“Wrong
fork in the road”
Re: The
decision to eliminate the Civil Engineering Department.
I have
spent the last thirty-one years as professor and chair of the Civil Engineering
Technology Department at the Springfield (Mass.) Technical Community College,
and while our program and the mission of the college are different from those of Union, recruitment,
graduate placement and success, and the evolving nature of engineering
education are common themes critical for each of us.
Sound
engineering is based on a mastery of the fundamentals, not a smorgasbord of
perceived and unproven “dotcoms” of new technology. While I applaud Union's
strategic initiative for the new millennium, I feel it is flawed for several
reasons. First is the unrecognized expense of developing a Converging
Technologies curriculum in an undergraduate, small college environment. It is
well documented that this type of education belongs at the graduate level.
Second is the fear that future engineering graduates will lack the fundamentals
under the proposed new curriculum. Removing one leg of the proven tripod of
civil-mechanical-electrical engineering will significantly weaken the two
remaining engineering programs, and the synergy and economies of scale of
grouping all three majors in common-core courses will be lost.
Engineering
in the twenty-first century is not an individual undertaking. It is partnering
and team building with researchers, economists, sociologists, attorneys, city
planners, environmentalists, and a whole host of other specialists all
committed to making this world of ours a better place in which to live. Civil
engineers are an essential first link in many of these current and largest
undertakings.
An
engineering conference at Smith College
last spring focused on two intersecting concerns: the critical shortage of
engineers and computer engineers in industry and the scarcity of women in
engineering. There are roughly 350,000 unfilled engineering jobs nationwide. It's
also noteworthy that Union's CE Department enjoys the highest number of women
in all of the engineering programs.
This past November, Mount Holyoke College announced that it was developing a
consortium with UMass to offer engineering degrees. One would have to ask, why
would one of the Seven Sisters decide to go into engineering if they didn't
realize the importance of engineering
to our country's future?
I fear
that the College has taken the wrong fork in the road to maintain academic
excellence.
Lee
Tuthill '65, PE
Wilbraham,
Mass.
Springtime
in Vienna
I read
with interest, and a bit of nostalgia, the articles in the Fall issue regarding
terms abroad. My “Fruehling in Wien” experiences in 1971 were the highlight of
my time at Union. I've returned to Europe many times since then and always
contrast the experiences (usually unfavorably) with those of the spring term in
Vienna.
In my
view, the College did it just right,
with a minimal amount of academics, and considerable emphasis on the local
history and lifestyle, culture, and travel. My friend and roommate, Dave D'Aprix
'73, and I stayed with a local family and were forced to speak German
regularly. There were numerous trips, chaperoned by Professor Anton Warde and
his wife, to the Burgenland in eastern Austria, Prague and Budapest (during the
Cold War), and Salzburg. We were encouraged to
travel independently as well, and did, to Monte Carlo for the Grand
Prix, Innsbruck to ski, and Munich, among other destinations.
We were
also encouraged to attend local
cultural activities, which abounded in Vienna. We were given a $25 voucher,
redeemable at the various theaters and concert halls. This seems like a modest
sum, but, as I recall, a “Stehplatz” in the rear of the State Opera House cost
about $4 and wonderful string quartets playing Strauss cost less than $1. We
also found time to relax in the infamous Cafe d'Schwarze Spanier near St.
Stephen's with Bob Noelsch '73, Steve Manus '72, Mike Rubach '72, and others.
I have
a business trip planned to Vienna in 2003 and look forward to reliving many of
my old experiences.
Davis
R. Heussler '73
East
Aurora, N.Y. 14052
Though
the Israel kibbutz program officially began in 1973, it actually started on an
informal basis two years earlier. During the 1971 winter term I and two other
members of the Class of 1972, Aaron Feingold and Roger Friedman, obtained
permission to pursue self-designed independent study projects on a kibbutz. We
made our own travel arrangements and obtained placement on a kibbutz in the Jordan Valley through the
headquarters of one of the kibbutz
movements in Tel Aviv.
My
project involved maintaining a journal of my experiences and studying the
political structure and operations of the kibbutz under the supervision of
Byron Nichols (professor of political science). Aaron also maintained a journal
and assembled a photographic essay under the supervision of the late Arnie
Bittleman (professor of art). I don't recall Roger's project, though he
ultimately chose to move to Israel after graduation, where he lived for a
number of years.
Speaking
for myself, and I'm sure Aaron and Roger concur, our time in Israel was an
unforgettable and irreplaceable experience, and we are grateful to Union for
trusting us to do this on our own. I'm certain that our success influenced the
decision to create a formal Israel kibbutz program just two years later.
Robert
N. Michaelson '72
New
York City
Seeing
the picture of Professor Bill Thomas at Mont St. Michel, long-lost memories
burgeoned. That picture captures the essence of my memories of Prof. Thomas – trench
coat, scarf, and a sidelong glance to make sure nothing too calamitous was
going on behind him.
Just
last week my ten-year-old daughter went exploring and found a pack of old
letters from that era. I read one of the letters I wrote to my parents and
remembered how I met Prof. Thomas and the Union group in Paris. I had worked
during the summer on the estate of Mme Pierre Mend`es France, picking peaches
and apricots with a group of Tunisian migrant workers. When I got off the train
in Rennes and met my host family, they thought I was an Arab because I was
short, dark, and spoke decent French – with an Arab accent.
I
really enjoyed the article. It's true, the term abroad program is a
life-changing event for some participants. I've been back to Europe a few times
since; three years ago I took my older daughter (age twelve at the time) on a
month-long bicycle trip near Avignon, where I had worked picking fruit.
Steve
Buchsbaum '75
Belgrade,
Maine
We
welcome letters. Send them to: Office of Communications, Union College, Schenectday,
N.Y. 12308 or blankmap@union.edu.