join the medieval mayhem as the runaway egg hatches feet and makes an unexpected dash all the way up to Dragon Mountain! The Backyardigans will need the audience’s help to face a mighty dragon and return the egg to the king. The Backyardigans Live! will have the entire family singing, dancing and laughing along to songs of courage, friendship and the power of the imagination.

Experience Pink Floyd’s seminal album in the World Tour Premiere of Classic Albums Live – Pink Floyd: Dark Side of the Moon (August 14). Classic Albums Live recreates The Dark Side of the Moon in all of its glory, “note for note” and “cut for cut” using some of the world’s best rock musicians. The performance is sponsored by 92.5/95.5/107.9 WIND-FM.

Up-and-coming bluegrass band Cherryholmes (August 21) is a real family affair with Mom, Dad and four siblings making up the band. Performing a mix of original songs penned by the band members alongside carefully chosen classics, this modern-day “Partridge Family” has become a sensation in the bluegrass world.

Whether you Take the A Train, Take a Chance on Me or experience the adventure of The Backyardigans Live!, UFPA’s Summer in the City series has the cure for your summertime blues.

All performances are at 7:30 p.m. in the Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, unless otherwise noted.

The U.S. Department of Education’s planning committee consists of only 26 individuals selected from throughout the nation. The committee is responsible for providing instruction and education for individuals from every state and territory of the United States.

Lowman possesses extensive managerial and educational experience and also is a Florida alumnus, Gator athletic letter recipient, former student government officer and a past Volunteer of the Year for Alachua County.

A newly formed support group, The Friends of Theatre and Dance, created and funded the two $750 annual scholarships that were awarded in the Constans Theatre.

Each year, the Friends of Theatre and Dance will award one of the scholarships to a theatre student, the other to a dance student. Brandon Washington, a dance performance major, and Matthew Lindsay, a graduate student in theatre, became the first students to win the award in an April 23 ceremony at the School of Theatre and Dance.

The criteria for the scholarship are talent, scholarship, contribution to the School of Theatre and Dance, and outstanding artistic promise in the fields of theatre and dance.

Brandon Washington, a bachelor of fine arts student with a major in Dance Performance, performs with UF’s student groups The Florida MOD Project and Theatre Jazz Repertoire. This academic year he was also seen in “Dance 2008: Tribute, Voyage to Tomorrow,” the dance event for the UF Capital Campaign’s kickoff gala, Valencia Community College Choreographer’s Showcase and the UF fall and spring BFA Dance Showcases. Brandon was also on the College of Fine Arts Dean’s List and is a member of The National Society of Collegiate Scholars.

Matthew Lindsay, a third-year master of fine arts candidate, was last seen performing as Henry in “The Real Thing” and Harry in “Night of the Living Dead.” He also interned last semester with the Hippodrome’s H.I.T.T. program, working with local youth. Past UF performances include “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare” (Abridged), “Sir Fopling” (The Man of Mode), “Horst” (Bent), “Kerry” (The Exonerated), “Vincent” (Vincent In Brixton), and “Claudius” (Hamlet).

The Friends of Theatre and Dance was organized in January 2008 to provide scholarship funding and to encourage public awareness and support for the UF College of Fine Arts School of Theatre and Dance. A membership drive is presently underway by the Friends and a major fund raising event is scheduled for April 2008. For more information about the organization and next year’s event, please contact Kelly Vogel at 352-846-1218.

Jose, an associate professor of forest ecology with the School of Forest Resources and Conservation, received the Young Forester Leadership Award from the Society of American Foresters last fall. His awards and honors include the Aga Khan International Fellowship (Switzerland), Nehru Memorial Award for Scholastic Excellence (India), UF CALS Junior Faculty Award of Merit by Gamma Sigma Delta, the Award of Excellence in Research by the Southeastern Society of American Foresters, and the Stephen Spurr Award by the Florida Division of the Society of American Foresters.

