Posted on Jan 24, 1997

Seyfollah Maleki, associate professor of physics, is a co-author of a paper
titled “Direct measurement of the ground-state dissociation energy of Na2” in an
August 1996 bulletin of the American Physical Society.

J. Richard Shanebrook, professor of mechanical engineering, and Lee Johnson
Jr. '94 are co-authors of the article, “Anastomotic Vortex Generator,” which
appeared in a recent issue of Medical and Biological Engineering and Computing. The
paper addresses the problem of bypass graft failure in patients who undergo vascular
reconstruction with synthetic grafts. Typical graft failures occur with coronary artery
bypass, leg arterial bypass, and hemodialysis shunts. One important aspect of the problem
is blood clots that form where the flow of blood stagnates. The paper presents flow
visualization results with a new cardiovascular device that induces a vortex motion in
order to prevent blood clot formation.

Leslie A. Hull, professor of chemistry, has published a paper titled
“Stabilization of Helical Peptides by Mixed Spaced Salt Bridges” with co-authors
J.S. Berger, J.A. Ernst, A. Nicoletta, R. Qiu, J. Yang, V. Morozov and N.R. Kallenbach in
the December issue of the Journal of Biomolecular Structure and Dynamics. Three of
the co-authors — Berger, Ernst and Nicoletta — were undergraduates at Union who did
their research with Prof. Hull. An abstract of the paper is available at http://www.
Albany.edu/chemistry/sarma/contents.html.

Brenda Wineapple, Washington Irving Professor of Literary and Historical
Studies, wrote a review of The Letters of Gertrude Stein and Thornton Wilder edited
by Edward Burns and Ulla E. Dydo with William Rice in the Jan. 12 issue of The New York
Times Book Review. Wineapple last year published her dual biography, Sister Brother
Gertrude and Leo Stein.

Jon Sterngass, visiting assistant professor of history, recently published
“'Something That Makes Me Feel at Home:' Marianne Moore and Brooklyn,” in the
Fall 1996 issue of the Long Island Historical Journal.

Peter Heinegg, professor of English, has published a translation (from German)
of Wilhelm Egger's How to Read the New Testament: An Introduction to Linguistic and
Historical-Critical Methodology. The translation is published by Hendrickson
Publishers. Also, Crossroad has published Heinegg's translation of Dietrich Bonhoffer's The
Mystery of Holy Night, an anthology on Christmas taken from the poems, sermons, and
letters of Bonhoffer.

Therese McCarty, associate professor of economics, and Stephen Schmidt,
assistant professor of economics, recently presented a paper, “A Vector
Autoregression of State Government Expenditure,” at the annual conference of the
American Economic Association. The paper is to be published in the May 1997 issue of the
American Economic Review.

Donna Burton, government documents librarian, has published reviews of two
documents reference tools in recent issues of Journal of Government Information.
Her evaluation of 1995 Updates/2000 Forecasts Edition Demographic Sourcebooks on
CD-ROM,” what she calls “an expensive and relatively uninspired attempt to
mimic the print version of the product,” appears in the July/August issue. A Guide
to Information at the United Nations from the U.N. Department of Public Information,
which Burton determined would serve as a handy resource for those seeking information from
U.N. sources, was reviewed in the May/June issue of JGI.

Posted on Jan 24, 1997

Teresa A. Meade, associate professor of history, has published a book, 'Civilizing' Rio: Reform and Resistance in a Brazilian City 1889-1930 (Pennsylvania State
University Press).

A massive urban renewal and public health campaign in the first decades of the 19th century transformed Brazil's capital into a showcase of European architecture and public works. The “civilization” campaign widened streets, modernized the port, and improved sanitation, lighting and public transportation.

But for the majority of Rio's citizens, the laboring poor who were uprooted to live in squalor in the “favelas” outside the city, life became worse. Meade's book
focuses on their plight and their resistance to the renewal.

Meade's book details how Rio grew according to the requirements of international capital, which financed, planned and oversaw the renewal — and how local movements resisted these powerful, distant forces. She also traces the popular rebellion that
continued for more than 20 years after the renovation ended in 1909, illustrating that community protests are the major characteristic of political life in the modern era.

Posted on Jan 24, 1997

Richard Fox, assistant professor of political science, was co-author with Teresa Ortega, of an op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday in which the authors take issue with President Bill Clinton's appearance on a CBS TV movie drama.

