Posted on Feb 22, 2007

Thursday, Feb. 22, 6:30 p.m. / Blue House / New York Times journalist: Calvin Sims

Thursday, Feb. 22, 8 p.m. / Taylor Music Center, Emerson Hall / Musicians of Ma'alwyck present “Music for Seven”

Friday, Feb. 23, noon / Old Chapel / Ozone Café: The Organic Adventure

Friday, Feb. 23, 3 p.m. / F.W. Olin Center / Student robot demos

Friday, Feb. 23, 4 p.m. / F.W. Olin Center Auditorium / Presentation by Colin Angle, CEO of iRobot Corporation

Friday, Feb. 23, 5 p.m. / F.W. Olin Center lobby / Computer Science reception and inauguration of new robotics labs

Friday, Feb. 23, 6 p.m. / Dance Studio / Afro-Cuban dance classes

Friday, Feb. 23, 6–9 p.m. / Old Chapel / Caribbean pride night

Friday, Feb. 23, 7 p.m. / Messa Rink, Achilles Center / Men's hockey vs. Yale

Friday, Feb. 23, 7:30 p.m. / Gym exercise room / Karate lessons

Friday, Feb. 23 – Monday, Feb. 26, 8 and 10 p.m. / Reamer Campus Center Auditorium / Movie: The Departed

Saturday, Feb. 24, 2 p.m. / Memorial Chapel / “Heavenly Voices” annual gospel concert

Saturday, Feb. 24, 7 p.m. / Messa Rink, Achilles Center / Men's hockey vs. Brown

Saturday, Feb. 24, 7:30–9 p.m. / 301 Olin Center / Observatory open house

Sunday, Feb. 25, 4 p.m. / Old Chapel / “Rhythm for Life” AIDS benefit concert

Tuesday, Feb. 27, 7 p.m. / Blue House / Philosophy discussion & dinner

Tuesday, Feb. 27, 7 p.m. / Old Chapel / Monte Carlo night, benefit for the New York Patriots Foundation

Tuesday, Feb. 27, 7:30 p.m. / Gym exercise room / Karate lessons

Wednesday, Feb. 28, 11:30 a.m.–1 p.m. / Reamer Campus Center / Career services for U information table

Wednesday, Feb. 28, 12:50 p.m. / Orange House Great Room / “Growing Up in America Black” panel discussion

Wednesday, Feb. 28, 4:30 p.m. / Becker Career Center / Internship and job search prep program

Wednesday, Feb. 28, 5 p.m. / Old Chapel / Black History Month celebration

Wednesday, Feb. 28, 7 p.m. / Nott Memorial / “Abrupt Climate Change,” Environmental Series speaker: Lonnie G. Thompson of The Ohio State University

Wednesday, Feb. 28, 7 p.m. / Golub House / Cocktail party and Middle East politics discussion with History Professor Stephen Berk

Wednesday, Feb. 28, 7-9 p.m., / Reamer Campus Center Auditorium / Vanessa Fajans-Turner of the United Nations will speak about the U.N. Millennium Campaign. Topics include poverty, AIDS, malaria and universal primary education. Sponsored by Campus Action.

Wednesday, Feb. 28, 10 p.m. / Old Chapel / Comedian: Roy Wood, Jr.

Thursday, March 1, 12:50-1:45 p.m. / Humanities 016 / Stacie Raucci, assistant professor of Classics, will speak on “Spectacle of Sex: Bodies on Display in HBO's Rome.”

Thursday, March 1, 6:30 p.m. / Phi Beta Kappa Room, Schaffer Library / Philosophy speaker: “Structuralism and the Physical World Picture”

Friday, March 2 – Monday, March 5, 8 and 10 p.m. / Reamer Campus Center Auditorium / Movie: Casino Royale

Friday, March 2, 6 p.m. / Dance Studio / Afro-Cuban dance classes

Friday, March 2, 8 p.m. and Saturday, March 3, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. / Yulman Theatre / Winter dance concert, “Dancing on the Edge”

Saturday, March 3, 7 p.m. / Old Chapel / Step show and party

Saturday, March 3, 8 p.m. / Memorial Chapel / Chamber Concert Series: Ysaye String Quartet

Saturday, March 3, 10 p.m. / Memorial Chapel / Hypnotist Steve Taub

Posted on Feb 22, 2007

“Dancing on the Edge,” the winter dance concert presented by the Theatre and Dance Department, will be held at the Yulman Theatre on Friday, March 2 at 8 p.m. and Saturday, March 3 at 2 and 8 p.m.

