A General Electric retiree is endowing a $100,000 scholarship fund at his alma mater, Union College, for undergraduates from the city and neighboring Niskayuna, college officials said.
The gift was endowed by Burton B. Delack, a 1936 graduate of the college, and his family. It was named for Delack and his late wife, Violet.
Students from Schenectady and Niskayuna will be given preference for the scholarship, which will be used to defray a portion of the $41,595 that Union charges students for tuition, room and fees.
“We are grateful, once again, to the Delack family for their generosity,” said college spokesman Phil Wajda. “We are especially thankful that our students from Schenectady and Niskayuna will have an opportunity to take advantage of this gift.”
Delack spent 37 years with GE before retiring in 1973. In 2004, he endowed Delack House, a college-owned student residence.
It's the second donation to a Schenectady college in less than a month.
In January, Schenectady County Community College Foundation announced a bequest of $1 million from the estate of Helen Begley, widow of one of the college's early supporters.
It is the largest gift in the college's history.
Owen M. Begley was instrumental in converting the former Hotel Van Curler into the community college.
On a recent weekday afternoon, a handful of Union College students gathered around the dining room table in Abbe Hall. The students were finalists in the school's first-ever business plan competition last month.
Josh DeBartolo '08, Brian Selchik '06 and Harry Apkarian
For the next 90 minutes, the students listened intently as their business plans were dissected. They learned, often in quite candid terms, that their business plans needed work. But the group didn't mind the scrutiny.
The man dispensing the sage advice was Harry Apkarian, one of the region's top business leaders and a major civic booster.
Apkarian is the college's first ‘Entrepreneur in Residence.' He's been around campus since the start of the winter term and will continue through the end of the academic year.
In the newly created role, Apkarian mentors students in the Entrepreneurship Club, lectures classes and serves as a role model for students interested in pursuing entrepreneurial ventures. He will also serve as a contact with leading Tech Valley industries and economic development entities.
The idea of creating an Entrepreneur in Residence grew out of the college's Center for the Analysis of Productivity and Entrepreneurship (CAPE), which Apkarian will also advise. The center is aggressively promoting the idea that the vision of entrepreneurship will help students leverage their liberal arts education into successful careers.
Bringing a person like Apkarian on board is just one part of the center's bold and innovative mission.
“We wanted the power to take the materials discussed in the classroom and apply them to the real world,'' said Economics Professor Dr. Harold O. Fried, the director of CAPE.
“We are very fortunate to have someone like Harry as our first ‘Entrepreneur in Residence.' He not only epitomizes business success, but he also has a social conscience.”
Apkarian certainly brings a wealth of business experience to the classroom. A graduate of RPI, Apkarian spent many years as manager of General Electric's engineering lab. In 1961, he founded Mechanical Technology Inc., a company that grew to over a thousand employees and $90 million in sales by the time he left in 1997. He is currently the founder, director, chairman and CEO of TransTech Systems Inc., a manufacturer of high-tech equipment for the road construction industry.
He was also one of the original board members of the Rensselaer Technology Park and co-founder and director of the Capital Region Technology Development Council. He is a member of the state's Business Hall of Fame.
Apkarian is thrilled to be able to share his knowledge with the college community at a time when other countries are gaining on the United States and in some industries, have eclipsed the U.S.
“I think this is going to be big, once we get it going,'' he said. “Schenectady needs it badly. Upstate New York needs it badly. The country needs it.”
During his meeting with the business plan finalists (seniors Brian Selchick and Whitman Bowers, along with sophomores Robert Paul, Brad Karelitz and Josh DeBartolo), Apkarian stressed that making money should not be a motivating factor in their pursuits.
“Getting rich is old hat,'' he told them. “The thing that will give you excitement is to do something that benefits society. Entrepreneurship isn't just about writing a business plan and figuring out how to make a living. It's much broader than that. You can help people.''
Members of Sorum House, which honors the memory of the late Dean of Faculty Christina Sorum, march to convocation.
Two dedication ceremonies are on tap for Friday: The John E. Kelly III '76 Digital Arts Lab,set for noon in F.W. Olin Center 102, and Sorum House, from 4 to 6 p.m.
Faculty, staff and students are encouraged to attend both, which celebrate two important College pillars: converging technologies and Minerva houses.
John E. Kelly III
Union Trustee Kelly, IBM senior vice president of Technology, recently earmarked a portion of his overall “You are Union” campaign commitment toward supporting the digital arts initiative, which couples arts and computer science.
The Sorum House dedication and reception will pay tribute to one of Union's faculty treasures, the late Dean of Faculty Christina E. Sorum, passionate liberal arts advocate.
Three Union students were among the top finishers at the Clarkson Invitational at Whiteface Mountain recently.
Rob Powell '09 finished fifth in the men's slalom, Ben Rapple '08 took sixth in the giant slalom and Beth Solomon '09 came in ninth in the women's slalom. Will Schoendorf '09 and Matt Byrne '09 also competed.
Though the College does not have an official alpine ski team, the five students can ski under rules by the United States Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Association.
Calling all future academics: Feb. 10 (by 4 p.m.) isthe application deadline for the 2006-2007 Future Professors Program, designed to recruit students into a career in academia.
Administered by Mary K. Carroll, director of undergraduate research, and Trish Williams, senior associate dean of students, the program involves students in summer and senior-year research projects, teaching and professional development, including participation in the Steinmetz Symposium.
