Posted on Jan 23, 1998

Chris Duncan, associate professor of sculpture and drawing, didn't
expect to do much sculpting while accompanying a group of Union students to China last
fall. So he brought only his charcoals and heavy drawing paper and found room enough to
work on a desk in his hotel room.

But being away from the comforts and conveniences of his studio gave
Duncan a new perspective in his sculpting, he said.

While in China, Duncan discovered very thin Chinese rice paper, Chinese
ink and paint brushes. Working with these light, flexible materials, and incorporating
color, proved liberating, Duncan says. He says he found working with these materials was
in many ways, like sculpting.

“Building layers of line and color was like building up the surface
of a sculpture,” he said. “So, some of the Chinese drawings are like studies for
sculpture, while others read more as screens of giddy calligraphy.”

Duncan will be showing some of the work he did in China in an exhibit through
March 6 in the Nott Memorial. Also featured in the show are older, abstract charcoal
drawings, as well as sculptures in steel, bronze and plaster.

“I work abstractly, but I've been incorporating regular
objects in the pieces,” he says. “Ideally, there's some sort of tension,
maybe a play between representation and abstraction.” Some of Duncan's
sculptures have small plastic toys and cars embedded in them. The toys, which came from a
bag lying around Duncan's studio, worked their way into the sculptures, as Duncan
says in retrospect, to represent overwhelming feelings from “all the stuff we
acquire.”

Steel has always been Duncan's preferred medium. “Even though
the piece is made out of industrial material, the intent is to evoke a feeling for the
body, or organic existence,” he says. His steel wall pieces are reminiscent of masks,
and one might notice other associations with the body in Duncan's sculpture. Students
in his sculpture class this term are making portraits of themselves using body fragments
made with plaster molds.

-by Erika Mancini '00, PR intern

Posted on Jan 16, 1998

Martin A. Strosberg, professor of management, Graduate Management
Institute, is editor of New York's Health Care System: Making the Transition to
Managed Care and Competition with Educator's International Press. The book
contains the proceedings of a conference hosted in the Nott Memorial by GMI on April 3,
1997 with major players in health care policy. The event also was edited for broadcast
throughout the state on public television.

Robert L. Fleischer, research professor of geology, is author of
a book titled Tracks to Innovation: Nuclear Tracks in Science and Technology (Springer).
Fleischer, one of three scientists who discovered in the early 1960s that chemical etching
of irradiated material reveals nuclear tracks, describes how the discovery paved the way
for a new and useful method of detecting nuclear radiation and widespread applications in
other fields. For example, naturally-produced tracks can be used to estimate the age and
temperature history of a mineral deposit or an archaeological material; and deliberately
produced tracks can be used to make extremely fine, uniform filters.

Donald Arnold, professor of accounting, Graduate Management
Institute, is co-author with Richard Bernardi (Class of 1992, Ph.D. program), professor of
accounting at SUNY-Plattsburgh, of three publications: “An Examination of Moral
Development Within Public Accounting by Gender, Staff Levels, and Firms” in Contemporary
Accounting Research; “An Examination of British, Irish and U.S.
Partners'' Responses to Ethical Dilemmas” in Research in Accounting
Regulation;” and “The Gender Mix at the Upper Staff Levels in Public
Accounting: A Baseline Evaluation” in Advances in Accounting Behavioral Research.

John R. Sowa, professor of chemistry, was chair of the 6th Annual
Art Exhibit of the Brain Injury Association of New York State recently at Empire State
Plaza. The event, which featured more than 160 pieces, received attention from the media
as well as from members of the State Assembly.

Posted on Jan 16, 1998

An open volleyball club for faculty and staff (and their partners) will
be held Sundays from noon to 2 p.m. in Alumni Gymnasium beginning this Sunday, Jan. 18.
Players are encouraged to drop in to “hit the ball around for the first half
hour” and then play some games, said organizer Carol Weisse, director of health
professions. For more information, contact Weisse at ext. 6541 or weissec@union.edu.

Posted on Jan 16, 1998

New HMO ID cards are to arrive shortly. Until then, doctors or
pharmacists may verify enrollment by calling 862-3747 or (800) 777-2273. If problems,
contact Human Resources at ext. 6108.

Posted on Jan 16, 1998

Community Hospice of Schenectady is offering a free four-week volunteer
training workshop for members of the Union community. Sessions will be Tuesdays and
Thursdays from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. in Bailey 300 from Jan. 27 through Feb. 19. Last year,
about 15 students, faculty, and employees participated. For more information call Gloria
Petterson or Sharon Hext at 377-8846.