Posted on Feb 2, 2002

Union College President Roger Hull announced that the current stands and press box on Frank Bailey Field will be replaced. Hull expects the new facility to be ready for use by the time the students return to campus in September. The project is among the many facility renovations that will take place over the next few years in order to reflect Union College's standard for quality in all of its programs.

The project will cost $1.7 million and include seating for 1,500, four public rest rooms, a concession area, 30 seats for those who are physically challenged, and a 55-foot enclosed press box. The facility will replace the current wooden bleachers and ladder-structured press box that have been on the field since 1984.

“The renovation at Frank Bailey Field addresses a facilities need that we have faced for a long time,” said Hull. “The project is an important element in our Plan for Union to make our facilities – academic, residential and athletic – among the finest of the nation's liberal arts colleges.

“The upgrades will not only enhance our popular intramural program, it will also vastly improve the appearance of that end of campus,” Hull conntinued. “I want to thank the many alumni, parents, friends, and corporations who have contributed to this project.”

Val Belmonte, Union's Director of Athletics, said that plans for purchasing the equipment needed to build the new bleachers and press box have already been made.

    
“Football will be among several sports that will use the facility,” Belmonte explained “Our men's and women's lacrosse teams, our men's and women's track teams and our women's field hockey team also compete on Bailey Field. Our men's and women's soccer teams have the option of playing on either the artificially-surfaced Bailey Field or Garis Field, which is a grass surface.”

Bill Scanlon, the College's Senior Assistant Director of Athletics, directs Union's popular intramural program. He feels that the new facility will greatly benefit the more than 600 Union students who participate in some sort of intramural activity each term.

“A total of 12 of our 27 team-oriented intramural programs play on Bailey Field,” said Scanlon. “This new facility will enhance those programs and could quite possibly encourage others to participate in one program or another.”

The new press box will be totally enclosed with sliding tinted windows, electricity, telephone and internet connections. The current structure is an open-air box that has a canvas covering over the top and down the side.

“This will be a fantastic recruiting tool for us,” said 10-year head football coach John Audino. “A great many of the teams that we compete with, both on the field and in the area of recruiting, have new or updated facilities. Our coaches have always sold Union on its outstanding academic reputation, the small class size, the involvement of the faculty and the beauty of the campus. Now we have a great new facility to add to that already impressive list.”

Linda Bevelander, Union's assistant director of athletics and head woman's lacrosse coach looks at the facility improvements as a sign of the College's commitment not only to athletics, but to a campus community that is interested in a healthy body as well as an educated mind.

“This facility upgrade shows that Union is committed to producing an excellent and safe all-around environment for our student body and our entire college community,” she said. “We have always been known for our strong commitment to educational opportunities, and when completed, we will have a facility that the entire campus can take pride in.”

“This is the first step of moving Union's athletic and recreational facilities into the 21 century, benefiting the entire campus community” said Belmonte.

The design work for the project was done by Cannon Design while Clough, Harbour, and Associates Tech Services will be in charge of the engineering and construction.

Frank Bailey Field, named for the long-time trustee and treasurer of the College, is used for intercollegiate contests by the College's football, field hockey, lacrosse and track teams. A number of other teams and intramural programs use the all-weather facility for training and games, respectively.

Posted on Feb 2, 2002

Schenectady, N.Y. (Feb. 1, 2002) – Clarinetist Todd Palmer will be joined by soprano Elizabeth Farnum, cellist Alexis Gerlach, and pianist Dena Levine, Friday, Feb. 8, at 8 p.m. in Union College's Memorial Chapel.

The performance will feature
Poulenc's Sonata for Clarinet & Cello; Barber's Hermit Songs; Brahms' Clarinet Trio; Piazzolla's Grand Tango for
Cello and Piano; and Schubert's
The Shepherd on the Rock.

Todd Palmer's virtuosity, art of
phrasing and ebullient stage presence have brought him a stellar reputation as
a solo clarinetist that is attained by few artists on this instrument. He was a winner of the Young Concert Artists
International Auditions as well as winning the Concorso Internazionale di
Musica in Trieste, Italy. He also was the first wind player ever to receive the Grand Prize in the Ima Hogg Young Artists Competition in Houston, Tex. 

He has performed as concerto
soloist, recitalist and clinician in 47 states, and has been lauded for his
engaging and inspirational outreach programs for young audiences. Mr. Palmer has also appeared abroad and is
in great demand as a chamber music performer. He has appeared at many American and International music festivals as well as touring with Musicians from Marlboro and Spoleto Chamber Music USA, and has collaborated with the Brentano, Borromeo, Orion and St. Lawrence quartets as well as being the clarinetist of choice in Schubert's Shepherd on the Rock with sopranos Kathleen Battle, Renée Fleming, Roberta Peters and Dawn Upshaw. 

Mr. Palmer has also served as
principal clarinetist of the Minnesota Orchestra and the Grand Teton Festival
in Wyoming.  His first CD Hermit Songs
was released in 1995 by Koch International Classics and was praised by Fanfare and the American Record Guide for “remarkable music making” and as “extraordinary in its range and emotional depth.” This year Mr. Palmer was awarded a $20,000 recording grant from The National Foundation for Jewish Culture. This is Mr. Palmer's 5th Series appearance.

