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Union to honor Sen. Farley today
Union will pay tribute to New York State Sen. Hugh T. Farley for his help in advancing the sciences and engineering at Union in a ceremony in Butterfield Hall Thursday, June 5, at 4 p.m.
President Stephen C. Ainlay and the Board of Trustees invite all members of the Union community to attend.
Sen. Farley, who represents the state’s 44th district, led efforts to secure $5 million in legislative funding for a collaborative project among Superpower Inc., Union and Schenectady County Community College.
Union received $1.7 million of the state grant for mechanical, microscopy and quality control testing equipment; a clean room and characterization laboratory; and internship and professional development programs.
The collaboration is aimed at developing a workforce for Superpower’s commercial production of superconductiong wire. The Schenectady-based company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Intermagnetics General Corporation, was created in 2000 to address the emerging market for high-temperature superconductivity. It uses core capabilities in materials, cryogenics and magnetics to develop fault current limiters, second generation (2G wire) and related electric power components for power cables, transformers, motors and generators.
The grant money was designed to help Union and its two partners develop the highly skilled technical workforce that SuperPower and other related high tech industries will need in the 21st century, said Ronald Bucinell, the Thomas J. Watson, Sr. and Emma Watson Day Professor of Mechanical Engineering and department chair.
“Union is very grateful for Sen. Farley’s ongoing support,” Bucinell said. “His leadership in this regard is key to the future of sciences and engineering at Union and in the Capital Region.”
The U.S. Department of Energy has ranked SuperPower as the top development program among its peers, and Sen. Farley has described the business and education collaboration as “transformational” and “reflective of Schenectady’s history of innovation.”
Among those speaking at Thursday’s ceremony will be President Ainlay; Vice President for College Relations Thomas Gutenberger; Prof. Bucinell; and Charles Wood ’08, a Mechanical Engineering major.
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Greek awards celebrate successes, achievements
The presentation of Union’s first Greek Awards engaged a full house in Memorial Chapel last week.
The awards and recognition ceremony, initiated by Timothy Dunn, director of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs, were given for both chapter and individual accomplishments. The event is one of many ways in which Dunn is seeking to broadcast the positive aspects and many successes of the Greek experience to the campus.
"It is important to the health and longevity of the Greek system that such outstanding work and these amazing students be recognized," Dunn said.
Awards ceremony winners were:
– David Wagenseil (1978) Memorial Award: Alexander Carrese ’08, Sigma Chi
– Frederick B. Hawley, Jr. Memorial Award: David Conelias ’08, Sigma Phi
– Greek Woman of the Year: Kelly Hurley ’08, Sigma Delta Tau
– Alumni Recognition Award: Jason Oshins ’87, Alpha Epsilon Pi, and Ridgely Webster Harrison ’03, Sigma Phi
– Staff Member of the Year: Molly MacElroy, assistant director of Residential Life
– Faculty Member of the Year: Deidre Hill-Butler, assistant professor of Sociology
– Greek Scholars: Joshua DeBartolo ’08, Delta Kappa Epsilon; Carol Shotzbarger ’08, Gamma Phi Beta; Jessica Rudin ’08, Sigma Delta Tau; Mark Sottile ’08, Theta Delta Chi
– Awards of Distinction: Felisa Williams ’08, Lambda Pi Chi; Virginia Taft ’08, Sigma Delta Tau; Na'eem Crawford-Muhhamed ’08, Alpha Phi Alpha; Elizabeth Johnson ’08, Gamma Phi Beta; Aaron Davidowitz ’08, Alpha Epsilon Pi
– President's Recognition Cup: Dmitriy Geler ’08, Alpha Epsilon Pi, and Ashley Banta’08, Gamma Phi Beta
– Philanthropy of the Year: Lambda Pi Chi
– Most Improved Fraternity: Sigma Chi
– Most Improved Sorority: Sigma Delta Tau
– Fraternity of the Year: Sigma Phi
– Sorority of the Year: Gamma Phi Beta
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EXHIBITS
Through June 15
Visual Arts Building
Burns Atrium Art Gallery
Senior Art Exhibition
Works by Molly Freeman and Clare Stone; reception set for Saturday, June 7, 2-4 p.m.
Through June 12
Humanities Gallery
Aesthetic Divisions
Works from former Union artist-in-residence Arlene Baker's “Silk Spaces” series
Through June 15
Mandeville Gallery
Nott Memorial
Senior Invitational
Featuring the work of Ben Atkins, Robbie Flick, Jen Libous, Kaitlin Pickett, Amanda Silvestri, Rachel Start, Clare Stone and Walter Yund; closing reception set for Saturday, June 14, 2-4 p.m., at the Nott Memorial.
Through June 16
Wikoff Student Gallery
Nott Memorial
My Trip to India: Photographs by Sara Jacobson ‘10
Featuring the work of Sara Jacobson ‘10 taken during winter break
Through August
Global Visions Gallery
Grant Hall
New Eyes: Images of Daily Life in Vietnam
Features 20 photographs by students from Union and Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Geneva, N.Y., taken during the fall 2007 color digital photography class in Vietnam. Nineteen students from the two schools spent 97 days armed with cameras and immersed in the language and culture of Vietnam. They came away with nearly 1,200 images. This show was curated by Jen Libous ’08 and Martin Benjamin, professor of Visual Arts and director of the Vietnam term abroad.
