Daniel Brennan will discuss “The Impact of Bullets on Body Armor.” Sally Hodges will present her findings on the geology of Ballston Lake. Ryan
Nespeca will examine the jazz style of Harry James' “Sing, Sing, Sing.”
At a time when a new Carnegie Foundation report is criticizing research
universities for not promoting research-based learning for undergraduates, Union is
celebrating faculty-mentored research that has been a feature of the College for nearly 70
years.
Charles Hurd, a chemistry professor at Union from the 1920's to
1956, gained a national reputation not only for his contributions to silicon chemistry,
but for collaborating with Union undergraduates on most of the papers he published. This
was at a time when the predominant view was that of Robert Hutchins, president of the
University of Chicago, who believed it inappropriate even for undergraduate faculty
to do research.
On Friday more than 200 students – about 10 percent of the
enrollment – will present their research and creative work at the eighth annual
Steinmetz Symposium.
New this year to Steinmetz is a program that will contain the abstracts
of most of the student presentations. They will be available at various locations.
The Union College Orchestra, directed by Prof. Hilary Tann, will present
“The Russians Are Coming,” a “Pops” Concert featuring works by Russian
composers at 8:30 p.m. in Memorial Chapel. The program is to include Grieg's Peer
Gynt Suite, Borodin's Polovtsian Dances, Mussorgsky's Night on
Bald Mountain, known to many from Walt Disney's film, Fantasia.
The Union College Choir, directed by Prof. Dianne McMullen, will perform
Friday at 2 p.m. in the Arts Atrium. The Union College Jazz Ensemble, directed by Prof.
Tim Olsen, will perform Friday at 2:30 p.m. in Chet's, Reamer Campus Center.
The Steinmetz Symposium is the first part of “Recognition
Weekend,” the second being Prize Day on Saturday, May 9, at 11 a.m. in Memorial
Chapel.