Jordan
Smith, professor
of English, has written a new book of poems, The Names of the Things You Are Leaving, accepted for publication
in the poetry series at the University
of Tampa Press.
Two ’04 grads join admissions team
Geoffrey Bowman and Teran Tadal
join the College's Admissions Office as assistant deans of admissions.
“We're thrilled to have Geoff and
Teran back at Union, this time to help in recruiting students who will follow
in their footsteps, making the most of the boundless opportunities at Union,”
said Dan Lundquist, dean of admissions. “As recent graduates who were heavily
involved in the academic, social and athletic spheres, they can convey to our
prospective students the challenge and excitement at Union.”
Tadal graduated from Union
with a bachelor's degree in environmental studies and a minor in English.
While at Union,
she studied water resources during a term abroad in Sao
Paulo, Brazil.
She also conducted research with Professor Peter Tobiessen on Eurasian Milfoil
in Collins Lake,
which became the basis for her senior thesis and a presentation at the
College's annual Steinmetz Symposium, an exposition of student scholarly and
creative achievement.
“Studying in Brazil
and with Professor Tobiessen gave me a chance to really experience all that Union
has to offer,” she said. “I am proud and honored to have taken part in those
programs.”
She played defense and midfield on
Union's women's soccer team, which last season compiled
a school record of 19-2-1.
Last year, the team also won its fourth consecutive conference championship and
earned its fifth consecutive invitation to the NCAA tournament. She also
participated in indoor and outdoor track. Her introduction to Union
came from Brian Speck, head coach of women's soccer, who, during her junior
year of high school told her that Union would be a great
fit.
While playing sports, she
participated in many other aspects of the Union Community: she was a career
assistant at the Becker Career
Center, treasurer of the Gospel
Choir and member of the Senior Class Committee.
Tadal, who hails from Webster,
N.Y., is a 2000 graduate of Our Lady of
Mercy High School.
She will be representing Union
College in school visits in Rochester,
Buffalo, Baltimore,
Washington D.C.,
western Massachusetts and
northern Virginia.
Bowman graduated cum laude with a bachelor's in history
and a minor in French.
Bowman, who has a longstanding
interest in European and military history, recalls his first visit to Union:
He was taken with the Nott Memorial, Union's historic
centerpiece building. But what “sealed the deal,” he said, was an impromptu
half-hour meeting he had with Stephen Berk, professor of history.
“I was blown away that a professor
would spend that much time with a prospective, that one of the best professors
at the College was willing to just sit and talk,” Bowman recalls. At Union,
Bowman took two of Prof. Berk's popular classes – History of the Holocaust and
History of the Middle East.
He did his senior thesis on the
experience of Irish soldiers during World War I.
He was president of his
fraternity, Theta Delta Chi; a representative on the Interfraternity Council; a
DJ at WRUC, the College radio station; a member of the Dutch Pipers, the men's
a capella group; a Gatekeeper (tour guide) for Union's admissions office; and a
member of the College's Alcohol Policy Task Force. He was also a member of Phi
Alpha Theta, the national honor society in history.
Bowman, a native of Boalsburg,
Pa., is a graduate of State
College Area High
School.
He will be representing Union
College in visits to schools in Boston
and Colorado.
More new faculty introduced
The faculty welcomed 18 new
colleagues at their opening meeting on Sept. 7.
They include (with the first nine
published last week):
Mathematics:
Kelly Black, associate professor, earned a Ph.D. in applied math
from Brown University.
His interests include analysis and implementation of numerical techniques in
scientific data. Most recently, he held a teaching post at the University
of New Hampshire.
Peter Otto, visiting assistant professor, holds a Ph.D. from the University
of Massachusetts at Amherst,
where he taught courses before taking a teaching position at Gettysburg
College. He recently wrote a paper on “A Statistical Approach
to the Asymptotic Behavior of a Class of Generalized Nonlinear Schrödinger
Equations” for the journal Communications in Mathematical Physics.