Stoffella, a horticulture professor with the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, had served as the center’s interim director for 11 months. He served as an associate director for the center since 2002.

“Coming from within the system, my learning curve is a little bit easier than someone coming from outside,” he said.

Despite Florida’s budget crunch in higher education, Stoffella said he remains an optimist.

“Agriculture will continue to be a major state industry,” he said.

The Indian River REC in Fort Pierce is one of 13 IFAS research and education centers. It is known for cutting-edge research and its education program, which draws students from five counties.

The center also helps producers through numerous research and education programs, covering topics such as citrus disease control, environmental horticulture, invasive pest and plant control, soil amendments, micro-irrigation, post-harvest handling and packing and aquaculture.

Stoffella’s research focuses on water quality associated with vegetable and citrus production systems. His biggest contributions to horticulture have been with improved management of commercial vegetable and citrus crops.

Stoffella has been at the Indian River REC since 1980. He earned his bachelor’s degree in horticulture in 1976 from Delaware Valley College of Science and Agriculture, his master’s in horticulture in 1977 from Kansas State University, and his doctorate in vegetable crops in 1980 from Cornell University.

UF is among five U.S. universities chosen for the ABC News On Campus program. Students will work as staffers in each of the bureaus, contributing story ideas and using equipment provided by ABC. The program will allow ABC to expand its news-gathering resources while training future journalists.

“This is a great opportunity for these students to learn about the news industry and for us at ABC News to help nurture these bright young journalists,” ABC News President David Westin stated in an e-mail.

The students will be paid and receive extensive training from ABC News starting in August. Their work will be seen on both broadcast and digital platforms.

“We also will be doing our very best to create a successful learning environment, by providing state-of-the-art digital technology including video cameras, computers and edit software,” Westin stated.

Other universities chosen for the program are Arizona State University, Syracuse University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and University of Texas at Austin.

John Wright, dean of UF’s college, said ABC News representatives told him they wanted bureaus in the top five journalism programs in the nation.

“This national recognition is a tremendous honor and reflects very highly on our faculty and students,” Wright said. “This also moves the college forward as a leader in digital communications education.”

Participants will discover African oral traditions about monkeys and how the animals inspired these stories.

The class is $18 for Florida Museum members and $24 for non-members. Pre-registration is required. For more information call 352-273-2061 or visit www.flmnh.ufl.edu/education/childrens_classes.htm.

This program complements the Florida Museum’s current temporary exhibit, Inside Africa, on display through Sept. 7. Based on a permanent exhibit at the Field Museum of Chicago, “Inside Africa” engages visitors through many hands-on activities, three-dimensional settings, multimedia presentations and an exceptional collection of artifacts. The exhibit offers a deeper understanding of the vitality, richness and significance of Africa’s many cultures from historical and contemporary perspectives.

Admission to “Inside Africa” is $6.50 for adults, $5.50 for Florida residents, seniors age 62 and above and students, and $4 for children ages 3-12. For more information, visit www.flmnh.ufl.edu.

Public broadcasting stations WUFT-TV, Channel 5, WUFT-DT, Digital 5, WUFT-FM, Classic 89 and WJUF-FM, Nature Coast 90 will coordinate the musical performances and the fireworks show by Skylighters of Florida.

Musical performers will be announced at a later date.

For nine weeks, the students will research sustainable construction within the East African context in collaboration with Ardhi University and the University of Dar es Salaam. The research will focus on sustainable construction elements such as building materials, a reclaimed and recycled water supply and thermal comfort for heating and cooling. At the end of the project, the students will use their research findings to design and construct a demonstration building unit for a local town.

The program is UF’s first building construction project in Africa. The NSF’s Office of International Science and Engineering supports the highest quality international research experiences for U.S. students to help educate a globally engaged science and engineering workforce capable of remaining at the forefront of world science and technology.

UF building construction assistant professor Esther Obonyo is the three-year program’s principal investigator, with UF building construction assistant professor Robert Ries and the University of Nairobi’s Alfred Omenya acting as co-investigators. The program, also supported by the UF International Center, will take students to selected locations in East Africa each summer to work alongside foreign mentors.