“This is a contemporary spectacle filled with unexpected imagery, music and dance combinations,” says Dance Program Director Moutillet, the show's director.

The dancers will perform the ballet, “Rock'n Toes,” to music by Muse. The modern piece “Crimson Mode” reaches its crescendo with a spectacular dance with yards of fabric by Sara Jacobson.

In addition, Instructor Marcus Rogers will delve into athletics in his solo, “Status.” As a choreographer, Rogers will present the Union Dancers tapping vibrant rhythms in “New York, New York” and performing energetic jazz moves in “?”.

Dance projects include new works by Laura Hutchinson '08, Lacey Morgan '09 and Janielle Porter '07, all dance minors.

“This concert explores new vocabularies, challenges and motion through original dance performance,” says Moutillet.

Among the dancers are Rachael Peters '07 and Sara Weiner '07, last year's winners of the Edward Villella Fellowship. Peters will be dancing a duet with Rogers in “Rock'n Toes,” as well as performing in “?” Weiner will dance in both pieces, as well.

Tickets are $7 for the Union community and $10 for all others.

Posted on Feb 22, 2007

By Danna DeBlasio '08

Rachael Peters: The right dance chemistry

“Being a chemistry major while participating in Union's dance program is not easy, especially when we're rehearsing for a concert. I've learned how to prioritize and use my time in the best way possible,” says Rachael Peters '07.

For Peters, who has been dancing since she was four, balance is the key to managing all aspects of her life. A dance minor, Peters has been taking ballet and jazz, working with Dance Director Miryam Moutillet and Instructor Marcus Rogers.

She has been a leading dancer in many of Union's productions. In last year's Winter Dance Concert, Peters' great form landed her the leading role in “Giselle” and also many other roles in ballets such as “Don Quixote” and “La Bayadere.” 

“Union's dance program is more personal and the atmosphere is much more fun than other dance experiences I've had,” Peters says. “Everyone is here to pursue their passion and have a good time.”

Peters, of Clark Summit, Penn., is always looking to broaden her dance involvement. Coming to Union as a first time hip-hop dancer, she was a natural, and she is currently the captain of Union's dance team.

In spring 2006, she received the College's Edward Villella Fellowship for Dance. An acclaimed American male ballet star and former New York City Ballet principal dancer who now heads Miami City Ballet, Villella received an honorary doctorate from Union in 1991. Three years later, the Villella Fellowship was created from the gifts of Charles D. Lothridge '44.

The yearly award is designed to expand a student's study of dance beyond the Union experience.

Receiving the fellowship enabled Peters to travel to Italy with fellow dancer and award winner Sara Weiner '07 to take workshops and see world-class performances.

Peters is often in the spotlight, whether as principal ballerina on stage or in the middle of a field, leading her dance team. When not in the limelight, she keeps busy as president of the Chemistry Club and a member of the Pre-Health Society. 

As for future plans, Peters has been accepted into the dental program at the University of Pittsburgh.

“I love dancing, so I definitely plan to continue. For right now, I just want to make sure I enjoy every single dance experience.” 

Sara Weiner:  A history of dancing

Sara Weiner '07 is dancing her way through college. A history major from Niskayuna, N.Y., who's been studying dance since she was 10, Weiner has immersed herself in all the dance Union has to offer. Although ballet is her biggest passion, she's taken modern and jazz as well as workshops in Japanese dance.

“Union's dance program is much more personal than other dance programs I've been involved with,” Weiner says. “Here, dance is not centered on competition; it is focused on a true love for dance.”  

Taking at least three dance classes every term, Weiner has worked closely with Director of the Dance Program Miryam Moutillet and Instructor Marcus Rogers.

