The College of Arts and Sciences and the Liberal Studies Project host the monthly Meet the Professor series to highlight the college’s research and cultural offerings.

ThisĚýsemester’sĚýtalks are:

Sept. 7:Ěý“Attending to What Remains: Public Memory at Louisville’s Cave Hill Cemetery,” Stephen Schneider, English associate professor. He will discuss the cemetery’s memorial landscape that has become a museum of municipal history dedicated to notables ranging from Louisville’s first mayor to Muhammad Ali.

ĚýOct. 5:Ěý“Pipe Politics, Contested Waters: Embedded Infrastructures of Millennial Mumbai,” Lisa Bjorkman, urban and public affairs assistant professor. She will talk about the deterioration of the Indian city’s water-delivery system despite economic growth and development and its social, political and hydraulic effects.

Nov. 2:Ěý“How to Tame a Fox and Build a Dog,” Lee Dugatkin, biology professor. Drawing on his 2017 book title, the science historian will share the story of lead scientist Lyudmila Trut and a research team in Siberia that for six decades has been domesticating silver foxes to replay the evolution of dogs in real time.

Dec. 7:Ěý“Using Technology to Develop Novel Treatments for Eating Disorders,” Cheri Levinson, psychological and brain sciences assistant professor. The director of UofL’s new Eating Anxiety Treatment (EAT) laboratory and clinic will talk about the deadliest of mental illnesses and discuss her ongoing research to develop novel interventions to treat the disorders.

The Thursday luncheon talks begin at noon in the University Club. Reservations are required, with $15 payment by check. To reserve a spot, contact Janna Tajibaeva via email or 502-852-2247 no later than the Monday before each event.

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The touching tribute was all thanks to Maggie Cassaro, a Louisville artist with strong UofL ties.

Cassaro works part-time at the medical school. She graduated in 1986 with a BS in business administration and is now earning an English MA with a concentration in Creative Writing. After Ali died and plans were put into place for his funeral and memorial service to be held in Louisville, she came up with the rose petal idea and tapped others to help pull it off.

“It was truly a community effort to make this happen,” she said.

When she first heard of Ali’s passing, she wondered “How do you honor someone like that?”

Her family had lined the entrances to her mother’s home with rose petals when she died. The beautiful image stuck with her and inspired her.

Because she had worked with Cave Hill for her mother’s burial, she knew who to call. She posed her idea to Cave Hill’s director, who liked the idea but had to check with the funeral home.Ěý

The funeral home passed the request along to Lonnie Ali, Muhammad Ali’s wife.

Cassaro was told that “Lonnie cried and said it was the most generous gift of gratitude that she’d ever received.”

After Cassaro got the green light to continue, she contacted Nanz and Kraft Florists. They agreed to help and so did Schulz’s Florist, Valumarket and Costco. Between them all, some 2,000 roses worth more than $6,000 were donated.

Cassaro worked with friends to pull the petals apart and it took several hours to lay the petals down.

After the procession passed, people picked up the petals and took them home as souvenirs.