Posted on Apr 11, 2008

Michael Williams, a Krieger-Eisenhower professor and chair of the philosophy department at Johns Hopkins University, launches the spring term’s Philosophy Speaker Series Thursday, April 17.

His talk, “The Structure of Epistemic Justification,” begins at 4:30 p.m. in the Schaffer Library Phi Beta Kappa Room. It is free and open to the public.

Williams received his bachelor’s from Oxford University and his doctorate from Princeton. His main areas of interest are epistemology, philosophy of language and the history of modern philosophy.

Here is a schedule of the remaining lectures in the series, which is sponsored by the Philosophy Department. All talks will be held in the Schaffer Library Phi Beta Kappa Room at 4:30 p.m.

May 1: Karl Ameriks, University of Notre Dame, “Kant’s First Historical Thesis”

May 15: Ernest Sosa, Brown University, “Epistemology Unified”

May 29: Michael Morreau, University of Maryland “The Straw and the Camel’s Back: Contextual Solutions to the Paradox of the Heap”

Funding for the series is provided by the Ichabod Spencer Foundation. For more information, contact Department Chair Raymond Martin at (518) 388-6376 or at martinr@union.edu

Posted on Apr 11, 2008

The Times Union covered the 11th annual National Undergraduate Bioethics Conference, a two-day event focused on the “The Human Use of Human Beings in Medicine and Science."

Union was the first liberal arts college chosen by the American Society for Bioethics and Humanties (ASBH) to host the conference. Previous hosts were Princeton University, the University of Virginia, University of Notre Dame, Emory University, Boston University, Texas A&M, University of Michigan, University of Pennsylvania and Michigan State University.

To read the story, click here (registration may be required).

Posted on Apr 11, 2008

Union College was the host for the 11th annual National Undergraduate Bioethics Conference, a two-day event focused on the “The Human Use of Human Beings in Medicine and Science."

The conference, held April 4 and 5, was planned and organized by students and covered topics in the field of bioethics and discussions led by experts from across the country.

The Gazette previewed the conference and also mentioned the school's  Rapaport Ethics Across the Curriculum Initiative, which was one of the conference sponsors.

To read the story, click here (registration may be required). 

Posted on Apr 11, 2008

Spring has officially arrived on campus – flip-flops have been sited! After a quiet week during spring-break, the campus is once again buzzing with activity. Although we are just beginning the term, the final exam schedule is already posted.

Before we know it, it will be graduation time. Commencement 2008 is 10:00 am, Sunday, June 15^th. The following link is a helpful list of frequently asked questions about the weekend. http://www.union.edu/Commencement/faq.php . If you have any other questions, please contact Judy Ludwig at ludwigj@union.edu.

The 18th Annual Steinmetz Symposium will be held on Friday, May 2nd and Saturday, May 3rd, 2008 and will include concurrent sessions for oral presentations, posters, performances, and art exhibits. Most sessions will be held on Friday and classes will be cancelled as appropriate to allow all students to attend Steinmetz sessions. For more information, please visit http://www.union.edu/Steinmetz/ . On Saturday, May 3, many students will be officially recognized for a wide range of achievements during the academic year at Prize Day in Memorial Chapel. We hope that you will consider visiting the campus to see students presenting their current projects and research at the Steinmetz Symposium. The symposium is Union’s opportunity to highlight the work of our students and we encourage family members, friends and faculty to visit the sessions. 

            News from campus…

Minerva Program
The latest Minerva Dinner, Dessert and Discussion, held Monday, April 7 in Wold House was a wonderful success – 21 students and faculty attended. The guest speaker was poet, playwright and essayist, Jay Wright. Wright’s honors include the 2000 Lannan Literary Award for Poetry, an American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters Literary Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship, a MacArthur Fellowship, an Ingram Merrill Foundation Award, a National Endowment for the Arts grant, a Rockefeller Brothers Theological Fellowship and the Oscar Williams and Gene Derwood Award. Most recently, Wright was named the 2005 recipient of Yale University’s Bollingen Prize for American Poetry.

Health Services
We at Health Services are gearing up for our annual Health Fair.  Students can get their body fat analyzed, learn about the services of the AIDS Council, American Cancer Society, and Stop DWI.  There will be a chiropractor doing biomechanics, a dietician, students with information on eating disorders and much more. Participate in a fog goggle course, it’s quite an experience! Please encourage your son/daughter to come on May 15^th from 11am-3pm at Old Chapel.

It’s allergy season- please send extra tissues in those goodie boxes and perhaps some extra band aids for those occasional cuts we seem to sustain in the Spring.

Becker Career Center
As we welcome back the students from their spring break, many students will begin to think about their summer internships or full-time jobs. If you are interested in helping your student to secure an appropriate opportunity, we would suggest focusing on the following areas:

Resume
Whether your son or daughter is seeking a summer job, internship, full-time employment, or graduate school, a resume will be necessary. 