The show, A Child's Wish, chronicled the economic and emotional hardship of a
family with a daughter stricken with cancer. The centerpiece of the show was the passage
of the Family and Medical Leave Act, and the movie highlighted the long political process
leading up to passage of the act, first with the family's despair over President Bush's
veto, then with their celebration of Clinton's signing the act into law. The movie ends
with the dying girl getting her last wish — to meet the president, played by Clinton
himself in a special appearance. (The scene is a re-enactment of sorts; the girl's
character is actually a composite of two girls who met Clinton under similar
circumstances.)

Fox and Ortega recognize that other presidents have made prime time appearances, but
write, “Many of these appearances carried no political agenda beyond simply
humanizing the politicians. But A Child's Wish disturbingly blurs the line between
this sort of public relations and political speech. Consider that CBS chose to air the
movie on the day after Clinton's second-term inauguration. Did CBS's executives aim to
capitalize on the inauguration to draw higher ratings?”

They conclude, “By choosing to act in a Hollywood production — in a film that
conflates reality with drama — President Clinton will be casting into doubt the sincerity
of his future 'performances' in press conferences, town hall meetings and other public
forums. With the election behind us, it is time we examine how television has changed the
office of the president — and how the office of the president is now changing
television.”

Posted on Jan 24, 1997

Catharine R. Stimpson, director of the fellows division of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation in Chicago, will give the address during the College's Founders Day convocation on Saturday, Feb. 8, at 11:30 a.m. in Memorial Chapel. Stimpson is to
receive an honorary doctor of letters degree.

A graduate of Bryn Mawr College, Stimpson earned her Ph.D. from Columbia University. She joined the English Department of Barnard College in 1963, leaving in 1980 to become professor of English at Rutgers; currently, she is on extended leave from her position as
University Professor at Rutgers. She was the first director of the Women's Center of
Barnard and of the Institute for Research on Women at Rutgers and was the founding editor
of Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society. Her publications include a
novel, Class Notes (1979), and more than 150 monographs, essays, stories and
reviews. She also has edited seven books. In 1990, she was president of the Modern
Language Association. She is now chair of the National Advisory Committee of the Woodrow
Wilson National Fellowship Foundation and a member of the board of PBS.

The convocation also is to include the conferral of the Gideon Hawley Teaching Awards,
in which high school teachers are honored for their influence on Union College students.

The Women's Commission is hosting a reception for Stimpson from 2 to 4 p.m. in Milano
Lounge. The event is open to the entire Union community.

Posted on Jan 24, 1997

Through Thursday, Jan. 30, Arts Atrium. New paintings and drawings by Pam Avril will be on display. The artist will discuss her work on Thursday, Jan. 30, at 3 p.m. in
the Arts Atrium. A closing reception will follow.

Sunday, Feb. 2, 3 p.m. Memorial Chapel. Ellen Hargis, soprano, and Paul O'Dette, lute and chitarrone, will perform 16th and 17th century Italian masterworks. For more
information, call 382-7890 or 388-3651 (evenings).

Saturday, Feb. 8, 11:30 a.m., Memorial Chapel. The College celebrates Founders
Day. (Story in this issue.)

“Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue” is more
than advice for a bride. This winter, it describes a series of concerts showcasing Union
College music faculty. “Something Old” is Prof. Hilary Tann's interpretation of
works by Debussy, and “Something New” is Tann's own work “Wind Hover.”
Both will be performed by the Huntley Harp Trio on Friday, Feb. 21, at 8 p.m. in the
Nott Memorial. “Something Borrowed” is Prof. Diane McMullen, organ, and the
Catskill Brass performing works for organ and brass ensemble on Friday, Feb. 7, at 8
p.m. in Memorial Chapel. “Something Blue” is jazz by Prof. Tim Olsen, piano;
Tim Moran, saxophone; and Jeff Fuller, bass, on Friday, Feb. 24, at 8 p.m. in Yulman
Theater.

Through March 22, Yulman Theater lobby. “Charles Steckler, Stage
Designs” is a 25-year retrospective of production photographs of the professor's
theatrical design work. Steckler has been resident designer at the College since 1971 and
has designed over 60 productions in the Nott Memorial Theater and more recently in the
Yulman Theater. A reception with the artist will be on Thursday, Jan. 30, from 4 to 6
p.m.

Students, faculty and staff are invited to enroll in a training workshop for Hospice
volunteers. The month-long workshop, sponsored by Schenectady Area Hospice, will meet
Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. in Bailey 312 beginning Tuesday, Jan. 28
(and ending Feb. 20). For information, call Hospice at 377-8846.