‘Repurposing' retirees recall time at Union
Outgoing Dean of Engineering and Computer Science Bob Balmer shuns the word “retirement.” Balmer, who came to Union seven years ago, prefers to say he is “repurposing.”
Having met a lifelong goal to become a dean of engineering, Balmeris free now to “repurpose” in nontraditional ways. Among his plans is to restore a 1972 MBG GT sports coupe that he recently purchased. He anticipates spending more time with family and old friends as well.
Balmer and his wife, Mary Anne, are in the process of moving back to Wisconsin, a place he refers to as “my real home.” Their new home in Mequon, a suburb of Milwaukee, puts them within four miles of all three of their children and four grandchildren.
Before coming to Union, Balmer was associate dean of science and engineering at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee.
His area of expertise is thermodynamics, the topic of a prize-winning textbook he wrote while at UWM. He says he may continue teaching engineering, possibly as an adjunct professor at UWM.
One of his proudest achievements was developing and leading the effort for the Converging Technologies initiative. “Other colleges are doing similar things (blending the liberal arts, sciences, and engineering), but mainly at the graduate level, and definitely not as integrated and cross-disciplinary as Union,” he says.
Balmer has made presentations on CT at several conferences in recent years, and people from other colleges “are in awe at how we do this. They often come up to me after and want to know how they can get a job here.”
Balmer also cites the introduction of the EDGE Program (Educating Girls for Engineering) and the annual Rube Goldberg machine contest as two accomplishments of which he is proud.
George Smith, professor of biology, leaves Union after 32 years on the faculty.
In community work over the years, he's shown a major commitment to bringing science to the community. He helped bring computers to Schenectady schools, through the establishment, in The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. School, on Hamilton Hill, of a Computer Learning Center, funded by the AAAS as well as the City of Schenectady and the Schenectady School District. The Center has provided classroom instruction and independent study opportunities and encouraged minority student involvement in the sciences and mathematics. Union students involved in STEP (the Scientific Technology Entry Program) have helped staff the center.
Smith has served on the Boards of Directors of Parsons Child and Family Center, as well as the United Way and the Schenectady County Red Cross, the Carver Community Center, and the Schenectady Boys Club. He was also President of the Schenectady Branch of the NAACP for several years.
On campus, he has been a long-time instructor and coordinator of Summer Science Workshop Project, which introduces College-level science to promising high schoolers.
We asked for memories from other Union staff as they were about to retire. Here's what they told us:
Rosemary Filkins joined Union in 1987, first working in the Institutional Planning Office and then in the President's Office. “I have thoroughly enjoyed my 18 years at Union. I have met a lot of very interesting people and have watched many transformations take place, turning the campus into the beautiful one it is today. Thank you to all of the people who help make Union such a wonderful place to work.”
Michaela French, director of UCALL (Union College Academy of Lifelong Learning) since 1989, recalls a recent memorable moment: “When I announced I would retire! Don't get me wrong-I'm talking about the reactions of UCALL members and the Committees that were heartwarming. I had never thought how much UCALL meant to other people. I will always be a part of UCALL, no matter what I am doing because of this outpouring.”
“Mama” Maria Iuliano, a familiar face in Dining Services since 1988: “When I transferred from West College to Dutch Hollow, I was preparing breakfast for some of the football players, and one huge boy-I think his name was John-came back for seconds and said, ‘You treat me just like my mama does, Maria-you're my mama when she's not here.' Soon, John had the whole team calling me Mama Maria. Then the coaches started in, and soon, the faculty. I just went along with it and changed my nametag. To me, it hasn't been work, just me doing what I love…cooking for my family.”
Bonnie Patrick, secretary in the Becker Career Center, who started out working in Admissions in 1986, in Becker Hall. “In the years since, I changed positions three times, and now, working at the Career Center, I've come full circle. One day, a work-study student brought home to me just how much time had slipped by. I had asked her to type up a couple of envelopes. She proceeded calmly to the typewriter and, looking up at me expectantly, asked what to do next and if it needed to be ‘turned on or something.' She had never used a typewriter. How young she was. Or really, how old I had become.”
Judy Peck, associate registrar, after 30 years at Union: “I remember so well my arrival in Schenectady from the small town of Middlebury, Vt. I was petrified of the traffic and the number of people. Some people advised me to apply for a job at GE-but that place looked way too big for me. I was very happy when I was referred to Union College to apply for a position in the mechanical engineering department. A few of the wonderful people who made my stay here truly memorable: Dick Shanebrook, who first hired me; Josef Schmee, a true teacher; Don Arnold, who always told me, ‘It's not your money, Judy,' when I was trying to economize (I have since imparted those same words of wisdom to others); Carolyn Micklas, who converted me from the right of Attila the Hun to the left of Hillary; Lisa, my baseball buddy (will she ever become a Red Sox fan?); and Dwight [Wolf] and Penny [Adey], thanks for the great years in the Registrar's Office.