Mechanical Engineering:
Andrew Rapoff, assistant professor, holds a Ph.D. from the
University of Wisconsin, and
master's and bachelor's degrees from the University
of Missouri. He has expertise in
solid mechanics; orthopedic, spine and bone mechanics; biomimetic structures;
and analysis of clinical research data.
Modern Languages:
Amy Austin, visiting instructor of Spanish, earned her Ph.D. from Emory
University with a dissertation
titled “Translating Llull: Nature, Beasts and Bodies in Medieval Iberia.” Her
other interests include practice and theory of Medieval reading; mysticism and
spiritual constructions; and portrayal of women in Medieval and early modern
literature.
Philosophy:
Lisa Warenski, visiting assistant professor, got her Ph.D. from the
Graduate School
and University Center
of the City University of New York with a dissertation titled “The
Epistemological Status of Logic.” Her interests also include philosophy of
science, philosophy of mind and philosophy of language.
Physics:
Francis Wilkin, lecturer and Olin Observatory manager, earned a
Ph.D. in astronomy from the University
of California, Berkeley.
Prof. Wilkin was a post-doctoral fellow at Instituto de Astronomia, UNAM, Mexico,
and has observing experience at San Pedro National Observatory in Mexico,
Mount Palomar, Hubble Space Telescope and many others.
Political Science:
Alec Ewald, visiting instructor, is pursuing a Ph.D. from the University
of Massachusetts at Amherst
with concentrations in public law and American politics. This month, he is
defending his dissertation, titled “American Voting: A Local Approach to
Suffrage in the United States.”
Psychology:
David Battin, visiting assistant professor, earned a Ph.D. from Cornell
University with a dissertation
titled “Children's Use of Discourse Context: Using an Interviewers Questions to
Improve Answers.” His interests include pragmatic issues of adult/child
discourse, memory and language intersection and language acquisition.
Cay Anderson-Hanley, visiting assistant professor, holds a Ph.D.
from the University at Albany, and
did a postdoctoral fellowship in geriatric psychology and neuropsychology at
the University of California
at Los Angeles. She taught most
recently at Skidmore College.
Campus Safety pledges visibility on campus, College Park
Campus Safety officers on
Wednesday were giving tours of their new quarters in College Park Hall, and
answering questions from students and others concerned that the move from their
offices on the north end of campus might represent a diminished campus presence.
“We'll continue to be highly visible on
campus,” said Bill Sickinger, director of Campus Safety. “And it should be
somewhat assuring to those students who walk between their rooms and campus
that we have a strong presence in their neighborhood.”
Nearly 400 of the 1,800 students
housed by the College live in the College Park
neighborhood and College Park Hall, according to residential life.
“The only real downside to the
move is a small inconvenience for students and employees who need to get ID
cards or vehicle registrations, but that will be offset by more convenient
parking than visitors had at our cramped quarters on campus,” said Chris Hayen, assistant director.
A total of 26 patrol officers are
working campus and College Park in
overlapping shifts that ensure a smooth transition, explained Sickinger.
Officers staff the lobby desk at College Park Hall weekdays between 8 p.m. and 4 a.m.,
and 24 hours on the weekend. There is also a stationary officer in the Nott
Memorial who can respond to emergencies.
The patrols are augmented by 21
cameras that cover campus parking lots and public walkways. Those cameras are
monitored and controlled from two consoles in College Park Hall, one in the
building lobby, the other in the Campus Safety offices in the east end of the
building.
On Wednesday, an officer was
showing a student how the cameras can follow an individual on the entire
walking route between West College
and College Park Hall. “I told her she could call us when she is leaving
[campus] and we could follow her right to the door.”
“People are more accepting of the
cameras than they used to be,” explained Hayen. “There's been a real attitude
change over the past several years. People want them and they feel protected
when they know they are there, even though they should still use caution.”
