Posted on Mar 7, 2007

Thursday, March 8, 6 p.m. / Kenney Community Center / Free income tax prep service

Friday, March 9, 12 p.m. / Old Chapel / Café Ozone

Friday, March 9, 1:50 p.m. / Nott Memorial / Lecture: Malian musician Mamadou Diabate

Friday, March 9, 8 p.m. / Nott Memorial / Performance: Malian musician Mamadou Diabate

Friday, March 9, 6 p.m. / Dance Studio / Afro-Cuban dance classes

Friday, March 9, 7:30 p.m. / Gym exercise room / Karate lessons

Friday, March 9 – Monday, March 12, 8 and 10 p.m. / Reamer Campus Center Auditorium / Movie: Blood Diamond

Monday, March 12, 4 p.m. / Great Room / Professor Mosquera documentary on African/Christian religion

Tuesday, March 13, 1:55 p.m. / Golub Great Room / Abnormal Psychology film discussion

Tuesday, March 13, 7:30 p.m. / Gym exercise room / Karate lessons

Friday, March 16, 12 p.m. / Old Chapel / Café Ozone

Friday, March 16, 7:30 p.m. / Gym exercise room / Karate lessons

Sunday, March 18, 3 p.m. / Memorial Chapel / Chamber Concert Series: Marc-Andre Hamelin

Sunday, March 25, 3 p.m. / Memorial Chapel / Chamber Concert Series: Musicians from Marlboro

Thursday, March 8, 6 p.m. / Kenney Community Center / Free income tax prep service

Friday, March 9, 12 p.m. / Old Chapel / Café Ozone

Friday, March 9, 1:50 p.m. / Nott Memorial / Lecture: Malian musician Mamadou Diabate

Friday, March 9, 8 p.m. / Nott Memorial / Performance: Malian musician Mamadou Diabate

Friday, March 9, 6 p.m. / Dance Studio / Afro-Cuban dance classes

Friday, March 9, 7:30 p.m. / Gym exercise room / Karate lessons

Friday, March 9 – Monday, March 12, 8 and 10 p.m. / Reamer Campus Center Auditorium / Movie: Blood Diamond

Monday, March 12, 4 p.m. / Great Room / Professor Mosquera documentary on African/Christian religion

Tuesday, March 13, 1:55 p.m. / Golub Great Room / Abnormal Psychology film discussion

Tuesday, March 13, 7:30 p.m. / Gym exercise room / Karate lessons

Friday, March 16, 12 p.m. / Old Chapel / Café Ozone

Friday, March 16, 7:30 p.m. / Gym exercise room / Karate lessons

Sunday, March 18, 3 p.m. / Memorial Chapel / Chamber Concert Series: Marc-Andre Hamelin

Sunday, March 25, 3 p.m. / Memorial Chapel / Chamber Concert Series: Muscians from Marlboro

Posted on Mar 7, 2007

Malian musician Mamadou Diabate, a 2005 Grammy Award nominee, comes to campus Friday, March 9 at 8 p.m. in the Nott Memorial, where he will give a solo performance on the kora, a 21-string harp.

This event, free to the Union community, is open to the public. Ticket prices are $15 general admission, $10 for seniors and $5 for students.

Diabate also will give a lecture and free performance during Professor Tim Olsen's “Music and Culture of Africa” class, Friday, March 9 at 1:50 p.m. at the Nott. This event is free and open to the public.

Born in 1975 in Kita, a Malian city long known as the center for arts and culture of the Manding people of West Africa, Diabate has been performing in the United States since 1996 and has played at the United Nations, Lincoln Center, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Smithsonian. He also has performed with jazz luminaries Donald Byrd and Randy Weston, Zimbabwean legend Thomas Mapfumo and blues masters Eric Bibb and Guy Davis.

His most recent solo kora album, “Behmanka,” was nominated for a 2005 Grammy Award in the “Best Traditional World Album of the Year” category.

Diabate lives in North Carolina. His appearance at Union is sponsored by the Department of Music, Africana Studies Program and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Posted on Mar 2, 2007

Students from Union College and Yates Elementary School in Schenectady recently joined forces to benefit the American Heart Association.

More than 100 fourth, fifth and sixth graders from Yates came to the Memorial Fieldhouse to learn about fitness, wellness, healthy eating and smart choices in the national Jump for the Heart event.

This was the fourth year Yates participated and the first time  partnering with Union.

“We thought it was a great opportunity for Greeks, Minervas and Theme Houses to work together,” said co-organizer Joe Nimon '07 of Wells House. “We've been working on making the ‘union of cultures' here on campus a little cozier and we didn't have to look far to recruit people.”

