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Terrace Council members are thanked at the Ritz-Carlton in New York City

Posted on Oct 29, 2007

Alumni, President Ainlay, Terrace Council, Ritz-Carlton

An unseasonably sultry evening mirrored the warm atmosphere inside The Ritz-Carlton on Central Park South, New York City on Saturday, Oct. 6, 2007. The Thank You Reception, hosted by President Stephen C. Ainlay and his wife, Judith, was attended by more than 115 Terrace Council members ranging from the Class of 1936 to 2007. All enjoyed sumptuous hor’s doeuvres and beverages, including the debut of Terrace Council’s signature drink, the "Garnet Goose."

President Ainlay, Chairman of the Board Frank Messa ’73, Terrace Council National Chair Pat DiCerbo ’88 and Young Alumni National Chair Brian Selchick ’06 expressed their appreciation for the support of each Terrace Council member. Recent graduate Elizabeth Henry ’07 and Student Alumni Association member Shane Hubbell ’08 added their thanks to the Council for the benefits that they bring to the current students and the College each and every day.

Terrace Council, Ritz-Carlton, October 6, 2007, Reception

A comment made by new Terrace Council member, Nick Salvatoriello ’07, summed things up. “The event made me feel that we were part of something bigger than ourselves, something that was more than just giving money, but part of a living and breathing society with values and a common identity shared across the years.” Older alumni shared these sentiments and were pleased that the young alumni present could participate as equals in the place they’ve known and supported since their own graduations; an investment that’s reaped rewards both tangible and intangible.

The event, scheduled from 6 to 9 p.m., ended at 10 p.m. with classmates, having reacquainted and making plans to get together soon, looked forward to the next Terrace Council event.

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Rolling for Autism

Posted on Oct 26, 2007

 

Four tired, sore but dedicated Union alumni rolled across the finish line in late August in Kittery, Maine, completing an 1,800-mile roller blade journey that spanned the East Coast and raised money for autism.

"We’re still tallying the final contributions, but expect to top $120,000,” said Dan Tatar ’07, who created the Rolling for Autism campaign. “The support has been amazing. Dozens of Union College alumni came out to the events in New York City and Boston, and 15 or so skated nearly 100 miles with us.”

Carson Strang crosses the finish line first as he leads the pack of his teammates Dan Tatar, Jason Ortolano and Sean Streich. As part of “Rolling for Autism,” the group raised funds by roller-blading from Amelia Island in Florida, all the way to Kittery

As Tatar’s Union career came to an end last spring, the 23-year-old psychology major began pursuing the idea of a summer roller blade trip aimed at raising money and awareness for autism. Tatar’s older brother, Ben, is on the high-functioning end of the autism spectrum, which is made up of disorders characterized by impaired ability to communicate and interact socially. The idea for a roller blade trek gathered momentum as Union classmates joined the effort and donations began pouring in. That is also when the real work of trip planning began, according to Tatar.

“The skate was the easy part,” Tatar said. “The hard part was coordinating the logistics of the events in each major city. Union College families opened up their homes to us, providing food and lodging for 12 nights along the route and Union’s dining services folks were amazingly helpful.”

The trip began on June 28 on Amelia Island, Fla. and ended 53 days later on Aug. 19 in Maine. Joining Tatar were fellow Class of 2007 members Kelly Lannan, Sean Streich, Jason Ortollano and Carson Strang, along with University of Vermont senior Amber Leenstra. The group skated 40 miles a day, taking turns for half-hour stretches while others followed in a car.

Dan Detora, director of dining services at Union, arranged for food, water, Powerbars and Gatorade for the skaters to be picked up at colleges along to way. Union sororities and clubs held events to raise money for the cause and hundreds of alumni came out to meet and, in many cases, join the skating crew.

“We were fortunate to have such an amazing network of support,” Tatar explained. “Nate Leaman, Union College men’s hockey coach, trained us and hundreds of students and alumni have come out to support us. We couldn’t have done it without all the support from the College.”

Ben Tatar, 25, joined his brother and the roller blading crew for a week near the end of the trip. Ben, a graduate Adirondack Community College, is in many ways a success story and beacon of hope for parents with children with autism spectrum disorders.

“It was great to have Ben along to lighten the humor,” Tatar said. “Especially when he took a spill into a bush in Hartford, bringing Sean along with him. It was even better to have Ben at the events so that parents of young kids, who may be uncertain about autism or their children's futures, could see someone who is impacted by the autism spectrum achieve success.”

Tatar was a goalie and Streich was a defenseman for the men’s hockey team last season. The group is already looking ahead to next summer, when they plan to skate a couple of shorter trips. They have also been contacted by college students interested in a trip from Minnesota to Los Angeles.

“We’re planning to retain half the money raised within the organization to fund education and awareness programs,” Tatar explained. “We’ve targeted the other half to provide grants for children with autism to give kids life opportunities they wouldn’t normally be able to afford.”

 

 

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The right chemistry: Students mix fun, learning at Lincoln Elementary School

Posted on Oct 26, 2007

Chemistry Club, Laura Castellano 09 at Lincoln el

Three Union students joined Priscilla Scaife, widow of popular Chemistry Professor Charles Scaife – known as the “Johnny Appleseed” of science – at Schenectady’s Lincoln Elementary School, where they carried on the tradition of introducing the magic of science to children.

Wearing a white lab coat decorated with felt balloons, Scaife mesmerized the crowd in the gymnasium with everyday items to demonstrate scientific principles in a way that taps into kids’ natural curiosity. In one experiment, she showed what happens when heavy red syrup, white milk and blue oil get together in a jar (they don’t mix).

