“The Threepenny Opera,” Bertolt Brecht's harsh satire on the bourgeois Weimar Republic, set to music by Kurt Weill, continues at Yulman Theater.
Director William A. Finlay, professor of theater and director of Yulman, says “this has a contemporary message; it's a musical with guts.
“This production is very large for a theater program of this size,” he continued. “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 Prof. Charles Steckler, will incorporate “environmental style theatre.” The entire theatre will be used, and the audience is surrounded by cast members, at times.
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 continue 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 box office at 388-6545.
The College mourns the death of Ernest Conti, former director of administrative services, on Monday, May 23.
Ernie served the College from 1988 to 1999, working as a consultant on a number of occasions after he retired.
He was well known for his gentle manner, good humor and professionalism in running the College's business operations.
He lived in Moon Township, Penn. Survivors include his wife, Susan; and daughter, Rachel.
Calling hours are set for Thursday, May 26, 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. at Copeland Funeral Home, 981 Broadhead Road, Moon Township, Penn, 15108 (412) 264-1390
The funeral is Friday, 10 a.m. at St. Margaret Mary Church, Moon Township.
What started out in 1999 as a basic research project for Union College anthropologist Linda Cool has turned into a national program to provide post-retirement health insurance to faculty at participating colleges.
Cool and her husband, Kenneth Cool, a former administrator at Vassar College, co-founded Emeriti Retirement Health Solutions, a nonprofit company that has partnered with Fidelity Investments and Aetna health insurance.
The program, the first of its kind in the nation, uses a defined contribution approach to pre-funding health care costs associated with retirement. Employer and employee-funded trusts that are built up – tax free – over the course of employment can be used – again, without being taxed – to pay for qualified medical expenses, including Medicare supplemental insurance premiums after age 65.
Thus far, some 20 colleges across the country have signed on for this program with at least 200 more showing interest, Cool said. “It's really astonishing that what started out as basic research by two people has turned into an enormous program to help thousands of people,” she said. “Had it not been for the Mellon Foundation that took a chance on this research and was willing to underwrite it, this probably wouldn't have gone any further than a scholarly article or book.”
Linda and Ken Cool first applied for a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation in 1999 to do research on the broader topic of faculty retirement and the issues facing those recently retired and soon-to-be retired. After receiving the grant, they developed a survey that was sent to more than 1,400 faculty members at 47 liberal arts colleges in the U.S.
With a return rate of 54 percent, Linda Cool said it was obvious that professors wanted to talk about retirement issues. “The topic that came up repeatedly was health care,” she said. “We heard amazing stories (in follow-up interviews) about how people are afraid to retire due to the cost of health care. There was even a woman who has cancer and continues to drag herself to work for fear of losing her insurance.”
With more than 1,600 Americans killed in the Iraq War, members of Campus Action wanted to turn the number into a visual.
So they lined center campus walkways with 12-inch plywood markers – each with the name, age and date of those killed. The display was to be up through Thursday, May 26.
Sophomore Ian Kennedy said the project is not intended as a political statement, merely a reminder of the war's toll and a memorial to those who have died. “This brings to the forefront, in a comprehensible way, the actual number of servicemen and women who have died,” he said.
On Sept. 11, 2002, the Union community placed some 3,000 flags on the campus green in memory of those killed on September 11, 2001.
Interim President James Underwood Click here for high resolution photos
James Underwood, a popular professor and former dean with more than 40 years of service to Union College, has been named the College's interim president, it was announced by Steve Ciesinski '70, chairman of the board of trustees.
Underwood, the Chauncey H. Winters Research Professor of Political Science, will serve while a presidential search committee chaired by Trustee Frank Messa '73 continues their work. President Roger Hull is stepping down June 30 after 15 years.
Underwood has been a member of the College's faculty since 1963, serving in a number of capacities including dean of faculty from 1988 to 1994, chair of the political science department from 1978 to 1984, chair of the social sciences division, and director of the General Education program.