Last weekend, three of the cameras
at the parking lot south of College Park Hall recorded a vehicle being left by
a suspect wanted in connection with a crime in Albany
County. Campus Safety provided the
video to the Albany County Sheriff's Department. The suspect is in custody.
There are also some 50 “hotlines”
to Campus Safety including the exterior blue emergency phones, interior phones
and “panic buttons.” All are connected directly to campus safety. Students can
also use room and hall courtesy phones to reach Campus Safety at ext. 6911.
“We understand the concerns that
people are expressing, particularly after the robbery of the two students on
Sept. 6, and the police investigation last weekend in the College Park Hall
lot,” said Sickinger. “But we want people to feel confident in our safety
programs and to use common sense measures to maximize safety.”
All Campus Safety services,
including walking escorts and the trolley service, will continue.
For questions or concerns, call
Campus Safety at ext. 6911.
Two recent grads join Union admissions team
Geoffrey Bowman and Teran Tadal
join the College's Admissions Office as assistant deans of admissions.
“We're thrilled to have Geoff and
Teran back at Union, this time to help in recruiting students who will follow
in their footsteps, making the most of the boundless opportunities at Union,”
said Dan Lundquist, dean of admissions. “As recent graduates who were heavily
involved in the academic, social and athletic spheres, they can convey to our
prospective students the challenge and excitement at Union.”
Tadal graduated from Union
with a bachelor's degree in environmental studies and a minor in English.
While at Union,
she studied water resources during a term abroad in Sao
Paulo, Brazil.
She also conducted research with Professor Peter Tobiessen on Eurasian Milfoil
in Collins Lake,
which became the basis for her senior thesis and a presentation at the
College's annual Steinmetz Symposium, an exposition of student scholarly and
creative achievement.
“Studying in Brazil
and with Professor Tobiessen gave me a chance to really experience all that Union
has to offer,” she said. “I am proud and honored to have taken part in those
programs.”
She played defense and midfield on
Union's women's soccer team, which last season compiled
a school record of 19-2-1.
Last year, the team also won its fourth consecutive conference championship and
earned its fifth consecutive invitation to the NCAA tournament. She also
participated in indoor and outdoor track. Her introduction to Union
came from Brian Speck, head coach of women's soccer, who, during her junior
year of high school told her that Union would be a great
fit.
While playing sports, she
participated in many other aspects of the Union Community: she was a career
assistant at the Becker Career
Center, treasurer of the Gospel
Choir and member of the Senior Class Committee.
Tadal, who hails from Webster,
N.Y., is a 2000 graduate of Our Lady of
Mercy High School.
She will be representing Union
College in school visits in Rochester,
Buffalo, Baltimore,
Washington D.C.,
western Massachusetts and
northern Virginia.
Bowman graduated cum laude with a bachelor's in history
and a minor in French.
Bowman, who has a longstanding
interest in European and military history, recalls his first visit to Union:
He was taken with the Nott Memorial, Union's historic
centerpiece building. But what “sealed the deal,” he said, was an impromptu
half-hour meeting he had with Stephen Berk, professor of history.
“I was blown away that a professor
would spend that much time with a prospective, that one of the best professors
at the College was willing to just sit and talk,” Bowman recalls. At Union,
Bowman took two of Prof. Berk's popular classes – History of the Holocaust and
History of the Middle East.
He did his senior thesis on the
experience of Irish soldiers during World War I.
He was president of his
fraternity, Theta Delta Chi; a representative on the Interfraternity Council; a
DJ at WRUC, the College radio station; a member of the Dutch Pipers, the men's
a capella group; a Gatekeeper (tour guide) for Union's admissions office; and a
member of the College's Alcohol Policy Task Force. He was also a member of Phi
Alpha Theta, the national honor society in history.
Bowman, a native of Boalsburg,
Pa., is a graduate of State
College Area High
School.
He will be representing Union
College in visits to schools in Boston
and Colorado.