Posted on Feb 12, 2008

Two was the magic number at the recent Science and Technology Entry Program (STEP) Regional Science Bowl competition as two Union seniors coached two teams of Schenectady County middle and high school students to a second straight “Spirit Award” for enthusiasm and sportsmanship.

STEP encourages historically underrepresented students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math.

Latoya Roper ’08 and Amal Hussnain ’08, volunteers at the Kenney Community Center, have been working with the students after school since November to prepare for the competition.

“Latoya and Amal have inspired and motivated our kids to pursue STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) professions,” said Angela Blair, assistant director for community outreach at Kenney. “Their mentoring has shown our kids that they can achieve success while giving back to the community.”

Roper and Hussnain, who are applying to medical school, are ideal mentors. Roper, a Biochemistry major from Jamaica, N.Y. plans to pursue Teach for America after graduation. Hussnain, from Watervliet, N.Y., is majoring in Biochemistry. An Obenzinger scholar, he plans to spend a year as a research fellow at the National Cancer Institute before entering med school.

The competition, held at Monroe Community College in Rochester, was funded by Union’s STEP, the New York State Education Department and the U.S. Department of Energy.

Posted on Feb 11, 2008

Daniel Mosquera’s documentary, “Sanpachando (San Pacho es pa'l que lo goce)” was selected to participate in the 24^th Chicago Latino Film Festival and in the Caribbean International Film Festival in Barbados, both set for April. The documentary is being contracted with Artmattan Productions for distribution. Based in New York City, Artmattan Productions distributes films that focus on the human experience of black people in Africa, the Caribbean, North and South America and Europe. In addition, Mosquera’s English translation of the Pedro Calderón de la Barca’s XVII century religious play “El gran teatro del mundo (The Great Theater of the World)” has been published in the third volume of “Nahuatl Theater: Spanish Golden Age Drama in Mexican Translation,” edited by Barry D. Sell, Louise M. Burkhart and Elizabeth R. Wright (University of Oklahoma Press, 2008). Mosquera is associate professor of Spanish and Latin American Studies.

An article by Political Science Prof. Terry Weiner, “Touching the Third Rail: Explaining the Failure of Bush's Social Security Initiative,” was published in December in “Politics and Policy,” an official journal of the Policy Studies Organization. The article explores which models of agenda setting can help explain why President Bush was unable to get support for Social Security privatization. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Northeast Political Science Association meetings in Philadelphia. Weiner is the Chauncey H. Winters Professor of Comparative Social Analysis.

Posted on Feb 11, 2008

“Two” was the magic number at the recent Science and Technology Entry Program (STEP) Regional Science Bowl competition as two Union seniors coached two teams of Schenectady County middle and high-school students to a second straight “Spirit Award” for enthusiasm and sportsmanship.

The mission of STEP is to encourage historically underrepresented students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math. Latoya Roper ’08 and Amal Hussnain ’08, both volunteers at the Kenney Community Center, have been working with the students after school since November to prepare for the competition.

“Latoya and Amal have really inspired and motivated our kids to pursue STEM (Science Technology Engineering Math) professions,” said Angela B. Blair, assistant director for community outreach at the Kenney Community Center. “Their mentoring has really made a difference; they have shown our kids that they can achieve success while giving back to the community.”

Roper and Hussnain, who are both applying to medical school, are ideal mentors for STEP. Roper, a biochemistry major from Jamaica, N.Y. plans to join the Teach for America corps after graduation in June. Hussnain hails from Watervliet and is majoring in biochemistry. An Obenzinger scholar, Hussnain plans to spend a year as a research fellow at the National Cancer Institute before entering med school.

“I am proud to say that out of the 25 participating teams, the Spirit Award was awarded to Union's STEP team,” said Hussnain. “It was a great display of team work and professionalism from the kids.”

The competition was held at Monroe Community College in Rochester. STEP coaches enjoyed a tour of the University of Rochester’s medical school and were treated to dinner by a doctor. The high school students and their parents met with students, admission counselors, deans and professors from Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), U of R and Monroe Community College.

The competition was funded by Union's STEP,  the New York State Education Department and the U.S. Department of Energy.

For more information about the program, contact Blair at (518) 388-6609 or blaira@union.edu or visit: http://www.union.edu/Community/Community_Center/step.php.

Posted on Feb 7, 2008

Dance. Eat. Chat.

And raise money to support the Diana Legacy Fund, which helps provide hospice care in sub-Saharan Africa. 

That’s the idea behind the College’s second annual Winter Ball this weekend.

The event is set for Saturday, Feb. 9 in College Park Hall. Ballroom. Dancing lessons begin at 8 p.m. with the Swing Club; other music begins at 9 and continues through midnight. 

“Even if you don’t dance like Fred Astaire or Ginger Rogers, its fun just sitting at the tables, talking with others and watching,” said Prof. Shelton Schmidt, who’s urging one and all to join in.

Thanks to help from UNITAS and the Minervas, the ticket money ($5 for students, $15 for individuals, $25 for couples) will support the Diana fund’s efforts to bring comfort and solace to the dying and their families in poor and neglected parts of the world. The fund works with the Foundation for Hospices in Sub-Saharan Africa (FHSSA). 

The late Diana, Princess of Wales, was committed to helping those struggling with HIV/AIDs.

Winter Ball festivities are open to all faculty, students, Trustees, staff and other members of the Union community. Dress is semi-formal. There’ll be entertainment from the Garnet Minstrels and Dutch Pipers, a sumptuous dinner, cash bar, raffles and a DJ. Tickets are available in advance in Reamer Campus Center (11a.m.-2 p.m.) and at the door.

“Perhaps we can raise enough this year to purchase a small truck with Union College painted on the side for the hospice workers,” Schmidt said.

Those who would like to make a cash contribution can send a check made out to the Diana Legacy Fund to Schmidt at the Economics Department. To learn more about the mission of the fund and about the work of FHSSA, please visit www.fhssa.org. 

Posted on Feb 7, 2008

Photographer Phyllis Galembo will present an illustrated lecture, “Ritual and Religion in the African Diaspora,” Monday, Feb. 11 at 1:50 p.m. in the Fred L. Emerson Auditorium in the Taylor Music Center.

Co-sponsored by the Department of Music and the Africana Studies Program and presented in conjunction with Prof. Tim Olsen’s “Music of Latin America” course, the lecture is free and open to the public.

Galembo has traveled throughout the world observing African-based religious and cultural practices.

Her work has been exhibited at the American Museum of Natural History, the Tang Museum at Skidmore, the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

It is on view through March 30 in the “FarSighted” exhibit at The Albany International Airport Gallery.

Galembo has also produced several books of photographs: “Dressed for Thrills: 100 Years of Halloween/Masquerade Costume”; “Vodou: Visions and Voices of Haiti”; “Aso-ebi, Cloth of the Family”; and “Divine Inspiration from Benin to Bahia.”

Writing in The New York Times, Roberta Smith said, “Her images are both portraits and documents, but their combination of dignity, conviction and formal power – especially their vibrant colors and often extraordinary altars – gives them a votive aspect similar to European paintings of saints or kings.”

Galembo earned a master’s of fine arts in photography and printmaking from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. She has taught at the University at Albany since 1978. Samples of her work can be seen at www.galembo.com.

For more information, call 388-6563.