Posted on Jul 1, 1995

Died: Leo A. Aroian, professor of industrial administration emeritus, died May 10 at his home in Schenectady. He was
eighty-eight.

Born in Holden, Mass., he earned his BA, MA, and Ph.D. from the University of Michigan, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.

He taught statistics and mathematics at Hunter College and Colorado State University. From 1950 to 1960, he headed the mathematics section and was director of the computation facility for Hughes Aircraft. He became senior staff mathematician for TRW Systems in Redondo Beach, Calif., before the joining the faculty of the Graduate Management Institute at Union in 1968. He retired from teaching in 1972 and was named research professor of management emeritus.

He was the author of two books and more than 120 articles, including a paper on the establishment of quality levels for industrial and consumer products that was published by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

The Leo A. Aroian Research Fellowship was established in his honor.

Survivors include his wife, Amine; two daughters, Julie Carpenter, of Boulder, Colo., and Lois Aroian, of Nairobi, Kenya; and two grandchildren. Memorial contributions maybe made to Hospice of Schenectady, the Union Presbyterian Church, the Union College Aroian Endowment Fund, or the Armenia Fund USA.

Posted on Jul 1, 1995

Trish Williams, associate dean of students and director of residential life, received an award from the Hudson Mohawk Association of Colleges and Universities for her commitment to the Educational
Leadership Corps, a mentoring program for students of color who aspire to be college professors.

In Union's program-called “Future Professors” students focus on research, teaching, and college and community service. They meet four times a year to share their research, and they make presentations at the corps' annual banquet.

The program is supported financially by member institutions of the consortium and by the Ford Foundation, and it has been renewed for another two years.

Union's students, their projects, and their faculty mentors are:

Lisandra Ramos, “Theater as a process for social change in Kenya and Brazil,” A.T. Miller of the History Department;

Marguerite Stimphil, “Study of the influence of the visual and environment as it relates to the evolution of color in the visual displays of anoline lizards,” Leo Fleishman of the Biology Department.

Sandra Rojas, “Military uprising in Argentina and Chile during the 1970s,” Teresa Meade of the History Department;

Patricia Serpes, “A psychological and feminist study of women's and young people's identity in the short stories of Marita Lynch and Marta Traba,” Victoria Martinez of the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures;

Vicky Lowery, “Fiber optics,” David Hayes of the Chemistry Department.

Posted on Jul 1, 1995

Patrick Allen, director of educational studies, has been named a member of the National Council of Teachers of English's Commission on Curriculum. The council represents teachers and supervisors of English at all levels of education.

Faye Dudden, associate professor of history, has won the George Freedly Award from the Theatre Library Association for her book, Women and the American Theatre: Actresses and Audiences, 1790-1870. The award honors a noteworthy book in the field of theater and live performance. She received the honor at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center in New York City.

John Garver, assistant professor of geology, is the author of an article in the Geological Society
of America Bulletin about a fission track dating process he has developed. The article is titled “Erosional denudation for the British Columbia Coast Ranges as determined from Fission-track ages of detrital zircon from the Tofino basin, Olympia Peninsula.”

Barbara Jones, director of Schaffer Library, presented a paper, “Should Libraries Post Theft Suspect Notices? A First Amendment Perspective” at the annual Smithsonian Institution's National Conference on Cultural Property Protection.

Pilar Moyano, associate professor of Spanish, presented a paper, “Destierros y exilios en la poesia de la mujer centroamericana” at the third International Conference on Central American Literature in Guatemala City.

William Murphy, the Thomas Lamont Research Professor of Ancient and Modern Literature, has published Family Secrets: William Butler Yeats and His Relatives, a companion book to his Prodigal Father: The Life of John Butler Yeats, which was nominated for a National Book Award in 1978.

The Washington Post said of the new book, “Murphy is an expert storyteller, keeping many threads-emotional, financial,
historical-of this complex story in hand at once. And while the family novel unfolds, in the background we see modern Ireland inventing itself.” The New York Times said, “From Mr. Murphy there has come one of the finest biographies of the Yeatses.”

Murphy is widely considered one of the foremost authorities on one of Ireland's most distinguished families. In the new book, he drew heavily on the Yeats archives, to which he has been given
almost unlimited access by the family. The book includes numerous photographs and illustrations never before published.

A.G. Davis Philip, research professor of physics, was appointed by the American Astronomical Society as director of the Shapley Visiting Lectureship Program, which organizes two-day trips by astronomers to colleges that do not offer degrees in astronomy.

Robert Sharlet, professor of political science and currently senior coordinator of the Rule of Law Consortium in Washington, D.C., read a paper and made two other presentations at the 1994 National Slavic meeting in Philadelphia. He also has created three policy seminars for specialists in Washington.

Jordan Smith, professor of English, is the author of “The Dream of Horses,” a poem in The Paris Review (summer 1994). He has recent work in Poetry and poems forthcoming in New England Review, Salmagundi, and The Yale Review.

Phillip Snow, associate professor of civil engineering, delivered a paper, “S.C.S. TR- 55 Computer Hydrology Model Revisited,” at the thirtieth annual conference of the American Water Resources Association.

Carol Weisse, associate professor of psychology, and two former students, Agnes Turbiasz '92 and
David Whitney '91, are the authors of “Behavioral training and AIDS risk reduction: Overcoming barriers to condom use” in the journal AIDS Education and Prevention. Papers she prepared with
Carl Bishop '96 and Kerry Evers '94 were presented at the annual meetings of the Society of Behavioral Medicine and the Eastern Psychological Association.

