Stanford Report, March 22, 2006

Cardinal Chronicle

BY MICHAEL PEÑA

"Eyes of Hope," a collection of lost portraits of Greeks who immigrated to San Francisco nearly a century ago, will be on display at the Bechtel International Center through March 31. The pictures were developed from glass negative plates scavenged from a San Francisco building condemned in the 1970s that eventually found their way to Sausalito photographer STEEFENIE WICKS. She didn't do much with them over the next 15 years, but her daughter drew pictures of the portraits in a sketchbook. Then her daughter died, and out of grief, Wicks began printing the entire collection. She spent countless hours examining the faces and storefronts in the background, poring over immigration records and delving into the local Greek community. She even brought the portraits to Greek Orthodox churches, where HELEN TOMBROPOULOS, a program administrator for math and computational sciences at Stanford, recognized her grandmother in a print about four years ago. Wicks debuted her exhibit on campus last month with a slide show and lecture that highlighted her unusual odyssey as an African American woman who traveled to Greece and Turkey to retrace the history of the original photographer. "It's an amazing story," Tombropoulos said. "If you see these pictures, you will see these people who are proud and full of hope."

ROSA GONZÁLEZ, director of the Diversity and Access Office, is putting out an early call for volunteers, artists and entertainers for this year's Multicultural Springfest. The annual staff-appreciation event is in its 12th year and will once again include a free lunch, T-shirts, art exhibits and entertainment. This year's fete is scheduled for Thursday, May 25, in Frost Amphitheater from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. González said to expect ethnic eats such as tandoori yogurt chicken, marinated stir-fry tofu and veggies and Middle Eastern spiced lamb. Anyone interested in performing, exhibiting or helping should send an e-mail to springfest06@lists.stanford.edu.

The Benefits Department reported a successful start to a recently launched program. Nearly 90 staffers attended the first informational session on benefits for employees who plan to retire within a year. The workshop was held Feb. 24 in the Amy Blue Conference Room at 651 Serra St. The session will be repeated monthly, with the next one coming up this Friday, March 24, from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. Seating is on a first-come basis, and brown bagging is encouraged. For future dates, go to http://benefitsu.stanford.edu/calendar/calendar.html.