Greetings from a frosty campus! Although we don’t have much snow, the temperatures and wind have been biting…students are actually bundling up to go to class! But here we are in week six of winter term – students are busy with mid-terms and projects. Now might be a good time to check in with them to see how they are handling the stress.
As was announced last week, Union’s Commencement speaker this June will be Brown University’s President Ruth J. Simmons. Simmons, a prominent national leader in higher education and the first African-American president of an Ivy League institution. She is noted for her commitment to diversity and engineering, two key initiatives that are also integral to the Union Campus. If you did not receive the announcement, here is the link http://www.union.edu/N/DS/s.php?s=7641
Here are some parent and student related articles that may be of interest to you…
From the Wall Street Journal – Where is the Love? Students Eschew Campus Romance http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120172523751229601.html
From the Chronicles of Higher Education – Surveys of Students Challenge “Helicopter Parent” Stereotype
http://chronicle.com/temp/email2.php?id=3JHdcM2Xpwqp6gp2WD8mM2hb6QJ69g63
And now onto News from Campus…
Dining Services
We are celebrating Black History Month at all dining locations. Look for food specials featuring African, Caribbean, Southern Soul, Cajun and Creole recipes.
Hillel/Jewish Programs
Registration for Taglit-Birthright Israel: Hillel trips will open on Feb. 12th at 10 am. Students can register either at http://hillel.birthrightisrael.com or at www.freeisraeltrip.org. If they register at the former site, they will have automatically selected the Hillel trips. If they register at the latter, they must select Hillel trips. Our Union trip will be Discover Israel, and within that category they must select Union College. We will not know the exact dates of our trip for some time yet. However, the trip will match our academic schedule and usually begins a day or two after graduation and lasts for 10 days. One cannot necessarily count on other trip providers' trips fitting into our schedule. And they also may not know their dates until it is too late to make a change. We will also not know right away how many seats we have been allocated. That will largely depend on how many paid-up registrations we have. Deposits are refundable for quite a long time after registration so if students are at all considering going, it makes sense to make their deposits immediately to insure that there will be seats available for them. Another important consideration: Although we do not know yet when registration is supposed to close, registration often closes earlier than advertised.
Other big news: Alumnus Marvin Katz '37, who founded the Jewish Chaplaincy ENDOWMENT FUND, now age 91, has offered us a major challenge grant for the year. He has offered to match contributions received up to $20,000. The purpose of the Endowment Fund is to guarantee a salary for a half-time Hillel Director at Union for the future. Funding for salaries at present is based on very soft funding pieced together from Hillel International and Union annual fund donations to the Jewish Chaplaincy Fund. If you are able to help us avail ourselves of this matching grant, please be in touch.
An impressive number of students turned out for the first of what will be hopefully a series of Rosh Chodesh events for women organized in a cooperative effort between Hillel and Chabad. The discussion was so meaningful that the planned art project was postponed in order to continue the exchange.
Students who returned from our winter Taglit-Birthright Israel: Hillel trip are busy working together with Bonnie Cramer and Emily Feldman, our Grinspoon Israel Advocacy intern, to create a beautiful art display of some of their excellent photos. The display will take place in one of the Minerva houses and will open with a cocktail party.
A considerable group of students are actively involved in tutoring in a Schenectady elementary school through ROAR.
If you have other questions not addressed in this email, please be in touch. You can contact either Bonnie at cramerb@union.edu or at sepsci@msn.com or me, Margo, at strosbm2@union.edu or strosberg@aol.com. All students who have registered as Jewish at Union have received a comprehensive email like this one. As always we thank you for your ongoing support. Margo
Student Activities
Student Activities has been keeping busy with many programs and events! Ski Club has been sponsoring weeknight trips to Jiminy Peak and several Saturday trips to places like Okemo & Sugarbush! Our club sports and martial arts groups remain active through games and practices. Students love bowling–and they can go for free on trips sponsored by the Bowling Club! The comedy series continues to be a popular destination every Wednesday night. Your student can win money using his or her knowledge about pop culture and current events at the Think Fast game show. Orisirisi will be here so students can learn about the beauty and poignancy of African life and culture by attending this amazing performance. They can also hear firsthand about the genocide in Darfur with a visit by two Darfuri speakers in "Voices from Darfur". And these are just a sampling of the many things going on this term!
Parents of Seniors: Don't worry! If your student didn't get his or her photo taken in January, Carlyn Studios will be back in the Spring term for another round of photos! We will keep you updated on what week they will be here.
Becker Career Center
As many of know, effective networking is by far and away the most successful means of securing job/internship opportunities. As we share with our students, however, networking is not easy. If it were easy, everyone would do it. Networking requires the courage to be willing to get out of your comfort zone.
This month we will be conducting our Career Fair, which is a terrific opportunity to network. The Career Fair will give the students a chance to network with company representatives for the purposes of securing internship or full-time opportunities, or just exploring different companies and occupations to get a better feel for areas of interest.
