Posted on Sep 6, 2007

A $1.3 million Social Sciences building overhaul. Pool and steam plant upgrades. A fireplace and a local foods kiosk at Reamer.

These are among the many makeovers, big and small, visible and not-so-visible, that greet students, faculty and staff this week as the new academic year gets under way. All will add to the quality of life at Union.

With classrooms and residence halls vacated these past few months, the crews in facilities were hard at work renovating and upgrading from one end of campus to the other.

The biggest and most challenging project was the overhaul of the Social Sciences basement, which had not been renovated since it was built in 1964.

“A complete renovation is an extremely ambitious project for the 10 short weeks we had to complete it, but we now have a bright and well-ventilated space,” said Director of Facilities and Planning Loren T. Rucinski. Due to a lack of “swing space,” or alternative classroom locations on campus, he noted, the contractor and design team worked double shifts to ensure a summer completion.

The project included removing asbestos; demolishing and removing all hard plaster surfaces; removing all mechanical systems, ducting, and lighting; moisture proofing the floors; installing all new mechanical systems and lighting; creating two new electronic classrooms; installing all new finishes and equipment in the existing classrooms, and installing new furnishings in all rooms in the basement.

At Reamer, part of the fourth floor was converted into a new student-focused Media Wing housing WRUC, TVUC, and offices for the Yearbook and Concordiensis. Their space on the third floor was reallocated and remodeled to create a central Minerva Office with room to hold small meetings and informal gatherings. Student Support Services moves next door to the former Minerva space.

The addition of a fireplace across from Dutch Hollow comes courtesy of the Class of 2007. A local food kiosk that complements the popular Ozone Café also has been added.

Off campus, the Facilities crew remodeled the second floor of 712 Roger Hull Place at the corner of Seward Place to create four singles as a sustainable apartment that underscores the College’s environmental commitment. The new “Eco House” is powered by photo-voltaic solar panels, energy smart appliances, water- and electricity-saving devices and “green” furniture.

Additional summer work included:

— Cleaning, tile repair and re-grouting the Alumni Gym pool

— Replacing steam lines connecting the Alumni Gym and Reamer to the steam plant

— Replacing a chilled water line from the Chiller Plant to the entry road by Reamer

— Creating faculty offices on the second floor of F.W. Olin Center; additional office space in Silliman Hall and Steinmetz, and office/lab space in Bailey Hall

— Installing a new fire safety system in Richmond Hall and performing general repairs and miscellaneous upgrades in all residences.

Posted on Sep 6, 2007

Through Oct. 14

Mandeville Gallery

Nott Memorial

“ReView: Five Union Alumni” 

Features works in a variety of media by Alfred J. Nadel ’56 (drawings and mixed media); Stephen Pentak ’73 and Linda Fisher ’87 (paintings); Chester Urban ’93 (sculpture and drawings); and Nori Lupfer ’03 (photographs and prints). Reception set for Thursday, Oct. 4, 5-7 p.m.

Posted on Sep 6, 2007

Schenectady has never looked better, and now is your chance to see for yourself.

The city is inviting members of the Union community to explore downtown this Saturday, and there's plenty to do and discover. The annual Welcome Back Day, set for noon to 5 p.m., features festivals, entertainment, food, art and, with a Union ID, assorted discounts from participating Jay Street shops and restaurants.

Highlights include the Stockade Art Show in the historic district, an annual juried show of paintings and sculpture by more than 100 artists throughout the Northeast. The vibrant Greek and Little Italy festivals will also spice up the day.

The event is sponsored by the College, the Downtown Schenectady Improvement Corporation and the Chamber of Schenectady County. There will be free trolley service to ferry festival-goers from the circle at Old Chapel and from College Park Hall to the downtown vicinity.

Posted on Sep 5, 2007

The faculty welcomed 32 new colleagues this week. They include (with the remainder to be noted in future editions of the Chronicle):

ANTHROPOLOGY: Ari Gandsman, visiting professor, holds a Ph.D. from McGill University, Montreal, where he worked as an instructor and teaching assistant and was president of the Anthropology Graduate Students Association. He has lectured and presented at conferences around the world.

BIOLOGY: Nicole Teodosiou, assistant professor, earned her Ph.D. in genetics from Yale University School of Medicine. She was an assistant research professor of biology at Bowdoin College and a research assistant at Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and at the Wistar Institute, University of Pennsylvania.

CHEMISTRY: Susan Kohler, visiting assistant professor, holds a Ph.D. in physical chemistry from University of California, Berkeley. She has done postdoctoral work there and at the National Cancer Institute and Freie Universitat Berlin, West Germany. She has worked as a senior scientist at General Electric Healthcare Technologies; an advanced instrumentation specialist at Wellesley College and a scientist for Hewlett Packard Company. She has received numerous independent research grants and has published widely. K. Amanda Misner, visiting assistant professor, earned her Ph.D. in polymer science and engineering at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She has a variety of research, publication and presentation experience. Her teaching experience includes supervising summer research for the university’s Polymer Science and Engineering Outreach Program.

