Cherrice Traver, professor of computer engineering, has been named dean of engineering and computer science, effective July 1. Dean Robert Balmer is retiring.
Traver came to Union in 1986 and has been director of computer engineering for the past eight years. She received a bachelor of science degree in physics from the State University of New York at Albany, and a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of Virginia.
Traver is faculty advisor to Union's Robotics Club and director of Robot Camp, a summer program for middle and high school students.
She conducts research in the field of asynchronous digital circuits and systems with numerous grants including $146,000 from the National Science Foundation in 1994, and $30,000 from the Microelectronics Design Center in 2002.
She has authored more than 30 articles for research journals and industry publications and presented at national engineering conferences. She has served as a consultant for the General Electric Global Research Center, the Capital Region Technology Development Council and Sandia National Laboratories.
On a glorious afternoon on Thursday – the kind of day that Christie would have found perfect for taking her dog, Hector, for a walk around campus – the Union community filled Memorial Chapel to remember the vivacious dean of faculty who was a “teacher to her core.”
Christina Sorum, whose personality Prof. Suzie Benack compared to bubbling water, died on Monday, May 16, following a heart attack three days before.
Her daughter, Eve, recalled her mother's wide-ranging intellectual interests and her excitement over meeting new faculty members and students. She often came home to announce, “I had the most interesting conversation today,” Eve said.
President Roger Hull described her as “energetic and ebullient.” Hull said he found in Christie, a classicist steeped in Greek and Roman mythology, a contemporary who joined him in making decisions using the lessons of the classics.
Joan Hinde Stewart, a close friend of the Sorum family and president of Hamilton College, described Christie's love for Union from the moment she joined the faculty. Fellow administrators Kimmo Rosenthal and Terry Weiner remarked that Christie somehow always found delight even in long administrative meetings.
Therese McCarty, professor of economics, recalled frequent lunches with her mentor, when they discussed more than teaching and the College: they shamelessly bragged about their daughters. Christie once gave a book to Therese's daughter, Helen, as a gentle attempt to expand her horizon beyond the Harry Potter series.
Some of the recollections were likely new to most of the nearly 1,000 people at the service. Christie, of Midwestern roots, was surprised when authorities at Wellesley College confiscated her rifle during freshman year, said her husband, Paul, who added, she was a good shot with a gun. Christie also had a clever way of “chasing” a group of teens from a hangout near her home, said McCarty. She brought them lemonade and cookies.
Sorum was a strong champion for Union's distinctive broad education, undergraduate research and international study.
She served the College in a variety of administrative capacities including department chair, and a member of the General Education Board, Faculty Review Board, Academic Affairs Council and numerous tenure and review committees.
A native of Jacksonville, Ill., Sorum graduated from Wellesley College with honors in Greek and received a Ph.D. from Brown University. She was a visiting instructor at Union in 1973-1974, became an assistant professor at North Carolina State University, and returned to Union in 1982 as an associate professor and chair of the Department of Classics. She became the Frank Bailey Professor in 1992. She was named dean of arts and sciences in 1994, and acting dean of faculty in 1999. She was named dean of faculty and vice president of academic affairs in 2000.
Memorial contributions may be made to the College, Planned Parenthood or a local animal protection center.
More than 1,400 alumni and friends of Union College will be coming into town this weekend for ReUnion 2005. Classes from 1935 to 2005 will be represented and participating in numerous events and celebrations.
“We have a terrific program that will bring the Union family together and pay tribute to our alma mater,” said Nick Famulare '92, director of alumni relations. “Each year, ReUnion gives us a wonderful opportunity to showcase the campus and all the vibrancy of Union College and its faculty, students, staff, alumni and friends. This year's roster is jam-packed with events for all ages and interests.”
Among the festivities will be the following:
· Eliphalet Nott and Union College: A Bicentennial Perspective – In honor of the 200th anniversary of the beginning of Nott's 62 years as president of Union, Archives Specialist Jeremy Dibbell '04 will discuss Nott's years at the College and his long-term impact on Union, the country, and the world. Friday, 2 p.m., Becker Career Center.
· 50th ReUnion Class Medallion Ceremony and Induction into the Garnet Guard – Friday, 3:30 p.m., Nott Memorial.
· Union College Relay for Life – An all-night, candlelit walk by Union students, staff and alumni to raise funds for the fight against cancer. A ceremony honoring those whose lives were lost to cancer will be part of the event. Friday and Saturday, 7 p.m. – 7 a.m., Rugby Field.
· ReUnion Alumni Parade – 94th parade that is a favorite tradition of alumni – Saturday, 10:30 a.m., Alexander Lane to Memorial Chapel.
