In celebration of Women's History Month this month, Professor Hilary Tann's music will be performed at Greenwich House, New York City, March 14 as part of “Women's Work 2007” series (http://www.myspace.com/womenswork2007) and at the Eastman School of Music “Women in Music Festival” on March 26 (www.rochester.edu/eastman/wmf).
In addition, Tann will travel to Amsterdam in April for a rehearsal of her flute/viola/harp trio, which is being recorded for a Channel Classics CD on the First Chairs Series of the Concertgebouw Orchestra.
Reappointment review committeeshave been formed for three assistant professors: George Bizer, Psychology; Channette Romero, English; and Laurie Tyler, Chemistry. Members of the campus community are invited to offer written or oral testimony to committee members. They include (with chairs listed first):
George Bizer: Linda Stanhope, Psychology (ext. 6543, stanhopl@union.edu); Stephen Romero, Psychology; Melinda Goldner, Sociology.
Channette Romero: Harry Marten, English (ext. 6052, martenh@union.edu); Hugh Jenkins, English; Peter Heinegg, English; Bonney MacDonald, English; James McCord, English; Jordan Smith, English.
Laurie Tyler: James Adrian, Chemistry (ext. 6406, adrianj@union.edu); Michael Hagerman, Chemistry; Kristin Fox, Chemistry.
Are prisons obligated to satisfy the dietary requirements of vegans?
Should cage fighting be banned as a sport?
Is studying pornography in college legitimate?
Ethics Bowl 2007
The five members of the Union College Ethics Bowl Team addressed these issues and others recently when they competed in the 2007 Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl National Championship in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Will Fitzsimons '08, Meagan Keenan '09, Samantha Miller '07, Nordo Nissi '07 and Heidy Sanchez '07 won two of their three matches, prevailing over teams from the University of Southern California and University of California at Santa Cruz and losing a tough match to the University of Texas-Pan American. The University of Miami, Fla., won the tournament.
“To go 2-1 at this event was a real accomplishment,” said team advisor Michael Mathias of the Philosophy Department. “The level of discourse between teams was significantly higher than in the past.”
Mike Mathias, Philosophy, Ethics Bowl 2007
Of the 120 teams participating from colleges and universities across the nation, the top three teams from eight regions went to the national event.
“Williams and the U.S. Naval Academy were the two other qualifying teams from the Northeast this year,” said Mathias.
The group is sponsored by the Philosophy Department, but the students have a variety of majors. They have been preparing for cases since the fall. Preparation is so rigorous that “it's like taking two extra courses,” Mathias said. “There are 15 cases in play, and each team member is responsible for developing the team's position on three of those cases.”
This meant reaching out across campus to other disciplines. Among those faculty members who helped provide perspective on individual cases were Suzanne Benack (Psychology), Michelle Chilcoat (French), Lorraine Morales Cox (Visual Arts), Robert Hislope (Political Science), Scott Kirkton (Biology), Lisa Warenski (Philosophy) and Darius Watson (Political Science), and Librarian Tom McFadden.
Nissi, for instance, worked with Prof. Cox on a real-life controversy that questions whether art is a commodity or belongs to the culture-at-large.
Ethics Bowl members Hediy Sanchez, left, and Samantha Miller talk following their excellent standing at the reent national chapionships.
“It was about a Japanese businessman who purchased two Impressionist paintings (Van Gogh's “Dr. Gachet,” worth $82.5 million, and Renoir's “Le Moulin de la Galette,” valued at $78.1 million), in 1990 and wanted them destroyed upon his death. What were the obligations of the businessman to society?” said Nissi, an interdepartmental major in European history and philosophy with a strong interest in art history. (Eventually, the art was saved from destruction when used as collateral against bank loans.)
The Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl National Championship is held each year at the annual meeting of the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics. The competing young ethicists attend conference sessions, as well.
Sanchez, a political science major with a French minor, has participated in the Ethics Bowl her entire four years on campus. Last year, Union placed second at the national championship, losing a close final round match to the U.S. Military Academy.
“I'm proud of our accomplishments because we were, for the most part, a novice team in a very competitive field. The strength of our team derives from our mentor, Prof. Mathias.”
Judges evaluate answers based on a sound, intelligible argument, ethically relevant considerations and deliberative thoughtfulness.
“There's a high level of work, energy and creative thinking that goes into the preparation and presentation of the cases,” said McFadden, who has advised the team for several years. “We keep excellent company in this activity from around the country, and the win-loss record is really quite amazing given how new the Union team is.”
Union's team will participate in one more event this year, an exhibition match with Williams on April 10. The students will debate issues related to the teaching of creationism and evolution.
Three top-notch concerts are on tap in the next few weeks as part of Union's aclaimed Chamber Concert Series. Tickets are free to the Union community, $20 for general admission and $10 for area students. For tickets, call ext. 6080; for more information, call ext. 3651, or visit http://www.union.edu/ConcertSeries/.
Marc-Andre Hamelin
Marc-Andre Hamelin:
The Chamber Concert Series presents pianist Marc-Andre Hamelin Sunday, March 18 at 3 p.m. at Memorial Chapel. He will perform Beethoven's Sonata in E, Op 109; Patcho Vladigerov's Sonatina Concertante, Op 28; Liszt's Operatic paraphrases on Wagner's Tristan and Isolde; Verdi's Ernani and Heitor Villa-Lobos's Rudepoema. Hamelin is the winner of the 2004 International Record Award at the Cannes Film Festival. The London Independent has said he “… must now be the closest – post-Horowitz – to claiming the title of ‘world's greatest pianist.'”
Musicians from Marlboro: Radovan Vlatkovic, horn; Anna Polonsky, piano; and Soovin Kim, violin
Musicians from Marlboro:
The Chamber Concert Series presents the Musicians from Marlboro Sunday, March 25 at 3 p.m. at Memorial Chapel. The musicians comprising the touring company include Radovan Vlatkovic, horn; Anna Polonsky, piano; Soovim Kim and Jessica Lee, violins; Jonathan Vinocur, viola; and Soo Bae, cello. Their performance will include Brahms's Horn Trio; John Harbison's “Twilight Music” for Horn Trio; Ravel's String Quartet; and Shubert's String Trio in B flat, D. 471. The 2006-2007 season marks the 41st anniversary of this touring company, which originated as an extension of Vermont's Marlboro Music Festival, founded in 1951.
Julia Fischer
Julia Fischer, Milana Chernyavska:
The Chamber Concert Series presents violinist Julia Fischer and pianist Milana Chernyavska Thursday, April 5 at 8 p.m. at Memorial Chapel. They will perform Schubert's Sonatine No. 2 in A, D. 385; Debussy's Sonata; Bach's (solo) Sonata in A, BWV 1003; and Mendelssohn's Sonata in F.
The College's busy April “yield” season is just around the corner. That means the Office of Admissions needs faculty and staff help in welcoming admitted students and families throughout the month.
The two largest programs are the Accepted Candidates Days on Monday, April 9, and Monday, April 16, with a noon luncheon in Memorial Fieldhouse and division receptions 12:30-1 p.m. Contact Lilia Tiemann at tiemannl@union.edu to sign up.
Tiemann is also asking faculty to give admitted students the opportunity to visit classes on those Mondays and at other times, as well.
“If you are willing to open your classes to admitted students on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday during April, please let me know. There won't be many visitors on these days, as most students attend on the two Mondays, but we do get some stopping by. Students truly enjoy sitting in on classes, and in many cases it is their deciding factor.”
Approximately 560 students will be admitted into the Class of 2011, from a pool of more than 4,800 applications, the highest total ever, for this fall's freshman class.
