Posted on Oct 20, 2000

The College this week was welcoming back 20 students who returned to campus
from their studies at Ben-Gurion University in Be'er Sheva, Israel, after a
decision to recall students from a region marked by violent clashes over the
past several weeks.

Their return comes in the wake of a State Department warning urging Americans
to restrict their travel in the region and to limit their exposure to potential
areas of violence in the West Bank and Gaza.

The College was working this week to assign housing to the students and to
find courses for them to continue their studies on campus. Most of the students
can resume their studies on campus with courses in Hebrew language and Jewish
history, said Kimmo Rosenthal, associate dean for undergraduate education. Other
elective courses may need to be completed through independent study, he added.

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Posted on Oct 20, 2000

If you haven't seen it, the New York Times featured the College's
celebration of the Erie Canal on the front page of the Metro section on Tuesday.

The article, by Winnie Hu, centered on the College's ambitious
retrospective of the waterway and the fact that it was the College – not the
city of Schenectady – that celebrated the opening of the canal in 1825.

City leaders, fearful that the canal would take business from the city, left
it mostly to Union College students to join in the elaborate opening celebration
that included a barge parade with prominent officials, cannon salutes and
fireworks.

Ultimately, Schenectady's fears were unfounded; the Erie Canal brought an
economic boom to communities along the waterway, including Schenectady, one of
the busiest stops along the route.

The article went on to list the College's extensive celebration: an exhibit
of surveys and engineering drawings, paintings, models; a series of nine
lectures and concerts; and trolley tours of local canal sites.

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Posted on Oct 20, 2000

Friday, Oct. 20, through Monday, Oct., 23, 8 and 10 p.m.
Reamer Auditorium.
Film: The Perfect Storm.

Through Oct. 21.
Arts Atrium.
“Ben Frank Moss: Paintings and Drawings,” an exhibition by the George
Frederick Jewett Professor of Studio Art at Dartmouth College.

Sunday, Oct. 22, 5:30 to 8 p.m.
Old Chapel.
Dinner & A Movie: Dead Poet's Society. Faculty, staff, and students
only.

Sunday, Oct. 22, 7 p.m.
Memorial Chapel.
Union College-Schenectady Museum chamber series presents Gil Shaham, violin,
with the International Sejong soloists. Program includes Wolf's Italian
Serenade; Arvo Part's Tabula Rasa for two violins and strings,
Vivaldi's The Four Seasons. Tickets available at the door or from the
President's Office.

Monday, Oct. 23, noon to 2 p.m.
Social Sciences 016.
Workshop: Peak Asthma. Learn about asthma, asthma triggers, medicines, use of
peak flow meters, and self-management behaviors. RSVP to extension 6108.
Sponsored by Human Resources.

Monday, Oct. 23, 7 p.m.
Memorial Chapel.
Union College Choir, Prof. Dianne M. McMullen, director; with Elinore Farnum,
piano and organ, perform a concert of works by Schubert, Croce, J.M. Haydn. The
program also includes spirituals and folks songs from Canada, Jamaica, Brazil,
and other places.

Monday, Oct. 23, 9 p.m. to midnight.
Old Chapel.
Martin Scorcese Film Festival. Sponsored by the Symposium. Runs through Oct. 26.

Tuesday, Oct. 24, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Yulman Theater.
On-Site Mobile Mammography. Free of charge on a space-available basis to Union
employees only. Call extension 6108 to RSVP. Sponsored by Human Resources.

Tuesday, Oct. 24, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Old Chapel.
Blood Drive.

Wednesday, Oct. 25, 5 to 7 p.m.
Humanities 115.
“Meeting Your Lifetime Financial Needs and Goals,” a lecture by Sarah
Knutson, financial consultant from Merrill Lynch. Sponsored by GMI. Location:

Thursday, Oct. 26, 1 to 7 p.m.
Alumni Gymnasium.
Walk-in flu and meningitis immunizations for students. Meningitis vaccines are
$75, flu vaccines $10. For information, call (877) 482-2237.

Thursday, Oct. 26, 3 p.m.
Nott Memorial.
“Waterway to the Future: The Erie Canal Corridor as an Economic Development
Engine,” a symposium on public and private sector economic development
efforts in the upstate region. Part of “Monument of Progress: The 175th
Anniversary of the Erie Canal.” To be followed by a reception and gala in
Old Chapel with a re-creation of the dinner served at the original Grand Canal
Ball in New York City in 1825. Tickets are $60 each for public, $25 for Union
faculty, staff, and students. To RSVP, e-mail Bill Schwarz at schwarzw@union.edu
by Monday, Oct. 23.

Thursday, Oct. 26, through Saturday, Oct. 28, 8 p.m.
(2 p.m. shows on Oct. 28 and 29)
Yulman Theater.
Saucy Minds of Science, the College's Commedia Dell'Arté troupe, present
“The Big Bang,” a series of sketches that explore the world of
science. Directed by Prof. Joann Yarrow. Admission $7; students/seniors $5. For
tickets and information, call ext. 6545.

Friday, Oct. 27, 12:25 p.m.
Women's Studies Lounge.
Junior Women's Research Colloquium with Zoe Oxley, assistant professor of
political science, on “Sex Differences in Voting for U.S. President: The
Importance of Contextual Clues.” For faculty, staff and students. Lunch
provided for those who contact Joyce Madancy (madancyj@union.edu or x6221) by
Monday, Oct. 23. Sponsored by the Women's Commission.

