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For The Record

Posted on Mar 7, 1997

John Sowa, professor of chemistry, is co-chair of the 15th annual conference of the Brain Injury Association of New York State to be held in June. He recently gave a
lecture to professionals for accreditation on brain injury rehabilitation at a conference
titled “Alternatives in Mankind.” Also, he was co-chair of the fifth annual art exhibit by people with brain injuries.

Jean Sheviak, acting librarian, Gail Golderman, electronic media librarian, and Annette LeClair, head of technical services, were group facilitators at a meeting for the development of the third statewide library technology plan.
Information received is to be used by the Electronic Doorway Library Action Committee (of
which Sheviak is a member). The three librarians also presented at a meeting to develop a
new federal library program for New York under the Library Services and Technology Act
(LSTA).

Yu Chang, professor of electrical engineering, has been invited to visit
Matsuyama, Japan, as winner of the 1996 international haiku contest sponsored by the Shiki
team at Matsuyama University. Chang says he began writing haiku about a year ago after
seeing of e.e. i sing, a musical work (directed by Yulman Theater Director William
Finlay) based on the writings of e.e. cummings. Chang submitted three works, one of which
took top honors in a field of 200 writers. Chang's colleagues in haiku run the gamut from
English professors to engineers, he says. An affinity for the simple and succinct poetry
form “really doesn't have much to with a person's profession,” Chang says.
“If you're interested, you're interested.” He expects to visit Matsuyama
sometime this year.

Richard Wilk, associate professor of mechanical engineering, has written
“Autoignition Characteristics of Methanol,” co-authored with M.J. Bowman, in a
publication of the Society of Automotive Engineers Special Publication titled Performance
of Alternative Fuels for SI and CI Engines.
He also co-authored, with Bowman,
“Heterogeneous Surface Effects on Methanol Autoignition” and another paper,
“Autoignition Characteristics of Ethanol,” co-authored with J.W. Bollentin, both
published in the SAE's Alternative Fuels: Composition, Performance, Engines and
Systems.

Thomas Werner, Florence B. Sherwood Professor of Chemistry, has published an
article, “The Binding of Pyrene and Other Probes to CD Polymers” in Proceedings
of the Eighth International Symposium on Cyclodextrins
by Kluwer Academic Publishers,
1996. Co-authors are Jodi Iannacone and Mary Amoo, both Union Class of '96 chemistry
majors.

Donald Rodbell, assistant professor of geology has delivered two papers.
“Tephrochronology, Palynology and Sedimentology of late Glacial-Holocene lake
sediment cores from southern Ecuador” (with co-authors J.C. Nebolini, G.O. Seltzer,
B.C.S. Hansen and M.B. Abbott) was delivered at the Geology Society of America annual
meeting in October 1996. “Tephrochronology, Sedimentology and Palynology of late
Glacial-Holocene lake sediment cores from southern Ecuador” (with co-authors Seltzer,
Abbott, Hansen, A.Y. Goodman and Nebolini) was delivered at a meeting of the American
Geophysical Union last December. (Nebolini and Goodman are 1996 Union graduates.) Also,
Rodbell was author of “Subdivision of fluvial terraces in northwestern Tennessee
based on subsurface stratigraphy and morphometry” in U.S. Geological Survey
Bulletin 2128
(October 1996).

Chris Duncan, assistant professor of visual arts, has completed a one-month
residency as a fellow of the Casting Institute at SUNY Buffalo. The residency was
supported by the Casting Institute, Union's Humanities Faculty Development Fund, and the
New York State Council on the Arts. Several of the new bronze sculptures from the
residency will be included in “Sculptor's Drawings,” an exhibition of sculpture
and drawing Duncan curated for the Visual Arts Museum at the School of Visual Arts in New
York City. In December, Duncan spoke at Fulton-Montgomery Community College as part of
Vine Street Gallery Visual Arts Forum. He is exhibiting works in a one-person show at
Rensselaer's Vertical Gallery and at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute of Art.

Paul Rieschick '74, director of administration and senior development officer,
was elected to his fourth two-year term as treasurer of the Council for the Advancement of
Secondary Education, District II, at the recent District conference in Baltimore.

