Art admirers who wish to gain a good perspective on Collin College’s visual art department should visit THE ARTS gallery through Saturday, Sept. 22. The gallery is hosting its annual kick-off exhibition for the 2007-08 year, “Exhibition One: the faculty,” a variety of work, from 3D and 2D paintings, drawings, printmaking, ceramics, sculptures, small metals, photography and graphic design, all created by the college’s visual art faculty. The gallery is located at the Spring Creek Campus, 2800 E. Spring Creek Parkway in Plano. The exhibit is free and open to the public. A reception for the event is scheduled for 6 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 5. THE ARTS gallery’s summer hours are: Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-8 p.m.; Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; and Saturday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. For more information about this show or future shows, visit the gallery’s website at www.ccccd.edu/THEARTSgallery or call 972.881.5873.

The Cultivating Scholars Speaker Series will feature two speakers this September. Dr. Wade Pickren, associate chair of the Department of Psychology at Ryerson University, will present “How the History of Psychology Can Help Us Understand Social Justice: Psychologists and Interracial Housing in New York City, 1945-1955”  and  Dr. Alexandra Rutherford, associate professor of psychology at York University, will present “From Pigeons to People: Inside the Human Skinner Box” at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 12. From 10-11:15 a.m., Thursday, Sept. 13, Dr. Pickren will present  “Making a More Inclusive Psychology:  A DVD Documentary History of the Struggle to Make the APA Inclusive of Racial and Ethnic Minorities in Psychology” and Dr. Rutherford will present “Changing the Face of Psychology:  Feminism’s Past and Presence.” All lectures will be in the Spring Creek Campus Conference Center. For more information about the Cultivating Scholars Speaker Series, contact the division of Social and Behavioral Sciences at 972.881.5800.

Collin College is hosting two speakers and a  from FritoLay at 1:30 p.m., Friday, Sept. 14, at the Spring Creek Campus Conference Center. Dr. Don Strickert, research fellow, will present “Applications of the Binomial and Normal Distributions in Sensory and Consumer Research at FritoLay.” Dr. Strickert collaborates with scientists, engineers and management to design experiments, sampling, data analysis, computer modeling and problem solving. Dr. Alexa Williams will present “Utilizing Consumer Research to Guide Product Development at FritoLay. She currently works in the sensory/consumer testing group. The speakers will be followed by a sensory testing event.

In conjunction with Hispanic Heritage Month, the Auteur Film Series, “Secrets, Deceptions and Epiphanies: Fruit from the Cinematic Tree of Knowledge,” will present “Volver” at 7 p.m., Monday, Sept. 17, at the Spring Creek Campus Conference Center. The 2006 film is rated R and directed by Pedro Almodovar and runs 121 minutes. The story revolves around Raimunda in Madrid, who, when her aunt dies, discovers a revelation from the past. For more information, visit www.ccccd.edu/auteurfilm.com .

The 2007-08 Distinguished Lecture Series kicks off with Dr. Trevor Pinch, professor of sociology and professor and chair of Science and Technology Studies at Cornell University. Dr. Pinch will give a free lecture at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 25, at the Spring Creek Campus Conference Center. On Wednesday, Sept. 26, he will do classroom visits, and a faculty reception is set for 11:30 a.m. at the conference center. Dr. Pinch will present "Understanding the Golem of Science and Technology: The Social Roots of Knowledge.” For more information, visit www.ccccd.edu/speakerseries .

Oral HIV testing takes place at the Spring Creek Campus Tuesday, Sept. 25. There is no charge for the testing. Testing is not automatic. The representative from the Greater Dallas Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse (GDCADA) will conduct a risk assessment and evaluation prior to testing, as well as offer education about how to avoid risky behaviors. To schedule an appointment call Robert Reeves, with (GDCADA) at 214.725.5916, Monday-Friday from 8 a.m.–5 p.m. Contact Counseling Services at 972.881.5126 for more information.

Collin College is set to host the 2007 Psychology Synergy Conference Thursday-Saturday, Oct. 4-6, at the Spring Creek Campus. Dr. Davis Buss, professor of psychology and president of the Human Behavior and Evolution Society at The University of Texas at Austin, will speak at 1 p.m., Friday, Oct. 5, at the Spring Creek Campus Conference Center. His presentation is titled “Sexual Conflict in Human Mating.” Dr. Helen Fisher, visiting professor and member of the Center for Human Evolutionary Studies and Department of Anthropology at Rutgers University, will speak at 10 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 6, at the conference center. Her presentation is titled “Why We Love: The Nature and Chemistry of Romantic Love.” Other featured events include a Brain, Behavior and Cognition Colloquium, Psi Beta and Psi Chi workshops, a presentation on incorporating service-learning into psychology, a Teaching Honors Psychology roundtable and a presentation on psychology in film. For more information, visit http://psibeta.ccccd.edu.

In conjunction with the Book-in-Common program, the Auteur Film Series, “Secrets, Deceptions and Epiphanies: Fruit from the Cinematic Tree of Knowledge,” will present “The Killing Fields” on all three campuses.

• 7 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 9 -- Angelika Film Center, Plano
• 7 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 11 -- Preston Ridge Campus, F249
• 1 p.m., Friday, Oct. 12 -- Central Park Campus, Pike Hall
• 1 p.m., Monday, Oct. 15 -- Spring Creek Campus, C104

The film is about Sydney Schanberg, a New York Times journalist, who is sent to Cambodia to report on the government coup of the Khmer Rouge. The film is directed by Roland Joffe and runs 141 minutes. It is rated PG. For more information, visit www.ccccd.edu/auteurfilm.com .

Collin College will host philosophy scholar May Sim, associate professor of philosophy at the College of the Holy Cross, at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 16, in the Spring Creek Campus Conference Center. She will present “Cultivating Virtue with Aristotle and Confucius.” Sim received her doctorate from Vanderbilt University. She is the contributing editor of The Crossroads of Norm and Nature: Essays on Aristotles Ethics and Metaphysics and From Puzzles to Principles?: Essays on Aristotle’s Dialectic. For more information, contact Anthony Mansueto, dean of Communications and Humanities, at tmansueto@ccccd.edu or 972.881.5812.