Posted on Jun 30, 2005

For the 10th year running, Union College will be hosting a talented group of “underserved” high school students from across the country (and one from Barbados) for its Summer Science Workshop from July 3 to 16.

The two-week residential program gives students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds the opportunity to attend college-level classes, work in laboratories, and receive college and career guidance for science and health-related fields. The 22 students also will experience other “college life” experiences such as sleeping in dorm rooms, eating in the dining hall, and having discussions with professors.

Students are chosen for the program by a faculty committee that reviews their essays, transcripts, and letters of recommendation. Most applicants learn of the opportunity through teachers, guidance counselors, directors of special programs, and alumni of the SSW program.

“This is a wonderful and unique opportunity for high school students to experience college-level work in a campus setting, particularly for those that have no previous exposure to higher education,” said Biology Professor Karen Williams, who coordinates the program. “Students later tell us it was one of their best experiences ever.”

The longevity of the Summer Science Workshop speaks to its success, Williams said. “There are few programs like this that have lasted this long and been this successful.”

Besides exposing budding scientists to college-level work each summer, the program also has been something of a boon to the College's minority recruitment effort. Since its inception in 1996, twenty-five students from the program have enrolled as students at Union. Many have also gone on to become counselors for the very same program that brought them to Union. Williams said almost every student who has gone through the program has gone on to a four-year college, with about 75 percent majoring in math, science or engineering.

Professor Williams is joined by colleagues Peter Tobiessen; Twitty Styles, who teaches immunology; James Hedrick, who teaches computer technology; and Quynh Chu-LaGraff, who teaches cell and molecular biology, as well as two local high school teachers and four counselors.

The overarching theme of the program this year is HIV/AIDS, with study in immunology, a presentation by an HIV/AIDS educator and a field trip to Albany Medical Center. Students are tested and graded on their work during the two weeks and must complete a research paper, presentation and journal of their experience. They are asked to complete an online survey of the program upon its completion.

Summer Science Workshop is supported by a grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

Posted on Jun 30, 2005

The Fourth Annual Union College Fighting Dutchmen Gridiron Club Golf Classic is scheduled for Saturday, August 6 at the Van Patten Golf Club in Jonesville, NY. Don’t miss this great opportunity to play one of the premier golf courses in the Capital District.

Registration and the driving range will open at 12 p.m., and the shotgun start is at 1:30 p.m. The dinner and auction will follow.

The package including golf, the dinner and the auction is priced at $125. If you would like to join us for just the dinner and auction, that cost is $25.

There will be fun prizes for first, second and third place in men’s and coed divisions and first place in the new senior division (50+). Also, there will be many great on-course competitions and prizes, including a chance to win a new car. The golfing price includes green fees, cart, gift, dinner, auction, a hole-in-one contest, longest drive and closest to the pin competition.

Posted on Jun 29, 2005

Mary K. Carroll '86, professor of chemistry, has been named director of undergraduate research effective Sept. 1.

Carroll, who holds a B.S. in chemistry from Union and a Ph.D. in analytical chemistry from Indiana University, was the first Union alumna to return to campus as a tenure-track professor, in 1992. She has a long-standing involvement with undergraduate research, including sponsoring students for NCUR, summer research and Steinmetz.

Her appointment was announced by Union President Roger Hull, who is stepping down June 30.

“Mary knows firsthand about the importance of undergraduate research at this institution. Under her leadership, research at Union will continue to develop and receive the kind of recognition from the external world that it deserves,” Hull said in his announcement.

He noted Carroll's involvement in the aerogels collaboration with mechanical engineering. “At the recent Steinmetz Symposium, she organized and chaired the aerogels session, which had five student presentations,” he said. “Mary will oversee our participation in NCUR, summer research, the IEF fund, Steinmetz and the new undergraduate research Web site. I can't think of a more capable, committed or energetic person for this important role.”

Carroll is active in the American Chemistry Society (ACS). She is a member of the ACS Committee on Education and served on the ACS Women Chemists Committee from 2001 to 2004. She also is a councilor of the Eastern New York Section of the ACS.

Her appointment, Hull said, comes in response to the Academic Reputation Committee recommendation that the College provide a high level of support for and communication about its signature programs.

Undergraduate research is one of the five pillars of a Union education, along with study abroad, community service, converging technologies and the Minerva House System.

