Posted on May 17, 2006

Prof. Bonney MacDonald has been riding horses since she was 8, and showing them since she was 12. During high school, she took part in local horse shows, riding Western and English. While studying for her M.A. in England, she rode jumping horses for Nottingham University's riding team and, during graduate school at Yale, rode and showed when time allowed.

But it wasn't until 2004, when she led her first mini-term on a New Mexico ranch, that the associate professor of English realized that she – and her horse, Mica – might have the right stuff for versatility ranch horse events.

At her first competition in Schuylerville recently, she placed fourth out of 25 in two classes – Cutting and Confirmation (which judge the horse's breeding).

More than rodeos, versatility events are designed to replicate the daily tasks that a horse and rider must do on a working ranch: “cut” a cow from a herd and move it to a pen, negotiate trail obstacles, drag a log, rope a cow and run a pattern of figure-eights, sliding stops and spins.

A well-bred cutting horse – one that is said to “have cow” – has the instinctive finesse of a great basketball player, MacDonald says. Facing the cow, it lowers itself, cat-like, almost to its haunches, and mirrors the movement of the cow it is cutting from the herd.

Doing 180s, the horse essentially plays defense, reading and blocking the cow's every move. The rider uses the reins only until the horse has locked on. After that, the rider drops the reins and sits deep in the saddle, moving with the horse until the cow has been held back from rejoining the herd.

The growing sport comes from the rich tradition of Spanish horsemen known as vaqueros, from which we derive the term buckaroo, MacDonald explains. Aficionados of the sport have an abiding love for its dignified past and a reverence for the handmade gear – saddles, silver bits and rawhide ropes – that goes with it.

MacDonald grew up in California, the daughter of a buttoned-down NASA engineer who worked on the Apollo program but who liked to fix cars, smoke cigars and cruise flea markets on weekends.

Her fondness for “culture straddlers” like her dad comes out in her love for the American West, where some writers are as known for their ranching, horsemanship and outdoor savvy as they are for their prose.

“I've always been interested in people who were as good with their minds as they were working with their hands,” MacDonald says.  Even the “writers I work on draw me in because of this connection between the intellectual and physical worlds.”

MacDonald teaches her students the strong connection between learning and hands-on experience. On her mini-term at the Double E Ranch in New Mexico, students split their days between classes on literature of the American West and herding and branding cattle.

“This connection is at the heart of why I love doing these mini-terms. Students relish the chance to live what they learn, and they love it. They learn about Spanish land use and read environmental essays and Western fiction during class and then ride out into arid mountain ranchlands to get a job done. It doesn't get any better.” 

On campus, MacDonald has been known to bring a class of literature students outside to demonstrate the finer points of roping – a fire hydrant, a post, or anything that's handy. In her research, she works on literature and culture of the American West, with a specific interest in the historian Frederick Jackson Turner and in the nomadic culture central to the American West. 

MacDonald rides with trainer Bob DeLorenzo of Middle Grove and works with her two horses as much as possible at the Galway farm she shares with husband, David Baum, who teaches European history at Union and conducts research on the Italian Renaissance. Each has a passion for sports – Baum for baseball and MacDonald for horses. An avid player, Baum often manages a hardball league in the summer, although he will leave the team this season while on a research fellowship in Italy. MacDonald plans to divide her days between reading, writing and riding – noting, again, that “it just doesn't get better than that.”

Posted on May 16, 2006

“The Making of a Playwright… an Evening with Mike Kenny and Barbara Marten,” will be at the Nott Memorial on Tuesday, May 23, at 7:30 p.m.

This event is free and open to the public. It will be the final offering in the 2005-06 Perspectives at the Nott Speaker Series held at Union College.

Kenny, called one of the 10 leading playwrights in the UK by The Independent, has written more than 60 plays, including more than 40 works for children and young people and many for special needs audiences and actors. He has won numerous awards, including the Writers'Guide Best Children's Play for “Stepping Stones” and the Arts Council of England's first Children's Award in 2001.

His wife, award-winning actress Barbara Marten, has appeared on British television (in the long-running “Eastenders”), in film and on stage. She starred in Kenny's “Caitlin,” a one-woman show about the wife of Dylan Thomas; her performance was termed “intense,” and “truly captivating.”

The couple will intersperse their talk with dramatic readings from Kenny's plays. A reception will follow. This event is co-sponsored by the English Department, Educational Studies, Office of the Dean of Arts & Sciences, Blue House and the President's Office.

Posted on May 16, 2006

Nine Union students will work with non-profit groups this summer in a range of activities, including organizing a summer camp for children who have cancer, promoting human rights activism among young people and helping to spark girls' interest in math and science.

The hands-on internship opportunities, from organizations such as the Law, Order & Justice Center and Haven Grief Counseling, are made possible by $24,800 in funding from the Roger Hull Community Service Summer Internship, Dr. Scholl Foundation and Bank of America.

The students, selected from a competitive field of applicants, include: Todd Buffum '07, Amanda Carpenter '07, Alison Houck '07, Meagan Keenan '09, Michelle Koo '08, Carli McNeil '07, Jon Thatcher '07, Natali Torres '07 and Linda Yamben '07.

“To partake in something like this and get paid to do it is more than I could ever want for a summer experience,” said Torres, who will be working with terminally ill patients and their families at Hospice of Schenectady. “Often organizations like Hospice, which serves the elderly and the sick, go unnoticed for their contributions to our society.”

