Posted on Aug 30, 2004

On Aug. 30, Andrew
McCabe '03 was nearing his destination of Mount
Kathadin in northern Maine
and, with less than 300 miles to go, he appeared well ahead of his goal of
reaching the northern terminus of the 2,160-mile Appalachian Trail
by mid-October.

McCabe, a native of northern New
Jersey, has been joined along the way by new friends
and old, including a cadre of Union alumni who give support, food and company
along the way. Prof. Byron Nichols paid a call
on McCabe as the hiker reached Mount Greylock, Mass.,
in late July.

In 2003, McCabe won the Daggett Prize
for best conduct and character, graduating with a major in computer science and
minors in math and economics. He was perhaps best known on campus as president
of Student Forum. He was a founder of Geisel House, a theme house that promotes
childhood literacy. He also served on Student Affairs Committee, Theme House
Consortium, the selection committee for the House System Implementation
Committee and as an admissions interviewer and panelist.

McCabe's hiking friends have
finally given him a trailname: Megabite. “When I first heard it, I figured it
was going to be spelled '-byte,' so I'd just be known as a geek,” he wrote in
his journal. “But I was told it's going to be spelled '-bite' since I've
developed quite an appetite lately. So that's it, I'm Megabite, the geek with
an appetite.”

You can follow McCabe's progress
on the trail at:

http://www.walkingnorth.com

Posted on Aug 30, 2004

No injuries were reported
after a small electrical fire in an exhaust fan caused minor damage to the
attic of West College
residence hall on Monday afternoon.

Campus safety officers and Schenectady
firefighters were called to the dorm by an alarm at 1:40 p.m.

About 65 students were evacuated. Most
were athletes on campus for pre-season training; others were residence
advisors.

The move-in of other students, to begin
Sept. 4, will not be affected. The building's dining hall was expected to
continue normal operation.

The smoldering fire triggered a
smoke detector on a fire system that was installed in the building three years
ago, according to Michael Hilton, campus fire prevention specialist.

The exhaust fan that apparently
malfunctioned was used to ventilate the cooking area of the building's first-floor
dining hall.

Fire officials said damage was
confined to a 10- by 10-foot section of framing and insulation. A concrete
floor contained the fire and kept smoke and water from entering the floors
below, officials said.

West
College, which parallels Seward
Place along the western edge of campus, houses 168
students.  At the time of the alarm,
residence advisors were undergoing fire training in the Nott Memorial.

Posted on Aug 30, 2004

Michael F. Newell '74 has been
elected alumni representative on the College's Board of Trustees.

Newell, who earned his bachelor's
degree in chemistry from Union, is director of business development for
Rheodyne LLC, a technology company specializing in fluidic devices for
analytical, pharmaceutical and biotechnology instruments.

Newell received the “Undergraduate
Award in Analytical Chemistry” by the American Chemical Society. After
attending the University of Georgia
for graduate work in Analytical Chemistry, he began a 27-year career as a
marketing and management professional in high-tech products and services.

He has been a member of the Union
College Chemistry Alumni Advisory Council for
over 10 years, and has served as chair for five years. On the Alumni
Council, he has served as treasurer, chair of the finance committee, and member
of the executive committee.

Newell is a dedicated fan of Union
athletics and a founding member of the Fighting Dutchmen Gridiron Club, serving
as treasurer since its inception in 2000 and as president in 2003.

This year, he is serving as ReUnion
chair for the Class of 74's 30th ReUnion. He is
a member of the Terrace Council and a leadership gift contributor for the
Bailey Field Project. He has received “Alumni
Appreciation Awards” from both the Alumni
Council and Union College Football.

Also on the ballot was Peter J.
Meola '77, He is CEO of Castrol Americas and group executive of BP, the
international oil company. Meola earned his bachelor's degree in economics from
Union.

“The Union
College alumni had two excellent
candidates for this position,” said Nick Famulare '92, director of alumni
relations. “We are grateful to Peter and Mike for their many past
contributions to Union and their willingness to serve Union
so well.”

Posted on Aug 19, 2004

Craig Mosia '94, a New
York City firefighter, was credited in the rescue of a
drowning 13-year-old boy who fell into Jamaica
Bay on Aug. 3.

Mosia and fellow members of Ladder
121, Engine 365 were called to the scene in the Rockaways, where a mishap sent a
pair of cousins into the water.

The event was covered in the Aug.
4 Daily News, which wrote:

“Mosia, 32, quickly stripped down
to his skivvies and leaped into the water. He felt the tug of the currents and
he could see [the boy] drifting head-first toward a concrete pylon.

'”I was thinking about my kids
when I was swimming out to him,” said Mosia, a father of twin toddlers,
Jake and Luke.

“The firefighter made it to [the
boy] in time to prevent him from hitting the pylon. But rather than fight back
to shore, Mosia cradled the boy in his arms and let the currents carry them to
the dock, where [a homeowner] helped them up.”

Mosia and the homeowner attempted
resuscitation, and the boy was taken to the hospital and listed in critical
condition. A 7-year-old was saved with some help from a bystander who tossed him
a basketball for flotation.

Posted on Aug 18, 2004

Union College's Atrium Gallery presents a show
that brings together two acclaimed artists of the same generation who share an
approach to the human figure.

The Figure Drawn: Work
on Paper by Sigmund Abeles and Philip Grausman runs from Thursday, Sept. 9,
through Thursday, Oct. 21, in the Atrium Gallery in the Arts Building on the north side of campus.

The exhibit is free and open to the public. For more information,
call 518-388-6131. Gallery hours are daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Abeles and Grausman will give a gallery talk on Tuesday,
Oct. 5, from 2 to 3 p.m. Abeles will give a talk accompanied
by a slide show from 3:30 to 4 p.m. in Room 215 of the Arts Building. A reception for the artists will
follow in the Atrium Gallery from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m.  

While both artists have a generally representational
perspective, they differ greatly in their description of the human form.
Abeles, known as a painter and printmaker, presents his images with
psychologically penetrating directness, employing bold and incisive lines and
marks that crackle with emotion. His many grants and awards include those from
the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation, the National Institute of Arts &
Letters, and the American Jewish Committee Academic Seminar in Israel.

In contrast, Grausman, a master of classically refined
sculptures of people and animals, establishes linear amalgams of sheer elegance
in which the viewer meets subjects through somewhat idealized geometry. His
honors include a sculpture fellowship from the American Academy in Rome, the Ford Foundation Purchase
Award, the Tiffany Foundation Fellowship, and a grant from the National
Institute of Arts & Letters.

Despite their differences, each artist creates forms with passion,
conviction, and authority from years of seeing, reflecting, and making art. 

The exhibition is made possible through the support of Union College, its Visual Arts Department, and
the Walter C. Baker Fine Arts Endowment.