Linda Patrik,
professor of philosophy, recently published a paper based on her research work
at the Nitartha Institute in E-ASPAC, an electronic
journal in Asian Studies sponsored by the East/West Center of the University
of Hawaii. The paper,
“Transplanting Tibetan Philosophy,” describes three North American
schools that translate and teach Tibetan philosophy to westerners (Naropa University,
the Namgyal Institute, and the Nitartha
Institute). It also analyzes some of the obstacles to Tibetan philosophy's
acceptance in the West. Patrik's paper, “Perilous
Sitting: Krishnamurti's Criticisms of Meditation Practice,”
is forthcoming in the Krishnamurti Monograph series. This paper discusses
the distinction between meditation practice and true meditation, which was
drawn by the 20th-century teacher, Krishnamurti.
She also delivered a paper, “Letting Philosophy Go: The Role of Reasoning in Kagyu Tibetan Buddhism” at a session on Tibetan philosophy at
the Fordham University Ancient and Medieval Philosophy conference in October.
Prof. Cura delivers paper on calligraphy, painting
Nixi Cura,
instructor of visual arts, recently presented a paper, “Cataloguing Qing Art in the Shiqu baoji,” on the calligraphy and painting collection of the Qianlong emperor (r. 1736-95) at the international
symposium, “Literary Gathering in the Western Garden — Art in China:
Collections and Concepts” in Bonn, Germany.
Prof. Meade edits volume on gender history
Teresa A. Meade, professor
of history and director of the Center for Women's Studies, is co-editor (with
Merry Wiesner-Hanks of the University
of Wisconsin – Milwaukee)
of a new book, A Companion to Gender History (Blackwell
Publishing, 2004).
The book, which is part of the
publishers “Companions to History” series, surveys the history of
women around the world, studies their interaction with men in gendered
societies, and looks at the role of gender in shaping human behavior over
thousands of years, according to the literature on the book.
In thematic
essays and chronological-geographic essays by scholars around the world, the
book also discusses family history, the history of the body and sexuality, and
cultural history alongside women's history and gender history. It considers the
importance of class, region, ethnicity, race and religion to the formation of
gendered societies. It also gives due weight to pre-history and the pre-modern
era as well as to the modern era.
Prof.
Meade is also the author of “Civilizing” Rio:
Reform and Resistance in a Brazilian City (1997) and A Brief History of Brazil (2003). She is
working on a project on marriage on the Alta California
frontier, 1769–1860.
For more on A Companion to Gender History, visit
http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/Book.asp?ref=0631223932
Dan Detora joins College as director of dining services
Dan Detora, who joins the College
as director of dining services, is happy to see his customers up and walking. After
10 years with Sodexho, all in managing hospital food services, it “makes a
big difference to see them roaming around,” he quips.
At Union,
the challenges are different and there is more volume, he says. Among his
priorities are working with two new 15-member focus groups of students – from West College and Upperclass – to find out how Dining Services can best serve the College.
“We are interested to see how
we're doing and to hear the kinds of things they would like us to do
differently,” he said. “From lines [at mealtimes] to menu items …whatever they
want to talk about.”
Detora is about to start
preliminary planning for the College's newest dining facility, in the former
Ramada Inn.
A native of North
Andover, Mass., he earned a
bachelor's in management from Roger Williams
University. Before joining Union,
he was responsible for directing a number of hospital food services, most
recently as general manager of food service at Charlton
Memorial Hospital
in Fall River, Mass.
Union Fund on the rise
A renewed focus on the College's
annual giving programs and a confidence in the national economy are factors in
a sharp rise in the Union Fund, according to officials in College Relations.
The year's Union Fund, formerly
known as the Annual Fund, hit the halfway mark well ahead of previous years
both in dollars raised and the number of donors.
About $1.9 million was raised at
the end of 2003, nearly 27 percent over the previous two years. There were
4,970 donors, up nearly 19 percent over the halfway mark of last year's fund.
There were 3,345 alumni donors, up
more than 20 percent over last year and 10 percent over this point in time of
the 2001-02 fund year. Alumni contributed over $1.1 million at the halfway
mark, up almost 22 percent from last year, and 27 percent over 2001-02.
“We're very excited about what
these numbers seem to say,” said Ray Brownell, director of annual giving. “Alumni,
parents and friends are feeling very good about Union
right now, and these mid-year figures reflect that sentiment.”
Brownell cited an increased
focus on ReUnion giving programs, more alumni volunteers
recruited to serve as class ambassadors, and more and better events to engage
alumni around the country.