Cellist Alexis Pia Gerlach has
performed throughout the U.S., in Canada, Brazil, Israel, Korea, Japan, Switzerland, Italy, France, India, China and Uzbekistan. As a soloist she has collaborated with such conductors as Mstislav Rostropovich at France's Evian Festival, James DePreist at Avery Fisher Hall, and Peter Oundjian with the Orchestra of St. Luke's at the Caramoor Festival. As a chamber musician she has appeared as a
guest artist with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Bargemusic, at numerous festivals including Marlboro, Caramoor, Piccolo Spoleto, Aspen and Portland (Me.), and in collaborations with artists including Dawn Upshaw, Richard Stoltzman, Gilbert Kalish, Pamela Frank, David Shifrin, Charles Wadsworth and the St. Lawrence String Quartet. Ms. Gerlach has recorded the Rachmaninoff and Franck Sonatas with pianist Fabio Bidini on the Encore Performance label.

Ms. Gerlach's recent solo performances include recitals at the La Jolla Chamber Music Society and the Caramoor Festival, an appearance with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra, and the world premiere of Serenade for
Cello and Orchestra by Jeffery Cotton and the Metamorphosen Chamber Orchestra
at Boston's Jordan Hall. As a member of Trio Solisti Ms. Gerlach performs with
violinist Maria Bachmann and pianist Jon Klibonoff on the group's concert
series at the Morgan Library and in concerts throughout the country. She also performs with Concertante on its three series at Merkin Hall in New York, at the Whitaker Center in Harrisburg and in Baltimore.

Ms. Gerlach began studying the cello
at the age of seven with Nancy Streetman at the Manhattan School
of Music Pre-College Division, and she went on to study with Aldo Parisot at
the Yale School of Music and The Juilliard School. This is Ms. Gerlach's 2nd Series appearance.

Pianist Dena Levine has appeared at
prestigious international music series and festivals around the United States,
and in Europe, Asia, and Latin America. As co-founder and pianist of the
award-winning Laurel Trio for four years, Ms. Levine was a winner of the
Concert Artists Guild Competition and ProPiano Debut Series.  In addition to a two-year residency on WQXR Radio, her performances with the group included Carnegie Recital Hall and the
Alexander Schneider Series in New York, the Gardner Museum in Boston, the
National Concert Association of Panama, the La Jolla Discovery Series, and the
Sacramento Festival of New American Music.

She is currently assistant professor
of piano and director of instrumental music at Seton Hall University. Ms.
Levine has recorded for the CRI label. This is Ms. Levine's Series debut.

Elizabeth Farnum, soprano, is a
specialist in contemporary music. In
addition, she is an active performer
in many diverse musical styles, and her performances of modern music, early
music and musical theater have taken her throughout the United States, Europe
and Japan.  She has premiered pieces by
prominent composers in many venues, including Alice Tully Hall, Merkin Hall,
Bargemusic, London's Institute
for Contemporary Art and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, collaborating with such composers as
Charles Wuorinen, Ricky Ian Gordon, Anthony Braxton, John Zorn, Anthony
Newman and Toby Twining. She is a regular soloist at the Cathedral of
St. John the Divine, where she performed the world premiere of James Bassi's Carol Symphony. She has also performed and toured with the Waverly Consort and the acclaimed early music group Pomerium.

Ms. Farnum's background is in
musical theater, and she most currently appeared on Broadway in Riverdance.  She has starred in several Off-Broadway and regional productions, and has performed with the chorus of the Metropolitan Opera. Her world premiere recording of the songs of Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji is due for release later this year. She has recorded five CDs for Deutsche Grammophon and Allegro with Pomerium, of which the third, Creator of the Stars, was nominated for a Grammy. This is Ms. Farnum's Series debut.

Tickets at $20 ($8 for students) are available in advance at the Office of Communications, Union College (518) 388-6131 and at the door at 7 p.m. For more information, call 372-3651.

The Union College Concert Series is made possible, in part, with public funds from the New York State
Council on the Arts, a State Agency; additional support comes from the Times
Union Newspapers. Memorial Chapel is located near the center of the Union
College campus. Parking is available on campus and nearby side streets.

Posted on Feb 2, 2002

This is supposedly a backslash:

Posted on Feb 1, 2002

Rudy Nydegger, associate professor of GMI, has
been elected president of the NY State Psychological Association,
the primary body representing the interests of New York
State psychologists, and the state affiliate of the American
Psychological Association.

Posted on Feb 1, 2002

Eric C. Noll, director of human resources, recently
earned certification as a Senior Professional in Human
Resources (SPHR). The certification, awarded by the Human
Resource Certification Institute, the credentialing body for
human resource professionals, signifies that Noll possesses the
theoretical knowledge and practical experience in human resource
management necessary to pass a rigorous examination demonstrating
a mastery of the body of knowledge in the field. To become
certified, an applicant must pass a comprehensive examination and
demonstrate a strong background of professional human
resource experience.