Robert
L. Fleischer, research
professor of geology, wrote an article “Fission Tracks in Solids – Production
Mechanisms and Natural Origins” in the June 15, 2004 issue of the Journal of Materials Science. It describes how energetic nuclear
particles cause radiation-damage tracks in solids by producing atomic
disordering. Fleischer also gave a talk, “Etched Tracks and Serendipitous
Dosimetry,” at the 14th International Conference on Solid State
Dosimetry held at New Haven. Co-authors were Sekyung Chang,
Jeremy Farrell, Rachel C. Herrmann,
Jonathan MacDonald, and Marek Zalesky and Robert H. Doremus of Rensselaer. The talk described retrospective
personal dosimetry using etched-track methods.
Toll Day for community service is Saturday
Hundreds of students are expected to wield brooms, paintbrushes, and shovels as
they take to the streets on Saturday, Sept. 11, for the 10th annual
John Calvin Toll Day.
This year's event is dedicated to
the memory of those who died in the September
11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
Students from the Class of 2008,
upperclassmen, College staff and faculty, city leaders and residents will
participate. Work clothes and closed-toe shoes are the order of the day.
The College's annual community
service day is named for one of the College's first graduates in 1799. John
Calvin Toll Day is supported by Al Hill, a 1946 Union graduate 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.
“Toll Day is a great
collaborative effort between the College and the entire Schenectady
community that benefits everyone involved,” said Gretchel Tyson, Union's
community outreach director. “Students new to Schenectady
get to know the city better, meet new people, and have a good time while
providing a valuable service to the city.”
Salary letters on the way
Salary letters are being
prepared and will be sent out on or before September 24, it was announced in a
letter from Human Resources on Wednesday, Sept. 8. Employees will receive a
retroactive pay adjustment in their Oct. 1 paycheck. The salary pool for increases
will remain at three percent with individual raises determined by past
performance. If you have any questions, please contact Human Resources at ext.
6108.
Val Belmonte leaving to head US Figure Skating
Val Belmonte, director of
athletics at Union College,
has announced he will leave the College at the end of September to become
executive director of U.S. Figure Skating, the national governing body of the
sport, based in Colorado Springs.
“Val has done great things
for Union athletics in his time here and he will be sorely missed,” said
Roger Hull, president of Union College.
“It speaks well for Val and for the College that he was chosen to lead
such a prestigious organization.”
Belmonte joined the College July 1, 2000.
For the past three years, Union
has finished among the top in the standings for the United States Sports
Academy Directors' Cup, last year finishing 63rd based on finish in the NCAA or
NAIA championships. The College was ranked 57th in 2002-03, and 59th in 2001-02. About
430 Div. III colleges and universities are eligible for ranking.
Last year, Union
had four UCAA players of the year, two UCAA coaches of the year; 42 all
conference selections in the UCAA, 83 all-academic honors; and the 14 NCAA All
American selections.
Also during Belmonte's tenure, the
College constructed a complex with seating and press box at Frank Bailey Field,
renovated Achilles Center and dedicated Frank Messa Rink, and began
construction of the Viniar Sports Complex, a facility for men's and women's
basketball to be dedicated this year. The College is completing construction of
an artificial field complex at the Inn at College
Park, the former Ramada Inn.
Belmonte also was instrumental in
the recent restructuring of the ECAC Div. I men's hockey league, in which Union
participates.
Before joining Union,
Belmonte was director of USA Hockey's coaching program, a position he held
since 1991. Prior to that, he served as assistant athletic director and head
hockey coach at the University of Illinois-Chicago
and assistant hockey coach at Harvard
University. He received his B.S.
from the University of Illinois-Chicago and an M.Ed. from the University of
North Dakota. He is a member of the U.S. Olympic Committee's coaching
committee, working with U.S.
coaches in a variety of Olympic sports. He is the author of publications including Coaches Ethics Code and a number of hockey
coaching manuals.
Dwight Wolf, associate dean for
academic services and planning, will add the job of interim director of
athletics to his portfolio, Sorum said. He will be working closely with Ramsey
Baker, associate director of athletics; Joanne Little, assistant director; and
other staff. The College will start a search for a permanent successor in the
coming year, she said.
College welcomes new faculty
The faculty welcomed 18 new
colleagues at their opening meeting on Tuesday.
They include (with the remainder
to be published next week):
Anthropology:
Derek Pardue, visiting assistant professor, earned his Ph.D. in
cultural anthropology from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign with a
dissertation on “Blackness and Periphery: A Retelling of Marginality in Hip-Hop
Culture of São Paulo, Brazil.”
R. Kenji Tierney, visiting assistant professor, earned a Ph.D. in
socio-cultural anthropology from the University
of California-Berkeley, with a
dissertation on “Wrestling with Tradition: Sumo, National Identity and
Trans/National Popular Culture.”
Chemistry:
Laurie Tyler, assistant professor, holds a Ph.D. in inorganic
chemistry from the University of California,
Santa Cruz. Her research interests
include inorganic and bioinorganic chemistry with an emphasis on the synthesis
of complexes that contain biologically relevant metals.
Classics:
Hans-Friedrich Mueller, professor and chair of the department,
earned a Ph.D. in classical philology from the University
of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill. He has interests in Greek and Latin literature, ancient
history, Roman law and religion and pedagogy. He has held recent positions at
the University of Florida
and Florida State
University.
Stacie Raucci, visiting instructor, was to receive her Ph.D. in
classics from the University of Chicago
with a dissertation titled “Gazing Games: Propertius and the Dynamics of
Vision.” Her fields include Latin literature of the Augustian Age; gender and
sexuality; and culture and society of the late Republic.
Computer Science:
Valerie Barr, professor and chair of the department, holds a Ph.D.
from Rutgers University.
Her dissertation was titled “Applications of Rule-Base Coverage Measures to
Expert System Evaluation.” Her areas of interest include software testing,
development of verification and validation of natural language processing; and
women and computer science.
English:
Channette Romero, assistant professor, earned a Ph.D. from Rutgers
University in May. Her dissertation was
titled “Spiritual Resistance: Religion, Race and Nation in Ethnic American
Women's Fiction.” Interests include African American literature, ethnic
American literature, twentieth century literature and gender and feminist
theory.
Christopher Pizzino, visiting assistant professor, holds a master's
degree in English from Rutgers University,
where he has taught a number of courses in literature. Teaching interests
include secular and religious studies, world and American cinema, genre studies
and modern and postmodern literature.
Bradley Beckman, visiting lecturer, holds a master's degree from New
York University
focusing on dramatic literature, dramaturgy and performance theory. He has taught classes at Union
in film and theater and directed a play and video project exploring diversity
issues at Union.