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Class of 1946 endowed fund to encourage ReUnion attendance

Posted on Aug 1, 2001

Albert K. Hill '46 and his wife, Perrie, both enjoy returning to campus so much that they want to encourage everyone to come back for ReUnion.  To do this, they have made a gift to create an endowment that will send a brochure with a College map to all ReUnion classes.  The endowment will be named the Class of 1946 Endowed Fund in honor of Al's 55th ReUnion.

Al hopes that looking at the map will evoke fond memories of Union. “You can again tread the paths that once were so familiar to you, paths that lead to those ivy covered walls of learning, now joined by new academic destinations where exciting things are being taught to new generations,” he says. “And, if you listen carefully, as you pass through the Payne Gate and walk down Library Lane, you may find a new bounce in your step, once again the melodic strains of John Howard Payne's 'Home Sweet Home.' “

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Gifts, grants, and bequests

Posted on Aug 1, 2001

A $100,000 grant from the Hearst Foundation to establish a second William
Randolph Hearst Endowed Scholarship, which will support a minority student from New York City.  The College received funding from the Hearst Foundation in 1995 for the same purpose.

— $30,000 for the second year of a $60,000 grant from the AT & T Foundation to continue support for the Union Students Technical Assistance Resources (LISTAR) Program.

— $25,000 from the General Electric Fund to support a second Engineering
Curriculum Workshop, which will be held on campus in October 2001. GE supported the first workshop, which was held last September.

— An unrestricted bequest from the estate of Donald C. Mackintosh '24 in memory of Martin P. Swart, Class of 1888, and Donald C. Mackintosh, Class of 1924.

— A gift from the family of Harriet and Roscoe L. Williams '30 to provide
scholarship support in their memory.

— An unrestricted distribution from the estate of Elmer W. Ellerhoff '33.

— A distribution from a pooled life income fund established by the late Virginia K. and John C. Moore '34 to create the Chester Moore (1909) and Cecile Moore Memorial Endowment Fund to support the educational programs of the Department of Civil Engineering.

— An unrestricted distribution from a pooled life income fund established by the late Norman W. Fox II '43.

— An addition to the Robert H. Wiese '44, M.D., Scholarship by Joyce M. Wiese in memory of her husband.

— An addition to the Abbott S. Weinstein '46 Scholarship Fund by Natalie W. Weinstein; she established the fund in her husband's memory in 1990.

— A partial distribution from the estate of Margariette T. Smith to establish the Stanley M. Smith, Jr., '50 Endowed Scholarship Fund.

— J. William Greve '51 established the J. William Greve '51 Scholarship.

— Mark A. McKinlay '73, Ph.D., established the Alfred H. McKinlay '51 Scholarship in honor of his dad, with preference in awarding the scholarship given to students who have demonstrated outstanding humanitarian concern and a willingness to help others.

— Paul S. Cassedy '55 made an unrestricted gift in memory of Raymond F. Cassedy '23.

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Class of 2001 senior gift campaign is a huge success

Posted on Aug 1, 2001

In early winter, the Gift Committee Chairs began brainstorming for ideas as to what the Class of 2001 would contribute to the Union campus. The five final choices, on which the class voted via an e-mail ballot, included:

— a copper Minerva medallion
placed in Library Plaza;

— a brick walkway leading down
to Jackson's Garden;

— benches placed around the Nott Memorial and next to the flagpole;

— a clock, similar to the one in front of the Reamer Campus Center, placed at the corner of  the Grant Hall Admissions Center;

— and contributing to the Class of 2000 Gift, the Seward Memorial, making it a gift from both classes.

By a landslide, the Class of 2001 chose the named brick walkway in Jackson's Garden. A formal announcement of the gift was made March 13 at the Annual Senior Wine and Cheese in the Nott.  With more than 200 seniors in attendance, a rendering of the
project was unveiled, and the goals were outlined. Each member of the class was asked to make a gift of $20.01 to
Union; each would have a brick with his or her name placed in the walkway in
Jackson's Garden.

Because of the dedication of the Senior Gift Committee and participation by class members, the Class of 2001 was able to raise a record $12,442.48!  This includes $6,960.37 from brick sales, $1,982.11 from the duck races and various contributions, a $1,500 pledge from the Parents' Fund, and a $2,000 partial match from President Hull.  With 333, or seventy-one percent, out of a possible 466 students participating, the Class of 2001 was able to raise more money and have more students make gifts to Union than any previous senior class. The Office of Annual Giving would like to thank those who served on the Gift Committee, as well as all 333 members of the Class of 2001 who contributed to their Senior Gift.  Please be sure to stop by the Class of 2001 Walkway the next time you visit campus.