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Grant From Merck To Encourage Graduate Study, Research

Posted on Mar 7, 1997

The College has received a three-year grant totaling $60,000 from the Merck Company Foundation and the American Association for the Advancement of Science to support
student research and encourage graduate education in biology and chemistry.

The award designates about $3,000 annually to be used for the Merck Lecture Series, in
which Merck scientists will visit the College to discuss their work and meet with students
and faculty.

The College's proposal was co-authored by John Boyer, chair of biology; and David
Hayes, chair of chemistry.

The Merck Company Foundation — of the pharmaceutical firm, Merck & Co., Inc. —
will give up to 15 Merck/AAAS awards this year.

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Brochure Is A Hit With Parents At Start Of College Search

Posted on Mar 7, 1997

Thanks to Dr. Spock, parents today know all about potty training and cutting teeth.

But no book tells parents how to prepare emotionally for the college search and the letting go of children.

Sure, Money magazine tells parents how to save for college, but nobody is talking about what Dean of Admissions Dan Lundquist calls the “heart quotient.”

So perhaps it shouldn't be surprising that a simple, free brochure titled “A Parents' Guide to the College Search” is becoming something of a hit. More than
50,000 copies — what was thought to be a two-year supply — have been requested in less
than three weeks. Half of the 2,000 high school guidance counselors who received an
initial mailing have requested additional copies. A second printing is under way. Requests
have come from a number of top schools including the Collegiate School of New York City,
and Anselm's Abbey School and Meret School, both in Washington. Brochures are sent free to
all who request them.

Written by Lundquist and Peter Blankman, director of public relations, the brochure
offers a reassuring message to parents: “The college search process ought to be a
positive, educational experience in itself, not just something to be 'survived.' At this
point — the bridge between high school and college, adolescence and young adulthood —
students have a remarkable range of options in front of them, and it's a shame when the
excitement of this situation becomes anxiety.”

Copies of the brochure are available at the Office of Admissions.

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F.W. Olin Center Going Out To Bid; Pile Driving To Start At Schaffer

Posted on Mar 7, 1997

Construction of the F.W. Olin Center will go to bid on March 10 to a select list of general contractors, according to William Shafer, capital projects manager. Bids are due April 8, with work scheduled to begin April 28. At the Schaffer Library site, with the completion of asbestos removal, workers were continuing this week with the removal of demolition debris. Plans are to begin three weeks of pile driving on March 24.

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Coming Events

Posted on Mar 7, 1997

Friday, March 7, 12:30 p.m., Memorial Chapel. “Meister Rapper” Uwe Kind (pronounced “oo-va kint”) brings his “Lingo Rap” to the College.
Kind has made something of a career out of combining music, dance and singing to teach language. The audience is to include about 400 local high school students.

Through March 8, 8 p.m., Yulman Theater. “Tales of the Lost Formicans” by Constance Congdon, directed by Prof. Barry K. Smith, is a contemporary drama that explores the life of a middle American family. For more information, call the Yulman
Theater box office at ext. 6545.

Tuesday, March 11, 3 to 5 p.m., Mandeville Gallery in the Nott Memorial. The
opening reception for “Drawing into Sculpture,” an exhibition of small works,
will feature 13 artists who have their own distinct artistic intent. They also represent
very different age groups and geographies. It is interesting to look at the work from the
standpoint of references to drawing. The exhibit runs through April 6.

Wednesday, March 12, 6:30 p.m. The President's Advisory Committee on Campus
Safety and Security will hold the annual campus walkabout to identify areas of the campus
grounds which present potential safety or security risks. Participants will gather prior
to the walk in Room 205 of Reamer Campus Center. Those unable to attend are invited to
forward concerns to John Skumurski in the Finance Office.

Wednesday, March 12, 8 p.m., Reamer Campus Center Auditorium. The Union College
Jazz Ensemble, directed by Prof. Tim Olsen, will perform standards by Charles Mingus,
Charlie Parker and Duke Ellington.

March 17, 8 p.m., Memorial Chapel. The trio of Wu Han, piano; Pamela Frank,
violin; and Yeesun Kim, cello perform a program in honor of the bicentennial of Schubert
as part of the Schenectady Museum-Union College chamber concert series.

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