“Jim's vast experience as faculty member and dean of faculty will serve him well in leading Union,” said Ciesinski. “He was the obvious first choice from a strong pool of candidates on campus. He is a respected scholar who has taught generations of Union students how to lead. I am delighted that he has agreed to guide the College through this transition and to continue the momentum. I look forward to working with him on the College's priorities.”
“Jim and I have been friends for 14 years when he was dean and then returned to the faculty,” said Dan Lundquist, vice president for admissions. “He knows Union and is known by the entire Union family. As great as our brand-new class is, they will have to hustle to keep up with Jim.”
“Jim Underwood is a man of great integrity and high standards,” said Clifford Brown, a colleague of Underwood's in the political science department and chair of the Faculty Executive Committee, the faculty governing body. “I have no doubt whatsoever that he will continue to advance this College just as he has done throughout his distinguished career.”
“Who better than Jim to support the You Are Union campaign as we roll it out across the country?” asked Mark Walsh '76, trustee and co-chair, with Messa, of the $200 million campaign. “I respect Jim Underwood enormously. The College is lucky to have him ready to step in and step up, and I can't wait to join him on the road as we meet alumni around the U.S. and the world to tell the story of Union's campaign and our shared aspirations.”
“Jim is a great friend – of the College and me,” said Hull, who worked closely with Underwood while he was dean of faculty. “He knows every tree, every planting, every nook and cranny on this campus. I can think of no one better to fill this important role, and I applaud the board's decision to name him interim president.”
“Union is a warm and spirited place with a magnificent campus, dedicated and committed people, and students distinguished by their energy and their eagerness to learn,” said Underwood. “I consider myself blessed to have been a part of this place, and I look forward to contributing in any way that I can.”
Underwood, the longest-serving current faculty member when he retired from full-time teaching in 2003, has remained active on campus. He keeps an office in the College's Emeritus Center, attends many College events, and continues to teach and advise students. This term he is teaching a class on Eliphalet Nott, Union's president from 1804 to 1866, with former student Jeremy Dibbell '04.
He has taught a range of courses including Contemporary American Politics; Political Leadership; Policy-Making and American Society; the Environment, Energy and American Politics; Civil Rights and Civil Liberties; and Seminar in American Politics.
He has been an advisor to many students in the College's internship programs in Washington and Albany. He has long-standing friendships with a number of alumni who have gone on to distinguished careers in law, politics and diplomacy. In recent years, he has taught a number of children of former students including one whose parents were both students.
His areas of professional interest include political leadership, administrative systems, environmental and energy policy, and New York State politics. He has been a consultant to the Subcommittee on Executive Reorganization in the United States Senate, and to the New York State Education Department. He also has served on Congressional staffs as a recipient of an American Political Science Association Congressional Fellowship.
He is the co-author Governor Rockefeller in New York: The Apex of Pragmatic Liberalism in the United States, and has published articles in Policy and Congress and the Presidency. In 1971, he co-authored Science/Technology — Related Activities in the Government of the State of New York, a study funded by the state Office of Science and Technology. He has written and lectured extensively on former New York Governor Mario Cuomo. He recently wrote an article, “Lincoln: A Weberian Politician Meets the Constitution,” in the June 2004 issue of Presidential Studies Quarterly. His entry on William H. Seward, Union Class of 1820 and Lincoln's secretary of state, was published in the Encyclopedia of the American Presidency.
A popular speaker at alumni events, Underwood spoke last fall to the Washington D.C. Alumni Association on the presidency of Chester Arthur, Union Class of 1848. He received the Faculty Meritorious Service Award from the College's Alumni Council in 2002.
A graduate of Franklin and Marshall, he received his M.P.A. and Ph.D. from Syracuse University. He is a member of the American Political Science Association and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
A native of Irwin, Penn., he and his wife, Jean, live in Niskayuna.