COMPUTER SCIENCE: Kristina Striegnitz, assistant professor, was jointly awarded a Ph.D. by the Saarland University and the University Henri Poincaré Nancy 1. She has taught at Northwestern University and Saarland and held numerous research assistant and internship positions. She is co-author of the book, “Learn Prolog Now!” and of numerous book chapters and journal articles.

ELECTRICAL & COMPUTER ENGINEERING: Helen Hanson ’83 assistant professor, earned a Ph.D. at Harvard University and conducted her postdoctoral fellowship at MIT. She has conducted research at MIT, Sensimetrics Corporation, Harvard’s Robotics Laboratory and Electrotechnical Laboratory, Tsukuba City, Japan. A member of the Acoustical Society of America, she has authored numerous journal articles, book chapters and conference papers.

ENGLISH: Claire Bracken, visiting instructor, earned her Ph.D. from University College Dublin, where she was awarded a one-year teaching fellowship from the College Arts and Celtic Studies. She has taught many courses in Irish studies, is co-founder of an Irish women’s studies postgraduate network and has a range of publication and presentation experience. Anastasia Pease, visiting assistant professor, earned a D.A. in humanistic studies, English/Russian, from the University at Albany. She is program director of the Michael S. Rapaport ’59 Ethics Across the Curriculum Initiative at Union. She has a range of teaching, translation and publication experience. Brian Glover, visiting assistant professor, earned a Ph.D. from the University of Virginia with a dissertation titled, "The Public Sphere and its Discontents Formal Nostalgia, 1709-1785.” He taught numerous courses at UVA. His teaching interests include 18th century literature n Britain, the history of the novel, biography and autobiography, and ecocriticism. Katherine Lynes, who was a visiting assistant professor at Union last year, has joined the faculty as an assistant professor. Lynes earned her Ph.D. from Rutgers University, where she held numerous teaching and administrative positions.

Posted on Sep 5, 2007

The College opened its 213th year with a convocation Tuesday afternoon that was all about momentum and the “miles to go before we sleep.” President Stephen C. Ainlay reflected on some of Union’s accomplishments during his inaugural year, and urged the campus community to take on the challenges and opportunities ahead.

“I believe we are building institutional momentum,” Ainlay said. “But a claim of momentum is not a claim that we’ve arrived. We have ‘promises to keep,’ as Robert Frost wrote, and ‘miles to go before we sleep.’”

The convocation opened with welcoming remarks from Frank L. Messa ’73, chairman of the Board of Trustees; Prof. Linda N. Stanhope, chair of the Faculty Executive Committee; and Jessica L. Rudin ’08, president of the Student Forum. Therese A. McCarty, dean of faculty and vice president for Academic Affairs, presented the Stillman Prize for Excellence in Teaching to Rebecca A. Surman, associate professor of Physics and Astronomy. Other finalists for the award were Robert Lauzon, Biology; Lori Jo Marso, Political Science and Women’s and Gender Studies; and Eshragh Motahar, Economics.

McCarty also recognized the 636 students who made the Dean’s List last year. Their names are on a plaque that will be displayed in Reamer Campus Center.

Heidi Ching ’10 received the Hollander Musician Prize and gave a mesmerizing performance of Chromatic Fantasy in D Minor by J.S. Bach.

“I am pleased to say that we strengthened our institutional position during the 2006-2007 academic year and we have the opportunity to advance Union even more in the academic year that lies ahead,” Ainlay said in his address.

He welcomed new faculty, staff and administrators, noting that “our success in attracting these individuals indicates that Union is doing well.” And he thanked those who contributed to the development of the Strategic Plan last year: “You’ve given us a critical tool that will allow us to attend to our deficiencies, focus our energies, and hone our educational mission.” He also urged participation in the ongoing meetings to discuss implementation.

Ainlay cited success in a number of areas, including alumni participation, annual giving and the College’s endowment. Admissions received a record number of applications; and two new facilities, the Taylor Music Center and the Center for Bioengineering and Computational Biology, “symbolize the seriousness of our academic mission as well as the distinctive range of studies that are possible at Union College.”

Ainlay also noted positive changes to the College’s environmental commitments, including a new “Eco House” at the Corner of Seward and Roger Hull Place with rooftop solar panels, water- and electricity-saving devices and “green” furniture; opportunities for further integrating liberal arts and engineering; and progress in making Union more diverse and inclusive. He reported that 17 percent of the incoming class are students of color, that the College welcomes its second group of Posse students with the Class of 2011, and that more than 30 students come from countries around the globe. “We must do everything we can to ensure that these students experience Union College as their College,” he said.