Harold Fried and Shelton Schmidt, professors of economics, and Suthathip Yaisawarng, associate professor, co-authored a paper (with Professor Lovell of the University of Georgia) titled “Accounting for Environmental Effects and Statistical Noise in Data Envelopment Analysis.” It is to appear in the Journal of Productivity Analysis. Also, Fried and Yaisawarng were invited to host the second North American Productivity Workshop (NAPW II) at the College in June 2002. (They hosted NAPW I last summer.) The conference will focus on the newest developments in the areas of efficiency, productivity, and technology. Academic researchers, consultants and policymakers will participate.
Read MoreKellenter organized meeting of American Association of Teachers of German
Sigrid Kellenter, Thomas W. Lamont Professor of Ancient and Modern Literature, organized the spring meeting of the Hudson Valley Chapter of the American Association of Teachers of German recently at the College. The meeting included three presentations about the teaching of Business German. Kellenter is president of the AATG Hudson Valley Chapter.
Read MoreDean Charlotte Borst: Historian who knows her way around a lab
For Charlotte G. Borst, the College's new dean of arts and sciences, academia is in the blood: “I come from a long line of women teaching school since the early nineteenth century. I care deeply about academic life.”
Borst comes to Union from Saint Louis University, where she is chair and associate professor in the department of history. Previously, she was executive director of historical collections and professor of history, sociology, and women's studies at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Union's mix of teaching and research appealed to Borst. “I knew about Union when I was growing up; it was one of those places that everyone held in high esteem. Union's academic reputation is well deserved. Faculty are seriously involved in research, which I think essential to offering students cutting-edge knowledge. And the study abroad program is very strong. Union ranks well in many other known benchmarks, and it seems to have a good idea of where it wants to go and what it wants to do. I'm thrilled to be here.”
Borst has taught the history of American medicine and public health, the history of gender and health, American women's history, the history of American science, American history surveys, American social history, the history of biology, and quantitative methods and historical demography.
With a B.A. in biology and a history minor from Boston University, an M.A. in history from Tufts University, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in the history of science from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, she crosses disciplines broadly and comfortably.
Her book, Catching Babies: The Professionalization of Childbirth, 1870-1920, was published in 1995 by Harvard University Press. A second book, Gender and Race and the Academic Medical Center in Twentieth-Century America, is under contract with Harvard. She's also written many articles and papers on gender, ethnicity, and American medicine.
“I love being a historian,” she says. “It's who I am, it's fun, and it's intellectually engaging. I also know my way around a lab, and I understand the culture of science, although I also believe that science is culturally constructed, affected by issues such as gender and race.”
As a medical historian, Borst is researching the history of medical education in the U.S. between 1920 and 1970, examining how gender and race affected admissions and the curriculum. “After 1920, American medical education assumes mature form – as part of a university, and connected with a hospital – the model we know now. In 1970, medical school admission quotas for women came down.” And she likes challenging assumptions in the process: “For example, what does `scientific' really mean? Science is supposed to be objective, but clearly, other forces are also at work.”
Borst was born and raised in Rutland, Vt., where her father was an editor, her mother an artist. “I hadn't been back East since the late 1970s. I have photos of my great-great aunt and other upstate New York relatives. And my brother and sister live in the New York City area.” So coming East is a kind of homecoming, although the move was something of a culture shock for her and her husband, Richard Censullo, and children, Stefan (15) and Zosia (13): “We've moved from a 125-year-old Victorian in the city to a 12-year-old Colonial in the suburbs. And we don't have any boots!”
Read MoreWanted: Sitters for ReUnion weekend
The Alumni Relations Office is looking to add a few names to their “babysitters list” for ReUnion 2001 on Friday and Saturday, June 1 and 2. If you or your child over 16 is interested, contact Alumni Relations at ext. 6168. Alumni and sitters will deal directly with each other to make arrangements.
Read MoreNew web site gives ‘Thumbnail’ of Union College
A new web site, “About Union,” will give visitors a quick overview of the College. Adapted from the “Guide to Union” brochure, the site includes brief descriptions of many aspects of the College including a history of the College, the Terms Abroad program, and Admissions. The site also provides details on more pedestrian topics such as lodging and directions. From each area, users can link to more detailed discussions elsewhere on the College web site.
The “thumbnail” view of a College is becoming something of a standard, as schools try to address the information overload that many users experience when they first visit a Web site, according to Tom Smith, Union's Web site director. “People are starting to assume that this type of feature will be available when they visit a site, so it's important for us to keep up with those expectations and quickly give people the information they need,” Smith said.
The site is accessible from the Union home page, or click below:
www.union.edu/About Union