Posted on Oct 19, 2001

The Board of Trustees has approved a restructuring of the College's Engineering Division, including the phasing out of the civil engineering department, that will focus on converging technologies.

Noting that Union was the first liberal arts college to offer engineering, President Roger Hull said, “The question before us is how engineering will fit, not whether it will fit. One of Union's defining characteristics – perhaps its most fundamental defining characteristic – is the historic existence of engineering within a liberal arts framework. It is my strong belief that Union must continue to define itself in this fashion, and I pledge to do all that I can to ensure that goal.”

Union already has begun to focus on four converging technology areas: bioengineering, nanotechnology, mechatronics and intelligent systems, and pervasive computing.
David B. Chapnick '59, chairman of the Board, said, “During the past two years, as we developed The Plan for Union, we recognized the need to focus on a new direction in engineering while also making the most effective use of our resources.”

The overall amount of the College's budget committed to engineering will not increase, but resources previously allocated to civil engineering will be reallocated to other engineering disciplines at the College. In addition, the College will raise $9 million for the renovation of engineering classrooms and laboratories.

Christina Sorum, Union's dean of the faculty, said converging technologies “will develop engineering and computer science curricula that are not only enhanced by their presence within a liberal arts college but that themselves enhance the education available for liberal arts students through program interaction and access.”

Posted on Oct 19, 2001

Most people know him for the Alaska purchase known as “Seward's Folly.”

But there was a lot more to William H. Seward, Class of 1820. Largely unrecognized are his position as Lincoln's “Right Hand” as secretary of state, his distinguished political career as governor of New York, his bold efforts in education and prison reform, his fight for the rights of immigrants and the insane, and his unwavering fight against slavery.

This week, Mandeville Gallery opens “All the Good I Can: A Portrait of William Henry Seward,” an exhibit of more than 80 items – writings, prints, speeches, photos, and other artifacts. It runs through Dec. 23.

Among the exhibition items are the 13-inch Bowie knife used in an assassination attempt on Seward, speeches including his “Higher Law” speech against slavery, and original editions of newspapers detailing the Lincoln assassination and the attack on Seward.

The opening reception and symposium is set for Tuesday, Oct. 23, starting at 6 p.m. At 7:30 p.m., Prof. James Underwood will moderate a discussion titled “Idealism, Pragmatism and the Dilemmas of Leadership – a Symposium in Honor of William Henry Seward.” Panelists include Richard Norton Smith, an authority on the American presidency; William Galston, director of the Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy at the University of Maryland; and Robert Walker, executive director of the Educational Fund of Common Cause in Washington.

On Tuesday, Oct. 30, at 7:30 pm., John M. Taylor, author of the Seward biography William Henry Seward – Lincoln's Right Hand will speak on “William Henry Seward – Snapshots.”
On Wednesday, Nov. 7, at 7:30 p.m., Pauline Johnson, Harriet Tubman's great grandniece and Robert Seward, a Seward family historian, present “William Henry Seward and Harriet Tubman – ReUniting Two Visionaries.”

For more information on exhibit see Mandeville Gallery web site.

Posted on Oct 19, 2001

Thomas Werner, Florence B. Sherwood Professor of Physical Sciences, received the American Chemical Society's Award for Research at an Undergraduate Institution.

Funded by Research Corporation, a private foundation for the advancement of science, the award was established in 1984 to honor a chemistry faculty member whose research in an undergraduate setting has achieved wide recognition and contributed significantly to chemistry and to the professional development of undergraduate students.

The award consists of $5,000 and a certificate. Research Corporation also is providing a grant of $5,000 directly to Union.

Werner, a professor of chemistry who joined Union in 1971, has directed about 50 senior theses, which have produced publications with over 30 student co-authors, and over 35 presentations at regional and national conferences. Last year, one of his students, Tania Magoon of Pittsfield, Mass., received a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship. She is pursuing her Ph.D. in chemistry at Harvard University.

A longtime member and former chair of the board of governors of the National Conference on Undergraduate Research, Werner twice co-chaired Union's hosting of NCUR (in 1990 and 1995), the largest national conference of its kind. Werner is also a co-author of a history of NCUR, which is to appear in The Journal of Chemical Education.

He helped establish in 1991 the Steinmetz Symposium on undergraduate scholarly activity, a two-day internal conference in which about 250 Union students participate.

Werner serves as co-PI of Union's NSF-AIRE award, a $500,000 grant awarded in part for the College's promotion of undergraduate research. Funding has been used for summer research stipends and to develop “miniterm” research experiences. Werner has been a PI on eight grants that support undergraduate research at the College. He also is director of the NCUR/Lancy Initiative, which provides institutions with support for faculty-mentored research.