Professor of Music Hugh Allen Wilson and soprano Giselle Montanez gave a lecture and recital on “Marcella Sembrich's `Modern' Repertoire” at the annual meeting of the Marcella Sembrich Memorial Association in New York City.

Posted on Jul 1, 1995

Tom Brokaw, David McCullough, and twenty-four Union students gather in the Nott Memorial to talk about World War II. The segment appeared on the NBC “Nightly News” and on the “Today” program.

When Tom Brokaw wanted to talk with some college students about the fiftieth anniversary of VE Day, David McCullough suggested Union.

So, on May l, three anonymous gray vans pulled up to the Nott Memorial and NBC technicians began unloading equipment. Union had been selected as the site of a discussion among Brokaw, the NBC Nightly News anchor; McCullough, the Pulitzer Prize-winning historian who spoke at the dedication of the Nott Memorial on Founders Day; and two dozen students.

By late that night, the technicians had transformed the inside of the Nott into a television studio. When Brokaw arrived at eleven the next morning, he chatted with the students for a few minutes (“Does anybody want David Letterman's home phone number?” was his opening remark), sat down next to McCullough, and began an
hour-and-a-half conversation about World War II and what it means to the students, their families, and the American way of life.

Shortly after the taping ended, the College's Alumni Office
helped by numerous others on campus-began three days of telephoning to alumni and friends to alert them. The several-minute segment was scheduled for Friday, May 5 – three days before the anniversary of VE Day-barring any change caused by late-breaking news.

Sure enough, toward the end of Friday's broadcast the Nott Memorial came onto the screen, and Brokaw, McCullough, and the students were on. The slightly-expanded version appeared the next morning on the “Today” show.

Posted on Jul 1, 1995

Applications set a new record
The College established a record in applications this year-3,547-and saw a dramatic increase in the number of applications from students in the top ten percent of their secondary school class.

The previous high in applications (3,495) came two years ago. The total this year is a twenty-four percent increase since 1991.

The number of applications from those in the top ten percent of their class was up by 300 over last year.

In April, the College held two open houses for accepted candidates, and the total number of visitors was up fifteen percent over last year (310 prospective students and 386 parents and siblings).

A series of student-faculty phonathons reached nearly all of the 1,770 accepted candidates, and a postcard campaign, in which current students send postcards to accepted students in their hometowns, reached about 300 individuals.

The College received 400 requests for alumni interviews (up from 325 last year), and alumni represented Union at 256 college fairs.

Campus ministry planning new strategies
The Louisville Institute for the Study of Protestantism and American Culture has awarded $25,000 to the College to conduct a study of campus ministry and to develop strategies to become more meaningful for the coming generation of students.

The study will involve campus ministries at seven other colleges and universities-the University at Albany, the State University College at Oneonta, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Hartwick College, Russell Sage College, Skidmore College, and Williams College.

The grant will support consultation with authorities in the field, with a special emphasis on a two-day conference to be held this fall at Union. A key part of the study will be an exploration of collaboration between and among various religious communities.

Trustees set costs
Tuition and other costs
for the 1995-96 academic year will be $26,206. The total includes $19,782 for tuition, $3,396 for room, $2,838 for board, and $190 for the student activity fee.

The costs represent an increase of 4.3 percent over 199495, the lowest percentage increase in more than twenty years.

The Board of Trustees has approved a number of faculty promotions:

Six named professors
Named professors were Janet Anderson of chemistry, Martin Benjamin of visual arts, Kenneth DeBono of psychology, Faye Dudden of history, Adrian Frazier of English, and Martin
Strosberg of the Graduate Management Institute.

Promoted to associate professor, with recommendation for tenurability, were Leo Fleishman of biology, John Garver of geology, David Hemmendinger and John Spinelli of electrical engineering and computer science, Mark Walker of history, and Richard Wilk of mechanical engineering.

Delta Upsilon loses College recognition
Delta Upsilon fraternity will lose recognition by the College and its housing space on campus next fall as the result of hazing a pledge.

The fraternity was found guilty by the Student Conduct Committee of five violations of the Student Conduct Code. The committee said it felt that the student's health had been placed in “serious danger” as the result of the fraternity's actions. The committee comprises seven students, six of whom are fraternity members.

The incident involved a freshman, who was hazed over the course of two nights. He was forced to drink and, at one point, slipped and fell, resulting in eight stitches in his chin.

The College's rules about hazing are contained in several publications, including the Student Handbook, and are distributed to every student. The College's lawyer also meets with the leaders of the Greek organizations and pledges.

Delta Upsilon had thirty-seven beds in Raymond House.

Student Affairs Council establishes meal plan
A meal plan designed to encourage community dining will be put into effect over the next two academic years.

The plan was devised by the Student Affairs Council, comprising five students (three of them fraternity members) and four administrators and faculty.

The council's decision was based on two principles-that eating together as the larger Union community is important, and that members of fraternities and sororities should be able to eat together some of the time.

The plan is designed to encourage upper-class students who live in the fourteen fraternities and sororities that have private meal plans to take the majority of their meals in College facilities.

The plan, which uses a system of meal-plan credits, will take full effect in 1996-97. Because the council's deliberations went well into the spring, next year will be a transitional year that will allow most fraternities to maintain a full meal plan.

The College's Planning and Priorities Committee decided early this year that every student on campus should be on the College's meal plan, with the actual design of the plan left to the Student Affairs Council.