Class of 2001 Senior Gift Committee

Chairs:

Marcy Schwarzwalder

Jess Stephens

Lauren Tabas

Jon Tower

Committee Members:

Taylor Blinn

Tumi Coker

Katie Comerford

Tania Magoon

Kara Mielcarz

Joanne Mumley

Ola Sawyerr

Elyse Topp-Poirier

Andrew Tsiropinas

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Union Bookshelf – Summer 2001

Posted on Aug 1, 2001

Herman A. Haus '49

Electromagnetic Noise and Quantum Optical Measurements is the result of more than forty years of research and
teaching by Herman A. Haus. It provides the background necessary to understand
basic concepts and moves on to discuss shot noise and thermal noise, followed
by linear noise multiparts, the quantum theory of waveguides and resonators, an
analysis of phase-insensitive systems, detection, photon probability
distributions, solitons, phase-sensitive amplification, squeezing, the quantum theory of solitons and squeezing, and quantum non-demolition measurements. This book is intended for graduate students and scientists in physics and engineering. Haus is a Institute Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT. To obtain a copy of Electromagnetic Noise and Quantum Optical Measurements, go to www.amazon.com.

Barney Leason '50

In Grand Cru, Barney Leason exposes what really goes on in the sexy milieu of world-class winemakers. A relentless wine critic, a ruthless, dishonest wine merchant, and a gangster family intent on getting first-growth status in Bordeaux while also acquiring a boutique winery in Sonoma come together in a novel filled with intrigue, fraud, murder, greed, and worldwide scandal. Leason's tales of intrigue and desire among the rich and beautiful have sold more than three million copies and won him spots on the New York Times and Los Angeles Times bestseller lists. 
He is the author of such major bestsellers as Scandals, Rodeo
Drive
, Grand Illusions, and Passions, to name a few. Barney
lives in Atascadero, Calif., where he has a small vineyard of his own. To
purchase Grand Cru, go to www.tor.com.

Bruce L. McClennan '63

Clinical Urography, 2nd Edition, edited by Bruce McClennan, is the standard textbook in
genitourinary radiology, a three-volume anthology of modern day imaging and
intervention that has been and will continue to be the reference book of choice for urologists and radiologists. Bruce is currently the chair of Yale
diagnostic radiology. His previous publications include A History of
Radiologic Sciences
, which chronicles the discovery and development of the x-ray. To obtain a copy of Clinical Urography, 2nd Edition, go to www.amazon.com.

Dr. Donald House '66

Cloth Modeling and Animation, co-edited by Donald House, is the first comprehensive guide to state-of-the-art research in cloth modeling and animation used in computer graphics.  As computer graphics prove useful in an increasing number of areas, programmers and designers are constantly working on ways to make their graphics look as realistic as possible. One aspect of computer graphics is the realistic modeling and animation of cloth and clothing. Cloth Modeling and Animation provides graphic researchers, developers, and animators with a better understanding of
cloth's nature, complexity, and behavior, as well as a variety of approaches to modeling and animating it. In addition to the work of computer graphics specialists, this book incorporates the expertise of artists with lifetime experience in the making, handling, and use of cloth. To obtain a copy of Cloth Modeling and Animation, contact
A K Peters Ltd. at www.akpeters.com.

Wayne Thompson '67

Wayne Thompson's latest book, To Hanoi and Back: The U.S. Air Force and North Vietnam, 1966-1973, draws upon twenty years of research in classified records, and integrates personal, operational, and political detail to present a complete history of the Air Force role in the war against Vietnam. He provides readers with an unprecedented view of the motivation and actions of the people involved – from aircrews to general to politicians – in every phase of the air campaigns. To Hanoi and Back outlines the political reasons
for President Johnson's reluctance to use B-52 bombers against major North
Vietnamese targets and describes the roles and personalities of generals in
Asia and officials in Washington. Thompson also tells how the media influenced U.S. policy and how U.S. prisoners in North Vietnam became the war's most celebrated heroes. The author, chief of analysis at the Air Force History Support Office, contributed to three of the six volumes of the Air Force's Gulf War Air Power Survey (1993) and has served, since 1995, as the Air Force's
lead historian on air power's role in recent Balkan conflicts. To obtain a copy of To Hanoi and Back: The U. S. Air Force and North Vietnam, 1966-1973, go to www.barnesandnoble.com.

John J. Pitney, Jr. '77

The Art of Political Warfare highlights the striking similarities between politics and war. Applying military thought to domestic politics, John J. Pitney, Jr., argues that the language of war teaches us about political activity. Pitney discusses
how military principle can explain victory or defeat in politics, whether for an election campaign or a legislative blitz. Each chapter takes a single concept from the military – strategy, leadership, training, intelligence, deception, logistics, friction, and finality – and applies it to political concerns. This book will appeal to campaign operatives, armchair political strategists, and students of political science; it is necessary reading for people fighting in the political trenches and those who simply want a closer view of the battlefield. Pitney is an associate professor of government at Claremont McKenna College. He has served as deputy director of the research department of the Republican National Committee and was the senior domestic policy analyst for the U.S. House of Representatives Republican Research Committee. To order The Art of Political Warfare, go to www.amazon.com.