Carroll said she is “thrilled to have this opportunity to oversee this key aspect of our campus community. We're doing phenomenal things with undergraduate research. The program has been very vibrant and successful at sustaining itself, but the time has come to make sure everyone knows about it.”

A native of Spencerport, N.Y., Carroll joined the College faculty 13 years ago as an assistant professor of chemistry, six years after graduating magna cum laude with election to both Phi Beta Kappa and Sigma Xi. She worked as a research assistant with Leslie Hull, professor of chemistry, and also did research with Tom Werner, her senior thesis advisor.

At Indiana, Carroll held a teaching and research assistantship and earned the Robert Chernin Memorial Award (for excellence in first-year graduate research), a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship and an American Chemical Society Division of Analytical Chemistry Full-Year Fellowship.

After completing her Ph.D. in 1991, she took a position as a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

From 1992 to 1994, Carroll held the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Assistant Professorship in Chemistry at Union; in 1996, she was awarded Union's Stillman Prize for Excellence in Teaching.

Posted on Jun 28, 2005

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. — Todd Cetnar and Duriel Price will join the Union men's basketball coaching staff for the 2005-06 season.

Cetnar played at the University at Albany after an outstanding career at Amsterdam High School. He began his coaching career last season at Plymouth State, where the Panthers were 19-10 for the 2004-05 campaign. Cetnar also played professionally for the Albany Wildcats in the USBL and the TV Tigers in the British Basketball League. At Albany, Cetnar became only the second player in school history to record over 1,000 points, 350 assists and 150 steals. He was named to the NCAA Division I All-Independent First Team following his senior season, in which he averaged 16.1 points and 4.2 assists per game. Cetnar shot 39% in three-point attempts during his college career, 1997-2001.

“Todd combines a good feel for the game of basketball with a great passion to continue to grow as a teacher and coach,” commented Head Coach Bob Montana. “I am confident that the work ethic he exhibited as a player and this past year as an assistant at Plymouth State will have a positive impact on the players in our program.”

Price begins his coaching career at Union. He served as a co-captain at West Virginia during the Mountaineers' 24-11 season this past winter. West Virginia defeated a school-record eight ranked teams during the season that featured an NCAA Elite Eight Appearance. Price played in 11 games for the Mountaineers last season, and the walk-on guard competed in 26 games during his career. He was named to the a Big East Academic All-Star Team. Price played high school basketball at Hutchinson Tech in Buffalo and averaged 24 points, six assists and four rebounds as a senior.

“As a co-captain of an 'Elite Eight' team and a member of the Big East All-Academic team, Duriel is a proven winner,” Montana said. “He will be able to teach not only the skills of the game but also the discipline necessary to achieve success at a high level.”

Union's 2004-05 season many highlights to go along with the 17 victories. The Dutchmen won the Liberty League title, and also opened a new home in the Viniar Center. The seventh consecutive winning season continued in the NCAA tournament, with a victory at Gwynedd-Mercy before the season ended against eventual Final Four participant Rochester.

Posted on Jun 28, 2005

Frank Bailey Field is a busy place on the Union campus. And yet, in 2005, it did not getting a summer vacation. In fact, it received an impressive facelift. The old turf was removed and the new artificial surface installation began in June. By mid-July, the project was completed.

Jim Clark, the superintendent for the Clark Companies in Delhi, New York, is overseeing the project at Union. This project is one of 16 jobs scheduled this year for Clark Companies, and nine new facilities were installed last year. Recent turf installs took place on the Rensselaer, Bucknell, Springfield and Millersville campuses.

The Union women's lacrosse team had the distinction as the final team to compete on the old turf. And what a fitting way for the turf to bid farewell, as the Dutchwomen won the Liberty League Championship on May 8. Soon thereafter, the old turf was torn up and preparations were made for the new turf installation.

On June 15, a truck in Dalton, Georgia was loaded with rolls of the new turf. One day later, it arrived at Union, ready for a new home. Working with expert precision and yet still making an impressive timeline, the Clark Companies had everything ready to go by Monday, July 18. On that day, at 9 a.m., a group of youngsters took to the new turf for the Union Summer Soccer Camp.

Starting September 10, when the Union football team hosts Springfield College at 7 p.m., the new turf will begin to write a chapter of its own memorable moments at Bailey Field.

Check out the progression of this project with our photo gallery.