The Career Fair will take place on Tuesday, February 19, from 4-7pm. In addition, we will be offering two career fair preparation sessions to help students get the most of the career fair experience. The first preparation session will be held on February 12, for 6-7pm, in Fox Hall, and the second session will be held on February 18, from 6-7, in the Becker Career Center. Please encourage your student to attend both the Career Fair and one of the preparation sessions.
It is important to note that professional dress is required at the Career Fair. We require professional dress for two reasons; One, we want students to be sufficiently impressive so they receive additional consideration after the career fair, and two, while it’s true that employers typically choose to go to colleges/universities because of their majors, employers choose to return to colleges/universities because of their impression of the students. So, professional dressed students benefit both the student and the College.
If you (your employer) would like to participate in our Career Fair, just let us know. The Career Fair is limited to 50 employers and participation will be on a first come first served basis.
As always, if you have internship or full-time employment opportunities we would be happy to post the opportunity for our students. Please call us at 518.388.6176, or email Laura Leib at leibl@union.edu. Thank you, Bob
Minerva Programs
The College Park Hall Ballroom was at overflow capacity on February 9 as students, faculty and staff gathered for the annual Winter Ball. This year the Ball was a kickoff benefit for The Diana Legacy Fund. Named after the late Princess Diana, the Fund provides hospice care for those dying from HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa.
After a visit during the Fall Term from Naomi Tutu, daughter of Desmond Tutu, the Union community has rallied around the Legacy Fund as a cause. The ultimate aim is to provide enough funding through several fundraisers to purchase an SUV to transport drugs and health care aids to remote regions of the subcontinent.
The Minerva Dessert and Discussion Series is proving to be a tremendous campus experience. Our third guest is coming to Sorum House on Tuesday, February 19. Darra Goldstein is a professor of Russian at Williams, but also is a winner of the Julia Child Cookbook of the Year Award. She and Dining Services will collaborate in serving a terrific Russian influenced meal, the menu of which is at the end of the message–right after this clip from the Cincinnati Enquirer, which should pique your interest. Think about coming for a different food experience, and also to engage in conversation about Russia and the former Soviet Union with Darra.
The Minerva Speaker Series brings lecturers from all walks of life to share thoughts and ideas with students and draws them out of their shells to discuss “hot”, sometimes controversial or scholarly topics. Last week, been Regan Hoffman, Editor-in-Chief of POZ magazine, led a compassionate discussion with students about the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in the United States and the growing need for awareness. To hear Regan’s story, please visit http://www.kennethcole.com/thinkers/bio5.asp
Upcoming speakers include David Zaminski, Families of September 11; George Daley, M.D. Ph.D, stem cell researcher and Rob Caughlin, Speaker on Environmental Politics and Coastal Protection.
For the past two years the "Minerva Dessert and Discussion Series" has been made possible by the generosity of two Current Parents through an annual gift of $25,000. This year we are looking to other parents to match this exceptional gift, which is used to cover the cost of the speakers. This series, open to all Union students, is another great example of a parental investment toward the enrichment of your student's college experience. If you are interested in contributing to part, or all, of this wonderful program, please contact Pam Ritter, in College Relations.
The Parents Fund Corner: About Student Affiliates
The Affiliates Program mission is for students to contact alumni, former and current parents, and friends of the College on behalf of The Union Fund. The Parents Fund is an important component of The Union Fund, which provides support for scholarships, academics, term abroad programs, library materials, athletics, student organizations, and many other college programs each year.
The Affiliates Winter Calling period focused on contacting Parents from January 20th until February 5th. During this period, the Affiliates raised $23,316.50 for The Parents Fund. I would like to thank the many parents who gave when they were called by a Student Affiliate. Now until March 3, 2008, the Affiliates will be focusing on contacting alumni to drive participation in The Union Fund.
The success of this program can be attributed to twenty-six young men and women. As Union students they dedicate their time and actively participate in the over all goals of the Union Fund office. The Union College Affiliates program is a great way for students to develop communication skills and support the College. They enjoy talking with all parents. When they call you, ask them about their course of study and what is happening on campus.
I would also like to express thanks to the many parents who responded positively to the January letter and participated in The Parents Fund. It’s not too late to participate, the fund year continues until June 30, 2008. You may always give online. For more information, please visit the Parents Webpage at www.union.edu/parents/parentsfund
Thank you for your support and for your consideration of a gift this year. Every gesture, no matter how great or small, supports our students and faculty at Union and has an immediate impact. Vivian Falco (Peter ’09), Parents Fund Chairperson
As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at Parents_Association@union.edu. I hope that all of your students are having a great term so far!
Take care,
Karen Dumonet, Vanessa ’07 and Sebastian ‘09
Chairperson, Parents Association
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