Howe’s Brooklyn: Met Museum Director To Retire, Bring Decades of Arts Smarts To Thirteen’s ‘SundayArts’

Launched in March 2008, “SundayArts” is one in a series of new initiatives developed under the leadership of NEAL SHAPIRO, president and CEO of Thirteen’s parent company WNET. In January, Thirteen debuted “Reel 13,” an on-air, online showcase for classic, short and independent films. In October, Shapiro launched “Worldfocus,” the first non-commercial international news program (in the example of the BBC) produced for an American audience. Thirteen has long been a producer of such acclaimed series as “Great Performances,” “American Masters” and “Charlie Rose.”

“Paula and Philippe are wonderful additions to Thirteen and the ideal hosts for ‘SundayArts,’” said Shapiro. “Philippe is one of the great leaders in the art world, with unparalleled experience and insight on New York’s cultural scene. Paula’s dynamic on-air presence, her exceptional career in television journalism and her deep personal involvement with the arts make her a tremendous asset to this new program.

“‘SundayArts’ is the only program of its kind and I look forward to working with Paula to open new doors for Thirteen viewers and bring the arts in all their glorious manifestations to new audiences.”

“I am honored to work with Philippe and Thirteen in bringing New Yorkers news about the arts and cultural events that define our city,” added Zahn.

“Their combined expertise and insight will add a tremendously exciting dimension to the program,” said DAVID HORN, executive producer of “Great Performances” and “SundayArts.”

After beginning his Metropolitan Museum career in 1963 in its Department of European Paintings, de Montebello rose steadily through the curatorial ranks. Except for his nearly five-year stint as director of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, he has spent his entire career at the Met, where he returned in 1974 to assume the post of vice director for Curatorial and Educational Affairs, becoming the museum’s director in 1977.

He has not only served longer than any other director in the Metropolitan’s history, but has for several years ranked as the longest-serving leader at any major museum in the world. Under his leadership, the Museum has nearly doubled in size.

Paula Zahn has been a network news presence for 30 years and is an accomplished cellist who made her Carnegie Hall debut in 1992. Familiar with the new morning spot, she previously anchored CNN’s “American Morning with Paula Zahn.” Before that, she co-hosted “CBS This Morning” and anchored the “Evening News Saturday Edition.” Zahn was also a one-time anchor at ABC’s “Good Morning America.” SundayArts airs Sundays at noon. News, features and interviews are available online at www.thirteen.org/ sundayarts.

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AT BROOKLYN KITCHEN, CHEF LINDA MONASTRA will teach a class about — among other enticing topics — how to cook Thanksgiving Side Dishes. The best part is the ingredients come from Brooklyn, so the dishes include veggies braised with Brooklyn Lager, bruschetta made with Rick’s Picks Phat Beets, dishes featuring produce grown on the Red Hook Farm, and more.

The class is $40 and is scheduled for Monday, Nov. 17, at 6:30 p.m. RSVP to reserve your spot.

ON FRIDAY, STUDENTS FROM JOHN DEWEY HIGH SCHOOL in Brooklyn will be some of the first to learn about hunger — and what they can do to make a difference in eradicating the epidemic — in what Mercy Corps is calling the world’s first Action Center to End World Hunger.

Designed by Ed Schlossberg and his team at ESI Design and now open for less than a month, the center in Battery Park City is the first interactive multimedia facility dedicated to educating visitors about the causes of hunger and poverty. The high school students will be participating in a 90-minute workshop beginning at the Irish Hunger Memorial, located directly across the street from the Action Center.

TINA FEY, ANN CURRY, co-anchor of NBC’s “Today,” and CNN’s senior international correspondent NIC ROBERTSON help welcome and educate visitors at the Center with recorded video messages. For more information, visit www.actioncenter. org.

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“ILL HEALTH HAMPERS A NATION’S SOCIAL and economic development by triggering a vicious cycle of unsustainable resource use that undermines its economic stability.”

So says Dr. PATRICIA CHOLEWKA, RN, a professor of nursing at City Tech, who spent part of last year in Lithuania on a Fulbright Scholar grant observing and studying the application of information technology (IT) to nursing education and clinical practice.

Cholewka has co-edited a new book, Health Capital and Sustainable Socioeconomic Development, which highlights what she sees as an unmet need in the marketplace.

“What we’ve tried to do,” she says, “is show how closely related issues of development, environment and health are.” The book emphasizes how population health impacts socioeconomic viability and explains the need for improving healthcare management policy.

Cholewka will be a featured speaker at the City University of New York Information Technology (IT) conference on Dec. 5 at John Jay College.

“Let’s face it — the global healthcare industry is undergoing dynamic changes from system reorganization to using advanced IT across the entire spectrum of healthcare delivery,” Cholewka adds.

Cholewka’s most recent IT research was conducted during the six months she spent in 2007 at Vilnius University. “Being of Lithuanian ancestry, I wanted to play a part in helping to improve the quality of life of the Lithuanian people as they struggled to re-enter the global community.”

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WILLIAMSBURG RESIDENT AND DICKINSON COLLEGE STUDENT ZACHARY MARCIAL GARLITOS, a junior English major, is studying in the college’s study abroad program in Norwich, England, this academic year. The Norwich Humanities Program begins with four weeks in London, where students take an innovative interdisciplinary course that studies the history and culture of the city.