Posted on Oct 31, 2006

Patrick DiCerbo '88 and Valerie Hoffman '75 have been named national co-chairs of the College's Terrace Council.

Pat has been a loyal volunteer for Union College for many years. He served as the national chair for the Union Fund the last two fiscal years. He was an associate agent for his class for four years, and served on the Annual Business Campaign committee for six years. He has worked at Northwestern Mutual for 18 years. He lives in Niskayuna with his wife, Jennifer; and daughters, Johanna and Fiona.

“Terrace Council members make annual gifts to support critical, ongoing needs and special projects of the College,” Pat said. “Through Terrace Council members' generosity, Union College is able to continue its important work of hiring the best faculty, attracting the best students and sustaining the best campus.”

Valerie, also a longtime volunteer, began her term on the Board of Trustees in 1999. She has been a pivotal member of Union Women Connect for 10 years, encouraging the women of Union to get involved and stay connected. She is a partner in the Chicago office of Seyfarth Shaw LLP where, since 1978, she has practiced labor and employment law with particular emphasis in the areas of employment discrimination, sexual harassment, affirmative action and pay equity.

“Annual support through The Terrace Council demonstrates faith in and commitment to Union College and its future,” she said. “These leadership gifts allow donors to make an immediate and lasting impact on the College and its students.”

Posted on Oct 30, 2006

Dozens of family, friends, staff and students came from near and far last week for the dedication of the DeLoye-Fitzroy House at 203 Seward Place, a tribute to the late Roland V. Fitzroy Jr. '43, known for his work with the Manhattan Project, and his wife, the former Nancy DeLoye, an accomplished engineer and aviator.

The two-story residence, recently renovated, is home to nine students.

“This house started out with Roland's name alone, but at the encouragement of others, has morphed to include my name,” DeLoye Fitzroy said at the ribbon-cutting.

“Roland set up a scholarship for students some years ago, but it seemed to me that naming a student residence for him would have pleased him. Roland loved everything about Union.”

DeLoye Fitzroy cited her husband's appreciation for “a solid education in electrical engineering” with liberal arts, “the civilized atmosphere,” beautiful campus and his enduring friendships with other classmates, including the late Louis Loeb and Wally Macmillan, as well as Ted Vinick '43, who was on hand for the dedication.

Dedication speakers included President Stephen Ainlay, Director of Development Michael O'Hara and Robert Bode '07, who lives in the residence.

Roland Fitzroy earned his B.S. in electrical engineering. His 41-year career with GE included work with the Project Hermes Guided Missile Division and Rocket Engine Department at the Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory. With the U.S. Army during World War II, he was selected to top-secret technical roles with the Manhattan Engineer District.

Posted on Oct 30, 2006

Professor Owen Flanagan of Duke University will be presenting “A Dialogue with the Dalai Lama about Evolution and the Nature of Consciousness” Thursday as part of Union's Philosophy Speaker Series.

The discussion begins at 5 p.m. in the Everest Lounge and is free and open to the public.

Flanagan joined the Duke faculty in 1993 as Chair of the Department of Philosophy where he also holds appointments in Psychology and Neurobiology and is a faculty fellow in Cognitive Neuroscience. In 1993-94 he was president of the Society for Philosophy and Psychology and has held visiting positions at Brandeis, Princeton and Harvard as well as several fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

A prolific publisher, Flanagan has authored nine books on philosophy and the mind. In 1999, he was invited to attend a small conference in Darhamsala, India with the Dalai Lama on the topic of “Destructive Emotions.” In 2001-02, Flanagan was awarded a Fulbright Research Award to study Buddhist and Hindu conceptions of the self. He received his doctorate from Boston University.

Funding has been provided by the Spencer-Leavitt Foundation. For more information contact Raymond Martin, Departmental Chair, at 518-388-8011 or martinr@union.edu.

Following is the remaining schedule for the series, which is sponsored by the Philosophy Department. All talks will be held in the Schaffer Library Phi Beta Kappa Room unless otherwise noted:

Jan. 18 (4:30 p.m.)

Peter Railton, University of Michigan

“Desire, Happiness, and Morality”

Feb. 1 (4:30 p.m.)

Stephanie Beardman, Barnard College (Columbia)

“Emotions and Deliberative Reason”

Feb. 15 (4:30p.m.)