Posted on Oct 19, 2001

Derek Jeter's glove?

A history of the Boston Red Sox?

And with that, Armand Feigenbaum '42 took the wrapping off what turned out to be a Lionel Train replica of Hellgate Bridge in New York City.

The gift was presented by President Roger Hull on Tuesday at a reception commemorating the 50th anniversary of Armand's book, Total Quality Control.

“This really touches the bottom of my heart,” Feigenbaum said, adding that he and his brother, Donald '46, have been long-time collectors of model train sets.

“Tomorrow we leave to do some work with the Union-Pacific Railroad,” Armand said, joking that the model train set is useful in working out problems with real railroads.

The gift was the idea of Doug Klein, himself a model train buff, who knew of the Feigenbaums' hobby and remembered them admiring the Hellgate Bridge in a 1930's Lionel catalog that he showed them last year.

The brothers also spoke Tuesday at the sixth annual Feigenbaum Forum, this year focusing on the Plan for Union.

They are principals of General Systems Company in Pittsfield, Mass., an international systems engineering firm that designs and implements integrated management systems for major corporations throughout the world.

Posted on Oct 18, 2001

Schenectady, NY (Oct. 18, 2001) –
All most people know about him is that he bought Alaska in a deal known as
“Seward's Folly.” But any graduate of Union College, from which William Henry Seward graduated with highest honors in 1820, will tell you there was a lot more to the man than that. For example, if Lincoln hadn't been the Republican nominee in 1860, it very likely would have been — and, in fact, almost was — Seward.

Incredibly, Seward's position as Abraham Lincoln's secretary of state -his “right hand,” his distinguished political career as governor of New York, his bold efforts in education and prison reform, his fight for the rights of immigrants and the insane, not to mention his unwavering fight against slavery – including his close relationship with Harriet Tubman – have, for the most part, gone
unrecognized.

Through Dec. 23 in the Mandeville Gallery of the Nott Memorial, Union College will feature the exhibition
titled “All the Good I Can” A Portrait of William Henry Seward.” The exhibit includes more than 80 items -original writings, prints, speeches, photos, and other artifacts.

Exhibition items include:

• The
  13″ Bowie knife (a common weapon of Confederate soldiers), used by
  assassin Louis Powell, in an attempt on Seward's life in 1865. Powell was part of the conspiracy – led by John Wilkes Booth – to kill President Lincoln and key members of his cabinet, including Seward.
• A
  number of Seward's most famous speeches, including his “Higher Law”
  address, which attacked the institution of slavery in America, and his “Freeman” speech, which he delivered while defending an insane black man accused of murder in Auburn, NY. Seward was one of the first attorneys to use the insanity defense in court.
• Original
  editions of the New York Times, Daily Herald and Harpers, which detail the assassination of Lincoln and the attack on Seward.
• Memos and letters, in Seward's hand, including his famous memo of April 1, in which he urges President Lincoln to get busy with the business of the country. Seward even suggested that he would take on the tasks of the presidency if Lincoln felt ill equipped for the job at hand.

Public Events:

Exhibition Reception and Symposium – Nott Memorial, Tuesday, Oct. 23, reception 6 – 7:30pm, symposium 7:30pm. “Idealism, Pragmatism and the Dilemmas of Leadership – a Symposium in Honor of William Henry Seward.” panelists include:

Richard Norton Smith, nationally recognized authority on the American presidency and distinguished
professor of presidential history at Grand Valley State University.

William Galston, director of the Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy at the University of Maryland.

Robert Walker, executive director of the Educational Fund of Common Cause, Washington D.C.

Union College Political Science Prof. James Underwood will moderate the session.

Lecture – Nott Memorial, Tuesday, Oct. 30, 7:30pm. “William Henry Seward – Snapshots” by John M. Taylor, author of the Seward biography William Henry Seward – Lincoln's Right Hand.

Conversation – Nott Memorial, Wednesday, Nov. 7, 7:30pm. “William Henry Seward and Harriet Tubman –
ReUniting Two Visionaries,” with Pauline Johnson, Tubman's great grandniece and Robert Seward, Seward Family Historian.

Mandeville Gallery hours:

October 18-November 16:

Mon-Thurs 9am-10pm;

Fri 9 am-5 pm; Sat noon-5pm

Sun noon-10 pm.

November 17 – December 23:

9am-5pm daily

Information: 388-6004; www.union.edu/links/gallery

Cost: Free, open to the Public