Buffalo-area CAAAN volunteers and all interested alumni and friends of Cornell are invited to our annual CAAAN Kick-Off Dinner, to be held at Chef's Restaurant in downtown Buffalo on Thursday October 7th, 2010. While enjoying the cuisine of one of Buffalo's most famous restaurants, you will have the chance to learn more about the CAAAN program and hear an educational lecture on Cornell history.

The cost for the dinner is $18 per person, and will include a salad, main course, dessert, and coffee or tea. A cash bar will be available. Attendees have the choice of pre-ordering lasagna with a meatball, chicken cacciatora with spaghetti, or Chef's famous spaghetti parmesan. Cash bar begins at 6:30PM

And even if you're not interested in the CAAAN program, be sure to attend to hear a fascinating lecture on Cornell history by Cornell historian Corey Earle!

The evening's presentation, titled "The Best and Brightest Teaching the Best and Brightest," will focus on the legacy of Cornell's outstanding faculty. From Goldwin Smith and Anna Botsford Comstock to Flora Rose and Vladimir Nabokov, the presentation will highlight notable educators and anecdotes from their lives. How is Cornell's tradition of "freedom and responsibility" characterized by today's faculty and what President Skorton describes as "scholars who think otherwise"? The presentation will conclude with time for discussion or questions on any and all topics related to Cornell and its history.

The presenter, Corey Ryan Earle '07 is the Associate Director of Student Programs in the Office of Alumni Affairs and a 2007 graduate of the College of Agriculture & Life Sciences. He is the 13th Cornellian in his family, the son and grandson of faculty members Wendell and Brian Earle, and owns over 300 Cornell books. After graduation, he worked in the Rare & Manuscript Collections of Kroch Library as a reference specialist on Cornell history before joining Alumni Affairs & Development in spring 2008. Corey serves on the alumni boards of a variety of student groups and as a Cornell history resource person for departments and organizations on campus, from The Cornell Daily Sun to Dear Uncle Ezra. He is also a trustee of The History Center in Tompkins County.