Volunteers from Sigma Delta Tau sorority; Alpha Epsilon Pi, Alpha Delta Phi and Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternities; Wells House and Orange House donated their time and healthy snacks and prizes. The athletic department donated various mats and equipment, while the American Heart Association supplied the jump ropes.

“There was no funding for this event in the Greek budget,” explained co-organizer Maggie Nivison '09 of Sigma Delta Tau. “This was a separate event from our service and philanthropy activities, but so many students showed support and volunteered to make this great for the kids.”

Orange House volunteers helped pay to transport the Yates students to campus. Volunteers from the Kenney Community Center also helped with the transportation costs.

Fundraising wasn't mandatory, but many students gathered pledges for the American Heart Association. Students jumped rope, bounced on crash mats, learned about healthy eating and participated in various athletic events, including a Frisbee and football toss and dance contest.

Posted on Mar 1, 2007

Dr. Ira M. Rutkow '70 is optimistic. And he shared that optimism with a crowd at Memorial Chapel Thursday as the main speaker at the Founders Day celebration, where he received the Founders Medal.

Rutkow, a surgeon and author who has written about the history of American medicine, gave an animated speech that included slides highlighting Union alumni who made a significant impact on medicine. The discussion of notable Union graduates seemed to strike an optimistic note for future Union grads.

“You will see the impact that this little college in Schenectady, N.Y., had during 18^th and into the 19^th centuries on American medicine,” Rutkow said. “I'm optimistic for the faculty and Board of Trustees and the students. I thank you for the Founders Medal and thank you for the opportunity.”

Founders Day marks the 212^th anniversary of the granting of the College's charter in 1795, and the Founders Medal honors a distinctive contribution to the welfare of the College.

In his speech, Rutkow, who authored the recent book, James A. Garfield, turned back to College history and discussed noted doctors like Theodric Romeyn Beck, Class of 1807, Frank H. Hamilton, Class of 1830, Levi Cooper lane, Class of 1849, Alfred L. Loomis, Class of 1851, Eliphalet Nott Wright, Class of 1882, and George Linius Streeter, Class of 1895.

“At only 32 years old, Theodric Romeyn Beck wrote a two-volume treaties on medical jurisprudence. It was the first time anything had been written in the United States and in fact the entire English speaking world on medical jurisprudence,” Rutkow said.

Union received its charter on Feb. 25, 1795. It was the first college charter granted by the Regents of the state of New York. The first Founders Day observance was held in 1896.

After graduating from Union in 1974, Rutkow earned a medical degree from St. Louis University. He went on to develop a widely used surgical technique to repair hernias.

His previous books include Bleeding Blue and Gray: Civil War Surgery and the Evolution of American Medicine (2005).

In addition to the Founders Medal, the College listed Dean's List students and gave out three other awards.

Laurence Brown '74 won the Gideon Hawley Teacher Recognition Award, which honors high school teachers who have influenced Union students. Brown is a former lawyer and corporate executive who later became a high school teacher in Scarsdale, N.Y. He was nominated by William Friedman '10 and is one of the few Union graduates to receive the Hawley award.

“There I was, 49 years old, and my wife looked at me and said, ‘Okay, you love kids and you love history and public policy. It seems to be a no-brainer.' I decided to go into teaching and I love every minute of it,” Brown said.

Friedman is a Scarsdale High School graduate who was a student in Brown's social studies class. Friedman played basketball and tennis in high school.

“He might have gone to as many basketball games as I did and I was on the team,” Freidman said. “He's more than a teacher. Teaching is not where it ends with him. He just cares so much about each and every student and I though he should be recognized for that.”

Kenneth G. DeBono was awarded the Stillman Prize for Excellence in Teaching for his work as a psychology professor. DeBono is the Gilbert R. Livingtson Professor of Behavioral Sciences and specializes in the psychology of persuasion and religion.

Students Adrienne Hart '09 and Kara McCabe '09 were awarded the Hollander Musician Prize, established by Lawrence J. Hollander, dean of engineering emeritus at Union. The pair also performed a piece by Felix Mendelssohn.

Posted on Mar 1, 2007

Through March 22

This student show features the photography of Frank Rapant '07 and focuses on crimes against women in major world religions. Rapant is an English major and Visual Arts minor. He is also a full-time photolab technician in the Art Department.

Through May 6

Drawn from the rich resources of the Union College Permanent Collection and Special Collections, Schaffer Library, this exhibition  explores printing and image-reproduction technologies from the 15th century to the present. It is curated by David Ogawa, assistant professor of Visual Arts, Rachel Seligman, director of the Mandeville Gallery, and Stephanie Berlind '09, with assistance from Schaffer Library Head of Special Collections Ellen Fladger. A reception and gallery talk by Ogawa will be held Thursday, May 3, 5-7 p.m. and a talk by Berlind is set for Friday, May 4, 3:30 p.m., both at the Nott Memorial.