Posted on Apr 27, 1999

Schenectady, N.Y. (April 27, 1999) – Union College's field house will look more like a kids' house when it becomes the setting for the second annual U-Care Kids Carnival on Saturday, May 1, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event is free and open to children 12 and under (adults should accompany all children).

Coordinated by Union student groups from across campus, the carnival features such attractions as “Mr. Bouncy Bounce, Flag Acres Petting Zoo, a dunk tank, soccer and hockey shoot, face painting, big wheel races, and, of course, food — cotton candy, snow cones and BBQ are all on the house. Kids are encouraged to bring T-shirts to be tie-dyed, and a non-perishable food items for the College's Kosovo food drive.

Emily Simon, a Union senior from Armonk, NY co-chair of the event, hopes to build on the success of Carnival '98. “We were excited to see about 700 children come out last year, I'm hoping for even more this weekend,” she said. “This is a great way to give something back to the community, and I hope it's an event that continues long after I graduate.”

In addition to the College and a number of its Greek Society members, participating sponsors for Carnival '99 include Price Chopper Supermarkets, K-Mart, Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Schenectady, and United Greek, a college apparel store in Albany.

For more information, call 388-5723.

Posted on Apr 26, 1999

Schenectady, N.Y. (April 26, 1999) – New York State per pupil expenditures are the second highest in the nation, but achievement scores still rank below the U.S. average. New York has responded with changes in educational standards and with legislation to allow charter schools. Will that be enough?

On Thursday, May 6, from 3 to 6 p.m. in the Nott Memorial, a panel will meet to discuss “Education in New York State: What Really Needs Reform?” The discussion will be taped for broadcast on New York State public television beginning in June.

Seating is reserved. For information and reservations, call 388-6238.

Panelists will include state and local school officials, teachers, school reform advocates, union leaders and representatives of academia. (See complete list below.) Moderator will be Ed Dague, anchor of NewsChannel 13, the area NBC affiliate.

Among the questions to be discussed:

Are the real educational problems within New York restricted to inner city schools?
How can the New York Department of Education maintain achievement standards?

Are proposed changes in teacher education and certification adequate?
Are charter schools an invigorating force or a diversion of limited resources?

Panelists are:

Dale Ballou, professor of economics, University of Massachusetts, whose research has focused on regulation and incentives of education reform, particularly as they affect training, recruitment, retention and compensation of teachers.
Eleanor Bartlett, Regent, State of New York, was elected to her post in March, after serving 27 years in Albany city schools as special education teacher, principal, interim and deputy superintendent.
John J. Faso, Republican minority leader of the state Assembly, has sponsored Charter School legislation and supported funding of abstinence-based education programs.

Sy Fliegel, President, Center for Educational Innovation, was director of alternative education for Community School District Four in Queens, where he began the transformation of New York City public schools that he describes in his book, Miracle in East Harlem.

Gail Foster, executive director, Toussaint Institute, known as a resource for parents trying to find a school to match their child and for educators interested in Charter Schools and other trends.
Lewis Golub, chairman, New York State Business Council, serves on college and community boards, and is CEO of Golub Corp., parent company of Price Chopper Supermarkets.

Clifford Janey, superintendent, Rochester City Schools, whose performance benchmarks and community partnerships have set a national standard.
Richard P. Mills, commissioner, state Education Department, serves as CEO of the board of regents, which oversees the most comprehensive state educational system in the nation.

Terry Weiner, professor of political science and sociology at Union College, has done extensive research on problems disabled children face in public schools. He has served nine years, including president, of the Niskayuna School Board, and was a founder of Union's MAT program.
Randi Weingarten, president of the United Federation of Teachers which represents more than 130,000 educators in New York City public schools, and has taken a lead role in contract negotiations for teachers.

Posted on Apr 23, 1999

Schenectady, N.Y. (April 23, 1999) – Pianist Andrew Russo will perform “Piano Music of the 20th Century” Thursday, April 29 at 4:30 p.m. at Union College's Memorial Chapel. The concert is free and open to the public.

Based on short pieces from each decade, 1900-1999, the performance features no pauses between pieces; the sequence forms a prism of styles. Russo made his debut with the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra and has since appeared in major halls in Germany and the United States.

Leipzig raved, “From the first note, the virtuoso Andrew Russo played with such fire…in the outer movements, the pianist's vitality was barely containable.”

Memorial Chapel is located near the center of the Union campus. Parking is available on campus and on nearby sidestreets. For more information, call 388-6749.

Posted on Apr 23, 1999

April 12, 1999

1. The minutes of April 9, 1999 were approved.

2. Sue Lehrman, acting director of GMI, came to discuss the appropriateness of GMI 200,
Foundations of Leadership and Communication, for undergraduates. After a considerable
discussion, the motion to approve the course was tabled until the next meeting.

3. Brad Lewis, associate dean for undergraduate education, presented the admissions
agreement with Schenectady County Community College. The agreement was approved.

Posted on Apr 23, 1999

Donald T. Rodbell, assistant professor of geology, gave a lecture on
“Tracing El Niño through the Andes” recently in the Spring Science Series at
the Schenectady County Public Library. He also gave a seminar at Yale University titled
“Continuous Records of late Quaternary Climate Change and El Niño from High
Elevation Lakes in the Tropical Andes.” He co-authored a paper with students Peter J.
Castiglia '99 and Chris Moy '98 at the Geological Society of America,
Northeastern Section Meeting, in Providence, R.I., titled “Magnetic record of late
Holocene glacier fluctuation recorded in a lake sediment core from the Cordillera Blanca,
Peru.” The paper was presented by Castiglia.

Barbara Boyer, professor of biology, has been appointed to the editorial board
of the journal Invertebrate Reproduction and Development. She published a paper
with Jonathan Henry of the University of Illinois and Mark Martindale of the University of
Chicago titled “The cell lineage of a polyclad turbellarian embryo reveals close
similarity to coelomate spiralians” in Developmental Biology, (204: 111-123.)
She co-authored an article (with Henry), “Evolutionary modifications of the spiralian
developmental program,” which appeared in The American Zoologist, (38:
621-633.) This paper was based on an invited presentation which Boyer gave at a symposium
on “The Evolution of Development” during the annual meeting of the Society for
Integrative and Comparative Zoology in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Peter Heinegg, professor of English, has written three translations of German
books published recently. They are of Mary: Art, Culture, and Religion through the Ages
by Caroline Ebertshauser, et al. (Crossroad/Herder); Mother Teresa: Love Stays by
Christian Feldman (Crossroad); and My Hope for the Church: Critical Encouragement for
the 21st Century by Bernhard Haering
(Liguori).

William Finlay, associate professor of theatre, directed an Off-Broadway show
that opened April 13 in New York City. The show, titled e.e., is a musical based on
the poetry of e.e. cummings. It is part of the inaugural season at The Blue Heron Arts
Center, New York's newest Off Broadway theatre complex. A national tour is scheduled
this summer; a tour of France and Germany is planned for the fall.