“As one student told me, ‘Programs like this are the essence of Union's strength,” said Janet H. Mattis, associate director for Experiential Education and a member of the Funded Summer Internship Selection Committee. Other committee members are Director of Residential Life Todd Clark, Associate Professor of Sociology David Cotter and Affirmative Action and Community Outreach Director Gretchel Tyson. Here, a look at the students, their majors and their summer projects:

Roger H. Hull Community Service Summer Internship

Carli McNeil (political science/economics), Law, Order & Justice Center: McNeil will receive training and conduct research on foster care visitations between children and their biological parents; help place teen and adult clients in the center's community service program; and observe mediation processes and the work of Court Appointed Special Advocates of Schenectady.

Dr. Scholl Foundation:

Meagan Keenan (major undecided), Global Youth Connect: Keenan will support ongoing programs, develop fundraising strategies and work on outreach to young people interested in human rights activism.

Jon Thatcher (history), PRIDE of Ticonderoga, Inc.: Thatcher will organize the group's major fundraiser, the LaChute River Duck Race, and help compose grants to support preservation, restoration and community development projects.

Bank of America:

Todd Buffum (sociology), Downtown Schenectady Improvement Corp.: Buffum will work closely with city officials, business leaders and area merchants on communications, marketing, database management and research, and on such initiatives as the Co-operative Television Downtown Branding Campaign, the 47^th Annual Stockade Walkabout and Waterfront Faire.

Amanda Carpenter (neuroscience/pre-med), Gilda's Club: Carpenter will organize and operate a summer camp for the Noogieland members, children who have a family member with cancer or have cancer themselves.

Alison Houck (biology), Girl's Inc. Operation SMART: Houck will create and direct the Operation SMART program at Camp Brookledge in Saratoga, providing programs in science, math and technology to young girls.

Michelle Koo (psychology), Schenectady Day Nursery: Koo will work as a classroom aide for preschoolers, helping to run activities, teach computer skills and guide language and motor development activities. She also will tutor the after-school program's 6-12-year-olds in reading and mathematics.

Natali Torres (neuroscience), Hospice of Schenectady : Torres will provide emotional and spiritual support for patients and families facing life-threatening illnesses with a prognosis of six months or less to live. She also will help the Fundraising and Development Committee prepare for two events, the Toast to Spring and the Community Hospice Walk.

Linda Yamben (psychology), Haven Grief Counseling: Yamben will greet and schedule clients, develop skills in providing comfort and support to grieving patients and help plan a charity event.

Posted on May 16, 2006

After several Capital Region schools welcomed some of their biggest incoming classes ever last fall, the next crop won't be quite so bumper — by design.

At the University at Albany, which enrolled 2,550 students in the Class of 2009, 200 fewer are expected this fall. “It was pretty crazy,” Wayne Locust said of last year's throng. “We'll be, obviously, in a better position to manage the 2,350.”

That means not having to convert common areas into living space for some students.

The crunch should also ease at Union College, where 585 enrolled last fall. About 550 are expected this year.

Dan Lundquist, dean of admissions and financial aid, said the school received 4,400 applications, its highest tally ever. “We're in great shape, but I'm just wiped,” he said.

It was an extra-hectic year, he said. Big media outlets seemed to run more stories about the difficulty of getting into school, and then the SAT scoring story broke.

“It seemed like a bit more of a hard-wired or a crazy year, more stress in the air,” he said.

Skidmore College, too, trimmed its incoming class after getting 6,650 applications, a 10 percent jump over last year. So far, it looks like 670 students will enroll this fall, down from 700 last year.

Mary Lou Bates, the school's dean of admissions and financial aid, said officials weren't sure whether the increase in applications could be attributed to more students loving Skidmore, or the trend of students sending out more applications across the board. Apparently, though, it was all Skidmore — more students sent in deposits than expected, and the school won't need to turn to its wait list.

Posted on May 15, 2006

A special showing of engravings from John James Audubon's The Birds of America will be on display this weekend for ReUnion 2006.

The annual four-day celebration attracts hundreds of alumni and friends of Union College, who participate in workshops, games, an alumni parade, fireworks and other events around campus. Last May, more than 1,500 alumni attended the festivities, and total giving from the anniversary classes was nearly $3 million. This year, 14 classes from 1936 to 2001 will be honored.

ReUnion will also feature several award presentations. The winners of this year's Alumni Gold Medals are: Sigmund Giambruno '51; Albert Nahmias '66; and Mark L.Walsh, '76. Head football coach John Audino will receive the Meritorious Service Award. Major General Robert S. Dickman, '66, will be honored with the Eliphalet Nott Medal.

One of the highlights of this year's event is the rare public display of some of Audubon's 435 hand-colored engravings, which depict life-sized portrayals of every species of bird in North America. There were only about 200 complete sets distributed, with less than 135 still in existence today. The college has owned a complete set since President Eliphalet Nott paid $1,000 in gold to Audubon himself in 1844.

The individual plates were eventually bound into four volumes and stored in Schaffer Library. One volume was stolen from a locked case in 1971, and was eventually recovered with the help of the FBI and a Texas book dealer.

The plates have been susceptible to creases, dirt and even tears over the years, and are rarely made available for public viewing. Ellen Fladger, the head of Special Collections in the Schaffer Library, along with others, has been working with the Northeast Document Conservation Center to preserve the plates. So far, nearly half the plates have been treated, and the College plans to have more public viewings.

The exhibit is available for viewing at Schaffer Library. Hours are: Thursday (8 a.m. to 1 a.m.); Friday (8 a.m. to 11 p.m.); Saturday (10 a.m. to 10 p.m.); and Sunday (11 a.m. to 1 a.m.).

For more on ReUnion 2006, including a schedule of events, go to www.union.edu/ReUnion.