“The classes are a mix of levels, so everyone feels comfortable and Miryam makes it a great experience,” Weiner says. “It's a supportive environment that allows dancers to be comfortable regardless of their ability.”

Weiner has performed at Schenectady's Proctors Theater in its holiday production of The Nutcracker. Last spring, she took another big leap when she received the College's Edward Villella Fellowship for Dance.

Weiner and Rachael Peters '07 enjoyed the opportunity to take dance classes in Florence, Italy, and visited La Scala, the world-renowned 18^th century opera house and ballet theater in Milan.     

Weiner is a senior intern in Admissions, active member of Sigma Delta Tau and co-president of the Panhellenic Council that represents sororities.

“After I graduate, I want to move to New York City and continue classes,” she says. “I love dance, and I always want it to be a part of my life.” 

Posted on Feb 21, 2007

Union's Strategic Plan officially rolled out this week with a series of campus meetings seeking comment from students, faculty and staff.

Nearly a year in the making, the plan articulates a bold vision for a Union education and proposes a series of critical strategies for supporting that vision.

“I believe this is the kind of thing that will catapult us to a different level in every way, shape and form,” President Stephen Ainlay told a group of students this week at Reamer Campus Center Auditorium.

The process began last spring with the creation of a planning committee co-chaired by Trustee John E. Kelly III '76 and Therese McCarty, interim dean of faculty and vice president for academic affairs.

As part of the planning effort, the committee engaged students, faculty and staff across the campus in a variety of discussions about issues confronting the College. In the fall, the planning group began to identify possible strategies to address the issues and collected additional feedback, and by winter, a vision statement and draft report were completed.

The Board of Trustees endorsed the plan at its February meeting.

Key to the plan are three “differentiators” that separate Union from other liberal arts schools and that will be used to guide the College as it moves into its third century:

“We seek to be small, yet global and diverse.”

“We seek to further integrate engineering with the liberal arts.”

“We seek to inspire innovation, using our past as a source of inspiration.”

The next step in the process is to begin refining priorities for change and creating blueprints for implementation.

In campus meetings, Ainlay pledged his commitment to the vision and strategies spelled out in the plan. When a student wondered if the plan would simply “die in committee,” Ainlay assured her that wouldn't be the case.

“I'm staking my presidency on this,” he said.

Union's Strategic Plan is now posted on the College's Web site at: http://www.union.edu/strategic.

Posted on Feb 20, 2007

Applications for this fall's freshman class have surpassed 4,800, the highest total ever, admissions officials reported this week.

Applications are running 9 percent above last year's 4,373, the largest one-year jump in the past 10 years.

The applicant pool is also stronger, with admissions evaluation staff noting a marked increase in the number of students who are performing well in demanding class rosters.

 “The top-end is growing and the bottom is our ‘old middle,'” said Geoff Bowman, assistant dean of admissions.

 Last year, the College joined a growing list of top schools nationwide that have made the SAT and the ACT optional for high school seniors who apply for admission. The decision about test scores, which is effective starting with the Class of 2011, came after months of discussions between campus administrators, faculty and high school guidance counselors, who urged the College to maintain its high standards by emphasizing academic achievement.

International applications increased by 100 and in-state applications edged up by 50, meaning most of the growth came from outside New York state, in keeping with the College's outreach plans.

In addition, applications from female high school students are at 46 percent, compared to 44 percent a year ago.

“Our staff and volunteers continue to work hard to recruit the nation's most talented students,” said Dan Lundquist, vice president for admissions. “This record is a great validation. However many of our competitor colleges are seeing similar gains, and we will not rest on our laurels.”

Approximately 560 students will be admitted into the Class of 2011.

Union College, founded in 1795 as the first college chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, offers programs in the liberal arts and engineering to 2,100 undergraduates.

The College also is included in the top tier of the country's leading liberal arts colleges, according to U.S. News and World Report's annual rankings. The College is ranked 39th out of 215 schools in the 2007 edition of America's Best Colleges. Last July, the New York Times included the College on its list of 20 “hidden gems” in the higher education landscape.