Friday, Oct. 27, 6 p.m.
Old Chapel.
Murder Mystery Dinner. Faculty, staff, and students only.

Friday, Oct. 27, through Monday, Oct. 30, 8 and 10 p.m.
Reamer Auditorium.
Film: What Lies Beneath.

Saturday, Oct. 28, 2 p.m.
Nott Memorial.
“Greek Temples, Great Technologies, and Good Times on the Towpath,” a
lecture featuring old Saratoga and Schenectady county photographs presented by
John Scherer and Craig Williams, curators at the New York State Museum.
Concluding event of “Monument of Progress: The 175th Anniversary of the
Erie Canal.”

Through Oct. 29.
Nott Memorial.
Exhibit: “Monument of Progress: The 175th Anniversary of the Erie
Canal” with related events throughout.

Posted on Oct 20, 2000

The distinctive wedge-shaped
building at the corner of Park Place and Nott Street probably hadn't seen so much activity since it was, well, the Alps Bar and Grill.

Community leaders, elected officials, neighbors and members of the Union community were on hand for the dedication of the Ralph B. '29 and Marjorie
Kenney Community Center.

But it wasn't until about two dozen youngsters arrived from school that the place really came to life. Downstairs, Amy Slabich '01 and her “little
sister,” Latiesha Richardson, surfed the Web on one of the computers.
Upstairs, Union students pointed to a poster as they quizzed a group of youngsters on the parts of the human circulatory system. Everywhere, it seemed, kids scurried through groups of milling adults to grab more punch and cookies.

“The Kenney Center is a valuable addition to this transformed
neighborhood,” Union President Roger Hull said before cutting the ribbon.
“Union has a long tradition of service to the community, and the Kenney Center, made possible by Marjorie Kenney's generous gift, enables us to enhance our volunteer efforts in Schenectady.”

Gretchel Tyson, director of community outreach, recalled her first look at the building, before renovation: “I could see up through the floor and through the roof. I said 'Yeah, sure this is going to be a community center.'”
But at the dedication on Tuesday, it was Tyson who spoke about what Kenney Center has started to mean to the community and to Union students. “The Kenney Center is becoming a focal point of community activity for the residents
of College Park and their children,” said Tyson. “It also is becoming
a haven for the many Union students who volunteer in the community.”

“A lot of parents absolutely adore this place,” said Lesley
Guggenheim '02, a director of the Homework Center and Skills Development Program for students at Van Corlaer School. “We have more materials and computers now than before (when the program was housed in a dorm study lounge) and most of the kids live just down the block.” The program tutors about 10 students each day with about 30 Union students volunteer as tutors. The program is coordinated by Gamma Phi Beta and Alpha Epsilon Pi.

Staffed by Union students and staff, with support from GE Elfun Society volunteers, the homework program helps students prepare for the New York State Pupil Assessment Tests. The mentoring program is funded through an $8,200 grant
from Campus Compact, which is funded by the GE Fund.

The Kenney Center features regularly scheduled health and wellness workshops sponsored by Ellis and St. Clare's hospitals; Girls Inc. of the Greater Capital Region will provide a range of programs for young women. Union's Big Brothers/Big Sisters program is also based at the Center.

The College also launched the Kenney Center Website, which features news and information regarding upcoming events, as well as an on-line volunteer connection form that enables community groups to request volunteers from the
Union community.

The Kenney Center was named in memory of Ralph Kenney, a 1929 Union graduate.
Last year, Marjorie Kenney of Delmar donated $1 million to the College, with the understanding that the funds benefit Union and the City of Schenectady. The Kenney gift adds to donations from Fleet Financial Group to the Community Center; Fleet gifts to the Center currently total $35,000. The Center is part of the Union-Schenectady Initiative, the College's $10 million neighborhood revitalization effort.

Posted on Oct 18, 2000

Junior goaltender Brandon Snee (Philadelphia, PA/Hill School) was named the Eastern College Athletic Association's “Goaltender of the Week” after helping the Skating Dutchmen open the celebration of their 10th season in the ECAC's Division I hockey league with a 4-1 victory over Army.

Ironically, the win came over the very team that the Dutchmen replaced in the ECAC prior to the start of the 1990-91 campaign. For Snee, who was drafted by the New York Rangers last June, it was his 10th career victory.

Union's defensive play was a big factor in the victory. The Skating Dutchmen gave up just six shots in each of the first two periods before the Black Knights peppered Snee with 13 shots on goal in the final 20 minutes. A loose puck in front of the net produced a scramble and an Army goal with just 2:45 left to play.

Eleven different Dutchmen scored with the special teams picking up powerplay goals from junior Todd Christiansen (Elm Grove, WI/University School of Wisconsin) and classmate Jeff Hutchins (Toronto, Ont./York Memorial). The penalty-killing unit stopped all eight Army opportunities.

Junior Seamus Galligan (Fairhaven, MA/Northfield Mt. Hermon) tallied his first career goal at 16:41 of the third to give Union a 4-0 lead. Galligan went into the game with two assists in 24 career games.

The Skating Dutchmen host Merrimack Saturday at 7 p.m. Union played its first Division I game against the Warriors on November 1, 1991, a 9-6 Merrimack victory.