Manfred Kuehn, Boston University

“Kantian Ethics and the Problem of Normativity”

March 1 (6:30 p.m.)

Bas van Fraassen, Princeton University

“Structualism and the Physical World Picture”

Apr. 12 (4:30p.m.)

Sharon Street, NYU

“Objectivity and Truth: You'd Better Rethink It”

Apr. 26 (4:30p.m.)

David Velleman, NYU

“Regarding as Rational”

May 10 (4:30 p.m.)

Steven Ross, CUNY

“When Worlds Collide: Mental State Naturalism and Normative Attribution”

May 24 (4:30 p.m.)

Claudia Card, University of Wisconsin

“Ticking Bombs and Interrogations”

Posted on Oct 27, 2006

The Parker String Quartet brings the music of the late György Ligeti, Mozart and Schumann to the Memorial Chapel at Union College Friday, Nov. 3 at 8 p.m. The quartet features Daniel Chong and Karen Kim on violin, Jessica Bodnar, viola, and Kee-Hyun Kim, cello.

Since its founding in May 2002, the quartet has quickly established itself as a dynamic young chamber ensemble on the national and international scene, winning numerous awards, including the 2005 Concert Artists Guild International Competition and 2005 Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition.

In its Carnegie Hall debut last November, The New York Times raved that the performance “set the group apart as something extraordinary.”

This season, the quartet was chosen by the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts to be the seventh Ernst Stiefel String Quartet in Residence, including three week-long educational residencies, culminating in performances at Caramoor. The quartet also was  recently selected for the prestigious Professional String Quartet Training Program at the New England Conservatory of Music (NEC), where the group was founded and selected, in 2002 and 2003, as the NEC's Honors Ensemble.

The Parker String Quartet recorded its debut CD in Paris in June for the Zig Zag label, featuring Bartok's String Quartets Nos. 2 and 5. Its forthcoming CD for Naxos, due in 2007, features the string quartets of György Ligeti.

A native of Southern California, violinist Daniel Chong began the violin at age four, started his solo career at age eight with the Orchestra Da Camera in Los Angeles, appeared as soloist with the Redlands Bowl Symphony Orchestra at 10 and, at age 13, he was accepted to the Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied with Victor Danchenko.

Karen Kim began her violin studies at age four in La Crosse, Wisc., and at eight became a student of Gerardo Ribeiro in Evanston, Ill. Kim has presented solo performances at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in D.C. and Steinway Hall in New York City. She has appeared as a soloist with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, the Madison Civic Orchestra and the La Crosse Symphony Orchestra.

Jessica Bodnar has established herself as one of the leading violists of her generation. Her musical studies with the violin began at the age of two in her native Houston; she switched to viola at 12.

As an orchestral musician, Bodnar has been a member of the Portland Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, Germany's Bachfest Leipzig Orchestra and the Houston Symphony Orchestra. She has made numerous soloist appearances on her own and with ensembles.

She is currently a graduate student at the New England Conservatory, where she is studying with Martha Strongin Katz on a Lotte M. Crabtree Scholarship.

Kee-Hyun Kim, a solo cellist and chamber musician from Seoul, Korea, plays on an 1844 Giacomo Rivolta from Milan and has performed in Korea, Japan, Germany, France, Italy, England, Israel, the United States, Canada and Central and South America.

Kim received his bachelor's at NEC as a student of Laurence Lesser. He is currently pursuing his master's under Paul Katz as a recipient of the Gregory Piatigorsky Scholarship for 2005-06. 

The Parker String Quartet is coached by Paul Katz at NEC. Other coaches have included Martha Strongin Katz, Donald Weilerstein, Kim Kashkashian, Roger Tapping, Paul Katz and Lucy Stoltzman.

Concert tickets are free for the Union community, $20 for the general public and $10 for area students. For more information, call 388-6080 or 372-3651; or visit http://www.union.edu/concertseries/.

Posted on Oct 27, 2006

The Phi Iota Alpha Fraternity at Union College welcomes students at Schenectady area elementary schools to “Phright Fest 2006” Saturday, Oct. 28 from 1-4 p.m. at the Old Chapel.

More than 100 parents have confirmed their children’s attendance for a FREE afternoon of fun including face painting, cookie decorating, and trick-o-treating.

For more information, contact Santos Avila at santosa@union.edu or call the Kenney Community Center at 388-6609.