“The theme of the program is a global perspective on engineering sustainable building systems,’’ Obonyo said. “We will expose the students to the current sustainable development efforts in East Africa and engage them in deliberations with community members. This will enable them to experience what it’s like to develop appropriate building technologies in real-life situations where sustainability is vital.”

In addition to researching East African construction issues, the students also will investigate the broader issues of engineering sustainable building systems, specifically the requirements for support from social and economic networks.

In response to the budget adopted last Friday by the Florida Legislature, we are today announcing cuts that correspond to declining state revenues.

Some of those budget reductions are outlined below. I asked each vice president, dean and director to reduce spending by 6 percent for the fiscal year that begins July 1. Taken together, these cuts total $47 million.

The cuts are the result of weeks of very difficult discussions and decisions at the college and administrative unit levels. Before we get into the specifics of the cuts, I want to commend our deans, vice presidents and directors for the leadership they have demonstrated. They worked very hard to minimize the impacts, but clearly we cannot take reductions this large without making difficult choices.

UF’s General Revenue budget is $69 million less than it was a year ago. This number includes $22 million UF cut in October, and $47 million we are now cutting to reflect legislative reductions made in March that we covered with one-time funds, as well as next year’s budget.

While the Legislature appropriates additional funds from increased lottery revenues, lottery sales have not been increasing as anticipated and we have no assurance these funds will materialize. We also don’t know if additional cuts may become necessary later in the year if state revenues continue to fall.

The budget cuts impact nearly every part of the university, although we are exempting university libraries and security programs and plan to fund faculty promotional raises.

The criteria for deciding budget reductions included protecting the university’s core missions of education, research and service, the goals of the university and the needs of students and the state. Administrators have needed to eliminate or reduce services and allocate resources more efficiently.

Some degree programs and courses are slated to be eliminated; however, students currently in these degree programs will be able to complete them. In addition, the university is decreasing funding for research and downsizing or restructuring some departments.

Accordingly, the budget eliminates approximately 430 positions, resulting in a lay off of approximately 20 faculty and 118 staff members. The remaining positions are currently vacant or will be funded by sources other than state dollars. The layoffs do not affect tenured faculty.

In addition, the university will reduce undergraduate enrollment by 4,000 over four years. This reduction began with the decrease of transfer students by 1,000 for next year.

Because much of the money the university receives from the state is dedicated to paying salaries, the elimination of positions is often the only option for a college or administrative unit to achieve the required cuts. Colleges and administrative offices with the largest number of employees will see the most impact.

The University of Florida Foundation also is reducing spending and will no longer receive any state funding.

A list of reductions is posted on the UF President’s Web site at www.president.ufl.edu.

The budget will be presented to the Faculty Senate Steering Committee on May 8 at 3 p.m. for faculty review. The Faculty Senate has a Web site at http://www.senate.ufl.edu/budget/response-form.html for faculty questions and comments. The budget reductions will be finalized and presented to the Board of Trustees as a recommendation for their endorsement during a conference call the week of May 12.

Official lay-off notices will go out to affected faculty and staff following the Board of Trustees meeting. Professionals from the Office of Human Resources will be available to assist those personnel in exploring other employment opportunities and benefits. Terms of separation vary depending upon classification of the eliminated positions. For more information, go to: http://www.hr.ufl.edu/emp_relations/layoff/default.asp

The timing of today’s announcement was based on the Legislature’s final approval of the FY 08-09 budget. That budget goes into effect on July 1, requiring swift action by the university to reduce spending.

We are in a very difficult time and every member of the faculty, student body and staff will face hardship as a result. I regret that we must lay off anyone, and we will do all we can to support our colleagues during this difficult process. It is my hope that we will come out of this period as quickly as possible and that the University of Florida will emerge strong. Meanwhile, I ask your help in maintaining excellence in education, research and service.