Posted on Sep 20, 2002

It's
unclear whether John Calvin Toll, one of Union's first graduates in
1799, did much in the way of painting or planting on his arrival in Schenectady.

But
hundreds of students from the Class of 2006 and other classes will be wielding
paintbrushes and shovels in his honor on Saturday for the annual community
service day that bears his name.

The
students will join members of other local volunteer organizations to clean a
number of parks and city-owned properties as well as assist with projects at
local agencies including American Red Cross, Bethesda House, Community Land
Trust, Eddy Senior Center, Family Child Services
of Schenectady and Safe Inc. The day will end with a reception featuring
gourmet desserts at the City Center Sportsplex. President Roger Hull and other
staff and faculty are planning to participate.

John
Calvin Toll Community Day is later than usual to allow more members of Union's student body to
participate. Begun in 1995 as a way to strengthen ties with the city and expose
students to volunteer opportunities, it was part of freshman orientation, held
days before other students arrived.

“This
year, we look forward to tapping into a much larger workforce,” said Gretchel
Tyson, Union's community outreach
coordinator. “For many of our older students, working at Toll Day was their
first exposure to the City of Schenectady, and the beginning of a
college career that included volunteering in the community. So, it is natural
that we include them.”

John
Calvin Toll Day is supported by Al Hill '46 and his wife, Perrie. Toll was the
great, great grandfather of Hill, a retired attorney from Buffalo. The Hills created the
fund to encourage Union students to undertake volunteer service. “We believe
that the experiences from this activity will carry over beyond graduation and
enrich not only those they serve but also the volunteers,” Hill said.

For more
information, contact Gretchel Tyson at ext. 6609.

Posted on Sep 20, 2002

Think
of Doug Klein as the guy who holds the college-wide umbrella.

Klein,
professor of economics and associate dean of information technology, was recently
named director of the newly-formed Center for Converging Technologies.

“I
view myself as a facilitator and champion for CT (Converging Technologies),
which is also the role I have played for IT (Information Technology) on campus
for the past few years,” he said.

Klein
said he envisions the Center as an “umbrella” under which the College can grow
new interdisciplinary programs, sponsor speakers and workshops, encourage new
interdisciplinary GenEd science courses and introduce CT content into existing
ones, and generate funding for these new initiatives that bridge the liberal
arts and engineering. Klein said the Center also will explore partnerships in
CT between Union and other institutions – public, private
and governmental.

“While
the idea for CT emerged a little over a year ago from Division 4 (engineering),
the initiative I have agreed to lead is clearly college-wide,” Klein said at a
recent CT planning retreat for faculty and administrators. “In fact, the idea
of CT emerged in response to the challenge to develop interdisciplinary
projects and programs which promote a broader conversation between engineering
and the liberal arts.”

“CT
is the best way I can think of to open the lines of communication across campus
and to fully capitalize on our resources. CT will also encourage the College to
develop an administrative structure that provides the increased flexibility
necessary to foster these interdisciplinary activities.”

“Interdisciplinary
studies such as biotechnology, nanotechnology, mechatronics and pervasive
computing are becoming more important in understanding the world,” he said. “Union
has for more than 150 years prided itself in being a liberal arts college with engineering,
and rightfully so. Our mission speaks of the value of receiving an engineering
education within the context of the liberal arts, and I think that the converse
is true as well.

“CT
will distinguish Union in ways that simply having
engineering programs has not.  It is one
thing to be a liberal arts college with engineering.  It is something else completely to be a small
college that allows students to see the world in these fundamentally new ways
by participating in interdisciplinary programs. These programs will draw on our
knowledge and talent in both engineering and the liberal arts.”

J.
Douglass Klein received his bachelor's in mathematics from Grinnell
College, and his master's and Ph.D.
in economics from the University of Wisconsin,
Madison. Prior to joining the economics
department in 1979, he taught at the Maxwell School of Syracuse University and
served as a Brookings Institution Economic Policy Fellow.

At Union,
Klein served as chair of economics from 1993 to 1998, and was appointed
associate dean for information technology in 1999, a position he still holds.
He has also served as chair of the College's steering committee on academic computing,
and directed the Social Sciences Statistics Laboratory. 

Klein
has published in the areas of antitrust and regulatory economics, the economics
of auctions, and applications of efficiency measurement.

For more information, visit the CT website, at http://www.ct.union.edu

Posted on Sep 13, 2002

It's being billed as the biggest block party the city has
ever had, and it's all for students at Union and Schenectady
County Community College.

On Saturday, from noon
to 4 p.m. on the Jay
Street pedestrian mall, dozens of businesses and
non-profits are hosting a block party with free food, music and deep discounts
for students.

“For many students, this will be their first time to visit
downtown Schenectady,” said
Gretchel Tyson, the College's community outreach coordinator. “We want them to
get a great first impression of their home for the next four years, and we want
them to become familiar with the many resources that are available here in Schenectady.
This city has everything from restaurants and rock climbing to churches and
volunteer organizations. And we want our students to know it.”

“Welcome Students Day” is sponsored by the colleges,
Downtown Schenectady Improvement Corp., Schenectady 2000, GE Power Systems, GE
Elfun Society, WRGB TV and United Way.

Posted on Sep 13, 2002

First Watch, a
carillon piece composed by Prof. Hilary Tann, will be premiered Sunday, Sept.
15, at 3 p.m. on the Albany City Hall
Carillon.

The piece is to be performed by Charles Semowich on the
occasion of the 75th anniversary of the dedication of the carillon.

She composed the piece (on commission from the Friends of
the Albany Carillon Inc. with support from the Ancient Temple Lodge No. 14, F.
& A.M.) to reflect Albany's
history as a port and trading center.

“At sea, the first watch takes
place from 8
p.m. to midnight,” Tann said. “A bell is struck each half hour — one at 8:30 , two at 9 and so on, culminating in eight bells as the
watch changes. In First Watch, marking successively longer sections, a
low pedal E is the watch-bell. The canal trade is recalled by references
to four folk songs. At 10 p.m. (“four bells”), there is an homage to the
hazards of the Adirondack logging trade (“The Wild Mustard River”) and, later,
fragments of three Erie Canal songs (“Low Bridge-Everybody Down”, “Oh! Dat Low Bridge”, and “The E-ri-e”) are introduced.  The piece ends
quietly as the watch changes at midnight.”

Posted on Sep 13, 2002

Room too cold?
No hot water? Key won't work?

Try fixx@union.edu,
a new way to report problems to Facilities Services.

Members of the campus community
may contact Facilities anytime at fixx@union.edu
to report a problem.

Or, call ext. 6181 between 7:30 a.m. and 4:30
p.m. (or leave a voice message after hours). For emergencies or
after-hour help, call Campus Safety at ext. 6911.

When reporting a problem, please
leave:

1.      Your
name

2.      Your
phone number

3.      The
exact location of the problem (building, floor, room)

4.      A
detailed description of the problem.