Cover Letter
For many opportunities, a cover letter is necessary.  Students should know how to craft an effective cover letter.

Networking and Informational interviewing
The most effective way to learn about and secure opportunities is through networking and informational interviewing.  Networking and informational interviewing are important skills that will help students manage their career for a lifetime.

Interviewing
As with other experiences, the more time the student takes to prepare and practice the more likely they will perform better.

eRecruiting
Each student has access (on and off campus) to our jobs/internship database, known as eRecruiting. The eRecruiting database contains well over a hundred full-time and internship opportunities from employers who want Union College students. These opportunities represent the low-hanging fruit that all students should look at on a regular basis. Students can certainly broaden their search beyond eRecruiting, but eRecruiting should be their first stop.

The following employers are coming to Union College!

April 14: National Grid – information session, Becker Career Center, 5:00pm
April 15: US Marines – information table, Reamer Campus Center, 10:00am-2:00pm
April 21: NYS Office of Attorney General – information session, Becker Career Center, 4:30pm
April 23: Roots and Wisdom – information table, Reamer Campus Center, 11:00am-2:00pm and/or information session, Becker Career Center, 4:30pm

The Becker Career Center can help your student with all of these areas.  All the student needs to do is call 518.388.6176 or stop in for some assistance.

Also parents, if you are aware of internship or full-time employment opportunities that are appropriate for our students, we would be happy to post the opportunity in eRecruiting.  You can either call us at 518.388.6176, or complete our Employer Options Form at http://www.union.edu/Career/forms/employer_options2.php.

New Theme Houses
The Student Affairs Council is pleased to announce that Dickens, Iris, and Global Experience theme houses have been approved for next year.  Congratulations to the new houses and thank you to all the students who participated in proposing new theme houses; we had a record number of applicants that made these decisions very difficult.  Please see below for information on these new theme houses. 

Dickens House
Dickens House is a new theme house that is centered around literature.  We are a diverse set of students who come from all majors and who also enjoy a good book during the small amounts of free time we have here at Union.  We hope that next year we will be able to work closely with the English Department, YAWP, and the campus community to come up with exciting new events such as a book club and Writer's Cafe. 

Iris House
Iris House is a house designed to raise awareness and support for members and allies of the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, and queer) community, and to create a comfortable, inviting space for all those who need it.  

The Global Experience House
As a new theme house on the Union College Campus for the 2008-2009 academic school year, the Global Experience house intends to introduce Union College community and local community members to the different cultures and wonders of countries from around the globe. The Global Experience house will be putting on events for the community throughout the next school year. These events range from guest speakers to fundraisers. As a new house on campus we hope to have a positive effect on the community.   

Parents Fund Corner: Parent Volunteers
As Chair of the Parents Fund and parent of Peter '09, I work with parent volunteers who, through telephone solicitation and written appeals, ask fellow parents to join them in making a gift to Union. Parent Volunteers serve as an important link between the College and fellow parents and also help to provide vital funds for Union. The month of April will mark our Parent Volunteer calling period and will give Union Parents an opportunity to communicate with Parent volunteers.

If you are interested in volunteering or have any questions about the Parents Fund, please feel free to call Elizabeth Epstein, Assistant Director of The Union Fund, at (518)388-6142.

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. You may always give online. For more information, please visit the Parents Fund webpage at www.union.edu/parents/parentsfund, 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. 

                                                            Take care,

                                                            Karen Dumonet, Vanessa ’07 and Sebastian ‘09

                                                            Chairperson, Parents Association

Posted on Apr 10, 2008

The Boston Camerata will celebrate love in the Middle Ages Sunday, April 20 at 3 p.m. in Memorial Chapel as part of Union’s Chamber Concert Series.

Winter weather forced the ensemble to cancel its scheduled Dec. 16 performance of  “A Renaissance Christmas.” All subscription and advance-ticket purchases for that event will be honored Sunday.

The program, “Abbey of Love: Songs of the Troubadours and Trouvères (1200-1400),” features Music Director Joel Cohen, lutes and baritone; Anne Azéma,soprano; and Jesse Lepkoff, flute and recorder.

In addition to songs of the troubadours and trouvères, the program features works by the great 14th-century musician/poet Guillaume de Machaut.

Excerpts from the legend of Tristan and Iseult—from the group’s 1989 recording (re-released in February), which received the coveted “Grand Prix du Disque,”—will also be included.

Founded in 1954, the Boston Camerata preserves and reawakens history through its performances from the Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque eras.

The concert is free for the Union College community, $25 for general admission and $10 for area students. If you purchased advance tickets and are unable to attend, please contact Union’s Event Office at (518) 388-6080 to request a refund.

For more information on the Series, call (518) 372-3651; for ticket information, visit http://www.union.edu/ConcertSeries.