Posted on Apr 9, 2008

Antiwar activist Cindy Sheehan will speak Friday, April 11, at 1 p.m. in the Reamer Campus Center auditorium.

The talk, sponsored by Campus Action, is free and open to the public.

Sheehan’s son Casey was killed in Iraq in 2004. The California woman gained notoriety in the summer of 2005 when she staged a 26-day roadside vigil outside President Bush’s Texas ranch in a vain attempt to speak with Bush about the war. The vigil attracted thousands of supporters to Crawford, Texas, and sparked other protests and marches across the country.

Last May, Sheehan announced she was quitting her antiwar activism to devote more time to her other children. But earlier this year she filed to run as an independent against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat whom Sheehan blames for perpetrating the war in Iraq.

Campus Action aims to support the growth of social change at Union, within the community and in society at large.

In the past, the group has erected an Iraq War Memorial display, with stakes lining the walkways of campus to commemorate every American soldier killed in Iraq.

Posted on Apr 9, 2008

Mike Huckabee – former Republican presidential candidate, author, rock guitarist and ordained Baptist minister – will speak Monday, April 14, at 6:30 p.m. in Memorial Chapel.

HIs talk, titled "The Pursuit of the Presidency and the Perfectly Insane American Process," is free and open to the public. Doors open at 6 p.m. Seating is limited, with priority for members of the campus community.

Huckabee surprised many by winning the Iowa caucuses and seven other presidential primary states, including West Virginia, Alabama and Tennessee. However, the former Arkansas governor struggled to expand his appeal beyond Southerners, conservative Christians and others and was forced to drop out of the race March 4.

He remains a candidate to be Republican nominee Sen. John McCain’s running mate in the fall election.

“Mike Huckabee is politically and culturally foreign to many Union students,” said sophomore Abby Cable, president of Union’s College Republicans group. “His appearance will provoke controversy and encourage students to become more engaged and active during this historical election cycle.”

Huckabee, 53, became governor of Arkansas in 1996 after Jim Tucker resigned. He was elected to a full, four-year term in 1998 and re-elected in 2002. An ordained Southern Baptist minister, he continues to lecture across the country on education reform and health care reform.

He gained national attention for his own struggles with obesity, losing more than 100 pounds since being diagnosed with Type II diabetes in 2003. He is the author of several books, including “Quit Digging Your Grave with a Knife and Fork.”

He also plays bass guitar in his rock band, Capitol Offense.

“Despite being a registered Democrat, I feel like this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said Will Friedman ’10, acting president of the Speakers Forum, sponsor of the lecture. “Throughout the campaign, Gov. Huckabee was one of the few presidential candidates who stayed true to his beliefs without making personal attacks on any of the other candidates. That is a key reason why we decided to invite him to Union.”

Posted on Apr 9, 2008

An ad hoc committee has been formed to consider the tenure of Kelly Black in the Mathematics Department. The committee members are Professors Victoria Martinez (Modern Languages), Karl Zimmermann (Mathematics), Ashraf Ghaly (Engineering) and Robert Olberg (Biology), Chair. Any member of the campus community wishing to offer written or oral testimony concerning Prof. Black’s teaching, scholarship or College service should contact Professor Olberg (6509, olbergr@union.edu) or any other member of the committee.

Posted on Apr 8, 2008

Angela Blair grew up in Schenectady and first got to know the Kenney Community Center as a seventh grader participating in the Science and Technology Entry Program (STEP), which provides academic support and enrichment to middle and high school students.

Now Blair, who has served as assistant director of the Community Center for the past five years, is the new director, overseeing STEP and a number of other student-led community outreach programs.

She replaces Gretchel Hathaway Tyson, who recently was named senior director for Campus Diversity and Affirmative Action.

“I feel blessed to have come full circle – I started out as a STEP participant and now I have the privilege of heading the program,” Blair said. “I hope to expand on the foundation Dr. Tyson built by increasing the number of children that the Kenney Center is able to touch through what I hope will be increased funding and increased student commitment.”

In addition to STEP, which helps prepare students for pre-professional degree programs in scientific, technical and health-related fields, Blair will oversee the Homework and Skills Development, Junior Science and America Reads programs.

She also will be responsbile for Studying Arithmetic in Literature (SAIL), Union Community Action Reaching Everyone (UCARE) and the Obenzinger Scholars Program. 

“I absolutely love this work,” Blair said. “Being surrounded by dedicated student volunteers, bright kids, grateful families and an awesome VISTA volunteer makes it so enjoyable.”

Blair received her B.A. in Spanish from Regis College in 2003. She is currently completing work on her M.B.A. from Union Graduate College.

Posted on Apr 8, 2008

Steve Schmidt, professor of Economics, and Therese McCarty, professor of Economics, dean of the faculty and vice president for Academic Affairs, have authored a paper, “Estimating Permanent and Transitory Income Elasticities of Education Spending from Panel Data,” which has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Public Economics. The paper develops a methodology for correctly estimating the effect that household income has on education spending in states when several years of data are used. This methodology can be used for understanding the relationship between changes in income and changes in other types of government spending in states and localities.

Gretchel Hathaway Tyson, senior director for Campus Diversity and Affirmative Action and former director of the Kenney Community Center, recently received a plaque from the Union College Science and Technology Entry Program (STEP) for her 10 years of distinguished service. Tyson also was honored at the  annual STEP competition in Albany in March. Union STEP participants from Schenectady and Shaker high schools, and Central Park, Iroquois, Mont Pleasant and Schalmont middle schools performed at the anniversary competition. STEP helps prepare students for pre-professional degree programs in scientific, technical and health-related fields.

Daniel Mosquera, associate professor of Spanish and Latin American Studies, was invited to attend the Conference on Afro-Romance Film and Culture earlier this month at the University of Missouri, Columbia, where he read a paper titled “Privatizing Popular Culture: The Feast of San Pacho Goes to Town (under the auspices of the BAT Foundation).” The paper examines corporate approaches to – and complicities with – popular culture and the latter’s subsequent privatization. His documentary, “Sanpachando,” was screened as part of the conference.

Nic Zarrelli ’97, director of Purchasing, has been appointed associate dean for Academic Affairs, Zarelli, who graduated Summa Cum Laude from Union with a major in Economics and a minor in Mathematics, spent two years in General Electric’s Financial Management Program, followed by finance and budget work for GE Energy, ICG Commerce in Philadelphia and PricewaterhouseCoopers. His new position is effective April 28. 

Samuel Amanuel, assistant professor of Physics, and Sanford Sternstein of RPI presented their paper, “Enthalpic Relaxation of Silica-Polyvinyl Acetate Nanocomposites,” at the American Physical Society meeting in New Orleans in March. Their thermal measurements on glassy polyvinyl acetate revealed that nano silica particles reduced the extent of relaxations in the polymer. This could imply that nano particles can alter the aging mechanism of polymers and improve their shelf life.