Priscilla Scaife with class at Lincoln El

Elsewhere in the old brick school on Albany Street during National Chemistry Week, Olga Davydenko ’08, Laura Castellano ’09 and Bowman Potter ’11 provided hands-on lessons in three different classrooms.

“I had a lot of fun,” said Davydenko, president of the Chemistry Club, who taught mixed-age students in Fallon Van Schaick’s class about aerodynamics and air pressure using ping pong balls, funnels, brightly colored bags and straws.

Olga Davydenko chemistry club – Lincoln El

“The message was that when air goes faster above a surface than below that surface, it creates a negative pressure above this surface, which creates a life. This is exactly how airplanes fly.”

Laura Castellano, the Chemistry Club secretary, performed one experiment that always draws a wow. Working in Beth Joy’s 4th grade class, she filled a Ziploc bag with water and then pushed a pencil into it. Because the polymer seals right up, no one ever gets wet.

“I also showed them how two different balls which looked and felt the same had different properties – one bounced and one didn’t – due to the different polymers they were made of,” said Laura. “And I demonstrated several uses of polymers, such as in diapers to absorb the liquid.”

Bowman Potter of the Chemistry Club at Lincoln El.

Bowman Potter ’11 showed a fifth grade class a series of experiments about the differences in density.

The Scaifes’ enormously popular traveling science fair has captivated tens of thousands of youngsters in schools across the country for more than a decade, and locally, teams of Union students have always enjoyed mixing learning and fun with the Scaifes.

“Charlie” Scaife, who specialized in inorganic chemistry, joined the Chemistry Department in 1972 and retired in 2001. He taught a range of courses in inorganic chemistry and designed laboratory experiments for chemistry majors at Union. He and Priscilla, a social worker, caught the eye of the national media with their interactive science instruction, inspiring stories in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Christian Science Monitor and other publications.

“My whole purpose is to say science is easy, science can be fun,” Priscilla Scaife said Thursday, as students in Larry Grimmer’s first grade class eagerly awaited her presentation in the gym-turned-laboratory.

Laura Castellano Chemistry Club – Lincoln El

Ladrina Graham learns about aerodynamics and air pressure.

And if the open faces, raised hands and audible enthusiasm that reverberated in the classrooms are any indication, the program continues to be a big success.

“It’s wonderful for our kids to have the Union students come in and teach,” said Lincoln principal Alan Zemser, who credited teacher Jocelyn Pranis for bring Scaife back to the school after a hiatus following her husband’s death in 2003. “They’ve been doing it for quite some time. Sometimes when somebody from the outside comes in, it brings a different level of excitement.”

 

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A teacher’s legacy

Posted on Oct 26, 2007

 

In September 1968, Professor Byron Nichols, then 25 years old and working to complete a doctorate of international politics from Johns Hopkins University, began teaching political science courses at Union College.

In mid June of next year, at the end his 40th year on campus, Nichols will retire. That will mark the end of a career in which Nichols has built a reputation as a tough but engaging political science professor devoted not only to students but also to improving the craft of teaching.

Professor Byron A. Nichols in 1993.

Ask David Eppler ’82 about choosing classes during his first year on campus in 1978. Despite warnings about Nichols demanding courses, Eppler signed up.

“My fear shifted very quickly to admiration. This was not only somebody who cared deeply about his craft and was a great teacher. But more importantly, he believed in teaching all of us how to think for ourselves,” Eppler said.

To honor Nichols work, a group of his friends, colleagues and former students led by Susan Mullaney Maycock ’72 and former Union Professor Alan Maycock have created the Byron A. Nichols Endowed Fellowship for Faculty Development. The fellowship will be awarded to faculty who develop programs and skills that reflect the quality of intellectual, social and personal interactions that Nichols fostered and developed with students.

“Byron is an amazing force on this campus. As I travel and meet alumni, there is probably no faculty member who is asked about more,” said President Stephen C. Ainlay. “There is an intensity about Byron. He has an inquiring mind that is also a penetrating mind. He presses you. He doesn’t let go. There is no short answer. That quality is so appreciated by our students. He has always created a safe space in which students can take intellectual risks. That the quality of pressing, demanding and expecting, along with creating a protected environment makes a student feel like they are never going to fall very far.”

Organizers hope to give the first three-year award stipend to a faculty member in fall 2009. Fellowship candidates will submit proposals for improving classroom teaching or curriculum to an advisory committee. That committee will select two finalists and the dean of the faculty will determine the winner of Nichols fellowship.

 

Byron A. Nichols Endowed Fellowship for Faculty Development

Goal:  $1 million gifts and pledges by June 2008.

How to give: Call (518) 388-6603 or e-mail Sally Webster at websters@union.edu to make a contribution.

Letters

Send a letter to magazine@union.edu and tell us about your best memory of Professor Byron Nichols.

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Pi Sigma Alpha among nation’s best

Posted on Oct 26, 2007

Union’s chapter of Pi Sigma Alpha, the national political science honor society, recently won a Best Chapter Award for 2006-07.

The awards are given by the national organization to “recognize local chapters that are particularly active in their departments and universities and exhibit high levels of energy and creativity in furthering the goals of the honor society.”

Union won one of five awards given to colleges with fewer than 6,000 students enrolled.

Among other activities, Union’s chapter, established in 1974, sponsors the Pizza & Politics discussion series. Students who have compiled outstanding academic records in political science are eligible, said Prof. Zoe M. Oxley, Political Science Department chair.

Starting this fall, the department is hosting Pi Sigma Alpha’s Undergraduate Journal of Politics. The Union chapter students are serving on the journal's Editorial Board.

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