· Alumni Convocation and “Required” Chapel – A celebratory ceremony during which the Alumni Gold Medals and Faculty Meritorious Award are presented. Saturday, 11 a.m., Memorial Chapel.
· Networking for Women: From Conferences to Cocktail Parties – An interactive program, both educational and entertaining, sponsored by Union Women Connect, led by professional consultant Jodi R.R.Smith form Mannersmith. Saturday, 1:30-3:30 p.m., Everest Lounge.
· Dedication of the Seward Memorial by the Class of 2000 – A 3,700-pound boulder from near the Seward Highway in Alaska was shipped to Schenectady to honor the 1820 graduate who went on the become a New York State governor, U.S. senator and secretary of state under President Lincoln. Saturday, 2 p.m., corner of Seward Place and Nott Terrace.
· Celebrating Union Alumni Authors – Publications exhibit and remarks by alumni authors, including attorney and Union College life trustee Arnold Burns '50; professor of history at Purdue Bob May '65; and former bond trader now freelance journalist Emily Haft-Bloom '85. Saturday, 2-4 p.m., Schaffer Library.
· Trolley Tour of Historic Downtown Schenectady – Led by John Samatulski, director of Downtown Schenectady Improvement Corporation. Saturday, 2:30 p.m., Meet at Reamer Campus Center traffic circle.
· All-Class ReUnion Gala and Fireworks – College Park Hall (gala) and Library Field (fireworks at 10 p.m.). Saturday, 7-11 p.m.
· Friends of Union Rowing ReUnion and New Shell Christening – Sunday, 10-11:30 a.m., Union College Boat House, Front Street, Stockade.
For Senior Ryan Grant, Union's interdisciplinary studies and academic flexibility have helped pave the way toward a career that combines both his artistic and scientific talents.
Ryan Grant '05
Grant, who will graduate next month with a self-defined major in Industrial Design, first came to Union as an engineering major. “For as long as I can remember, it has been a passion of mine to design things, but a pure engineering major was too technical for my interests and goals,” he said. “I wanted to apply the fundamentals of engineering to the imagination I use in art.”
Grant's work in sculpture and vehicle design is being shown in Union's Arts Atrium through May 20 as part of a two-artist show with senior photographer Ashley Belfield. Along with several twisted, black sculptures formed from steel, the show contains a Baja car modified by Grant. He incorporated several aesthetic elements such as fenders and framing and redesigned the car's suspension and drive train as well.
Chris Duncan, associate professor of visual arts, said: “It's been great to work with Ryan over a period of years and watch his commitment to making sculpture grow along with his technical skill. His background and interest in engineering have fed nicely into the art — and vice versa, with the Baja car design.”
Grant, who is from Gwynedd Valley, Pa., would like to work in automotive or product design, using both his technical and artistic skills. He began taking art classes during his sophomore year, and now has an equal number of engineering and art courses in his portfolio.
“The faculty in both departments have been very supportive,” he said. “I am so happy that CT (Converging Technologies) is at Union. I believe this type of thinking and learning is more and more important as so many things are designed not only for function but for appearance.”
Prof. Duncan agreed: “There are natual crossovers between engineering and the arts — sculpture in particular. I have high hopes that the CT initiative will help us and the students continue to locate and develop those intersections.”
“The Threepenny Opera,” Bertolt Brecht's harsh satire on the bourgeois Weimar Republic, set to music by Kurt Weill, comes to the Yulman Theater stage in a production by Union College Theater and Dance.
The Threepenny Opera
The director is William A. Finlay, professor of theater and director of the Yulman Theater. Finlay said that “this has a contemporary message, it's a musical with guts.” He added: “This production is very large for a theatre program of this size. We don't typically do musicals here at Union, but this one had something to say to the students, the artists and the faculty.”
The set designed by Professor of Theatre, Charles Steckler, will incorporate “environmental style theatre.” The entire theatre will be used, and the audience is literally surrounded by cast members, at times, instead of keeping everything up on stage. The 4-piece orchestra will be conducted by Adrien Gleason, a recent graduate of the Crane School of Music.
Lloyd Waiwaiole, the College's costumer, has designed and built all of the costumes. “They are spectacular,” said Finlay. “He's made stunning representations of Victorian-era London.”
Performances run Thursday through Saturday, May 19 to 21, at 8 p.m.; and Friday and Saturday, May 27 and 28, at 8 p.m.; and Sunday, May 29, at 2 p.m. For tickets and information, call the Yulman Theater box office at 388-6545.
