A delegation from the University of Oregon recently visited Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates – the first such visit in more than five years by a UO group in the Middle East. It was also the first official visit to Kuwait by UO officials. The visit was intended as a first step in establishing strategic contacts to promote study abroad and internship programs in the area, recruit students from Middle Eastern countries and explore new research opportunities that benefit both the UO and countries in the region.

Larry Miller has experience working with Michael Jordan, the Portland Trailblazers and the NBA. And later this month, he’ll bring that experience to a UO School of Law conference. Miller, president of Jordan Brand, a division of Nike, Inc., will keynote the 2013 Sports & Entertainment Law Conference, hosted by the University of Oregon School of Law Feb. 22 at Rose Garden Arena in Portland.

It took Katie Underwood a couple years in high school to work up the nerve to become a cheerleader. Little did she know one day she’d be the coach. Underwood, a development program assistant in the UO School of Journalism and Communication, is the cheerleading coach for the junior varsity and freshman cheerleading teams at Thurston High School.

Timothy Miller, a leading authority on communes in the United States, will speak at the University of Oregon on Feb. 22 about the phenomenon of intentional communities in Oregon and the critical role the researcher James J. Kopp played in tracing and preserving the history of these communities. The talk is at 3 p.m. in Knight Library’s Browsing Room on the UO campus.

Early childhood special educators and community leaders will hold a free conference on Saturday, Feb. 23, for Eugene-Springfield area parents to learn parenting techniques. The 6th annual Power of Parenting Conference is presented by Early Childhood CARES, LaneKids and the Early Intervention Council. It will run from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., at the University of Oregon's HEDCO Education Building, 1655 Alder St.