Jillian Shanebrook '81

Model, Life Behind the Makeup details Jillian's modeling start in Southeast Asia through her travels
in Asia, Europe, the Caribbean, and the U.S. Each chapter draws the reader to a
different exotic locale – northern Thailand, the French Riviera, Bali – and
describes the assorted escapades that accompany the model lifestyle. It is currently only available in Singapore, Malaysia, and Australia, and is published by Singapore National Publishers. For more information about Model, Life Behind the Makeup, contact Jillian at superjilly@earthlink.net.

Thomas N. Bonner, President of Union College, 1974-1978

Becoming a Physician: Medical Education in Britain, France, Germany, and the United States, 1750-1945,
first published in 1995, provides a comprehensive and compelling narrative of medical education in four countries between the mid-eighteenth and the
mid-twentieth centuries. This work is based on research in archives around the
world and breaks new ground in understanding how Western doctors have been trained. Becoming a Physician focuses on a number of themes — the critical importance of the late eighteenth century as a watershed in medical education; the vast variety of medical education programs at universities and
teaching hospitals; perceptions and realities about the relative strengths and weaknesses of medical education in the United States and Europe; and the
persistence of national differences despite the internationalization of science and medicine. He explores these themes within the context of the social,
political, and intellectual transformations that occurred between the Enlightenment and the fall of Nazi Germany. Bonner is a distinguished professor emeritus and president emeritus at Wayne State University and is currently a visiting scholar in history and biology at Arizona State University. To obtain a copy of
Becoming a Physician: Medical Education in Britain, France, Germany, and the United States, 1750-1945, go to www.amazon.com.

Michaela French, Ph. D., director of UCALL

Connections, the author's first full-length novel, deals with
secrets, reminiscence, guilt, and control. The story is set in the 1970s, and the characters' memories take us through pre- and post-World War II. Family connections become a mysterious and important need against a fascinating
background of English rituals, mores, and countryside. To read an excerpt from Connections, or to obtain a copy, go to www.xlibris.com/bookstore.

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Time for new directions

Posted on Aug 1, 2001

Joanne Tobiessen looks at the
word “retirement” with suspicion.

Tobiessen prefers to see the years ahead as a time
to explore an array of activities that she says she has put aside for too many
years, from art to traveling.

“Retirement
is a word that's heavily laden with implications,” she says. “We all tend to
get into certain rhythms in life, and this will be an opportunity to explore. I
like to think of it as a time when I can 'reinvent' myself.”

A
political science major in college with a long interest international relations
(she has her B.A. from Northwestern), travel will be a big part of her agenda.
So, too, will be art, reading, and community activities.

Tobiessen
is a good example of what she often tells students –that they probably will
have a number of careers during their lifetimes. After graduating from college,
she went on to earn a master's in social welfare from the University of
California at Berkeley. After working at the University of North Carolina's
Developmental Evaluation Clinic, she came to Schenectady with her husband,
Peter (a professor of biology at the College). She was a social worker with
United Cerebral Palsy for several years before becoming the director of the
Career Development Center at Russell Sage College in 1979. She became director
of Union's Career Center in 1983.

She says
she has seen a number of dramatic changes in her time at Union – an electronic
recruiting system that lets students and employers contact each other
twenty-four hours a day, for example. Yet, even though the whole career search
process has sped up, it retains a need for personal contact.

“We still
place a tremendous emphasis on counseling students, there still is a great deal
of personal contact and encouragement between students and alumni, and
employers still want to meet and get to know the people they're interested in,”
she says. “We are a 'high-tech, high-touch' operation.”

Tobiessen
remembers that when she arrived at Union, the annual career festival was held
in Alumni Gym, where employers would talk with students while other students
and staff jogged around the second-floor track. Students who wanted to sign up
for interviews would show up early in the morning so they could be first in
line, and they laboriously typed their resumes.

It was
also a time when students didn't have the support they have now. “Our whole
society is much more aware that students need relevant experience while they're
in college,” she says. “Students and their parents know this, and companies
routinely are looking for internships and co-ops.”

The
Career Center's reach has expanded to meet those changes. The office encourages
alumni involvement as much as it can (its career network now has more than
1,300 alumni who provide advice, suggestions, leads, and other kinds of help),
and it cooperates with other colleges in several consortia that give students
more access to employers (e.g., the Liberal Arts Career Network, a consortium
of twenty highly-selective colleges that has an database of 26,000 internships).

“I really
want to thank all the alumni who have been such an important asset to our
work,” she says. “We truly value the time and expertise they have shared with
our students – and I've enjoyed working with alumni all around the world.”

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