Through November 29
Jackson's Garden
North side of Hans Groot's Kill
Pendulum Labyrinth
Created by artists D. Shayne Aldrich ’98 and Tina Tacorian ’01. The labyrinth is a mystical design of unknown origin, rich in universal symbolism. Today, all over the world, people work with this ancient symbol in a variety of ways, yet no one has unlocked its mystery. The walk-able design, created by D. Shayne Aldrich ’98 and Tina Tacorian ’01 and inspired by the movement of a pendulum, is a reference to the passage of time. Its faceted perimeter echoes the deeply symbolic architecture of the Nott Memorial.
June 6 through June 15
Nott Memorial, first floor
Arnold Bittleman: Selections from the Union College Permanent Collection
This independent study final project by Liza Turkel ’08 brings together a number of works by Arnold Bittleman never before shown together. Bittleman was a professor of Art at Union College from 1966 until his premature death in 1985. His works are in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Brooklyn Museum, among many others. This exhibition was made possible with help from Rachel Seligman, director of The Mandeville Gallery and curator of the Permanent Collection, and Prof. David Ogawa, associate professor and chair of the Visual Arts Department. An opening reception is set for Friday, June 6, 5–6 p.m. at the Nott.
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College raises more than $70K for charity
Union clubs, Minervas, athletes, Greek organizations and members of the general campus community raised $70,275 for individual charities and causes this term, everything from health care organizations to earthquake relief. Here's a sampling of their efforts:
- Dozens of clubs, Greek organizations, students, faculty and staff contributed to the success of Relay for Life, raising nearly $34,000 for the American Cancer Society.
- Tri Delta Sorority raised more than $800 for St. Jude’s Hospital through its annual pancake breakfast and a clothing sale co-sponsored with Golub House.
- The Brothers of the Alpha Delta Phi Fraternity raised more than $100 through pizza and grill sales to help sponsor a youth in Uganda.
The campus community rallied for Relay for Life Friday, May 16, 2008, raising nearly $34,000 for the American Cancer Society. (Courtesy Matt Milless) - The third annual Domestic Violence and Rape Awareness Banquet, “Out of the Silence, Finding Our Voices,” sponsored by Las Hermanas of Tau Chapter of Latinas Promoviendo Comunidad/Lambda Pi Chi Sorority, raised approximately $4,000 to be split between the National Organization of Sisters of Color Ending Sexual Assault, A Long Walk Home, Inc. and the YWCA of Schenectady.
- Sigma Delta Tau’s gala brought in $8,000 for the Prevent Child Abuse organization.
- The annual April fashion show, Catwalk for a Cause, raised more than $500 for Student Advocacy for Equitable Recovery (SAFER), the Tulane student recovery project with which Union students worked over winter break.
- Phi Delta Theta raised $350 for the ALS Association through its annual car bash event
- May’s campus-wide Run, Ribs and Reggae, organized by the Student Athlete Advisory Committee, raised more than $600 for the Ronald McDonald House.
May’s campus-wide “Run, Ribs and Reggae” event, organized by the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), raised more than $600 for the Ronald McDonald House. (Courtesy Matt Milless) - Unitas partnered with Toyota to place a van in sub-Saharan Africa. The next goal is to fill it with medicine, good Sand supplies and health care workers. Through the success of February’s Winter Gala and the 10th annual Bob Dylan birthday tribute, the group raised more than $6,000 for the Foundation for Hospices in sub-Saharan Africa.
- The Asian Student Union held a faculty fundraising event for earthquake relief in the Sichuan Province of China, which brought in more than $2,500.
- Sigma Chi's annual Derby Days raised $1,525 to support The Elephant in the Living Room, an organization that strives to call attention to domestic violence issues in the Capital Region and make Schenectady’s Domestic Violence Policies and Response a statewide model. The brothers said it is imperative that men become involved in the effort to end Domestic Violence.
The women’s ice-hockey team raised $11,800 for the American Cancer Society with their 2008 “Pink at the Rink.” - Alpha Epsilon Pi partnered with Wold and Green Houses to host an outdoor barbecue and movie screening of “Wet Hot American Summer.” The event raised $100 for the Red Cross Chinese earthquake victims.
- The women’s ice hockey team raised $11,800 for the American Cancer Society with Pink at the Rink. The league-wide ECAC effort raised $40,000 for the charity.
- Students from each intercollegiate sport formed a team to help with the Barrett Street Habitat for Humanity House, the football team volunteered time working with students from the Zoeller Elementary School and the men’s ice-hockey team helped serve thanksgiving meals in the area.
In lieu of monetary contributions, which are forbidden per Minerva House guidelines, students in the Minervas partnered with other student organizations and volunteered their time and services for various causes.
- Beuth House participated in “The Iraqi Student Project Kickoff Event” to educate the campus and community about the project which will bring an Iraqi student to campus.
- Sorum House members joined other Minervas, Greeks, athletes and academic and administrative departments helping to rebuild the Habitat for Humanity House on Barrett Street and preparing lunch for the many workers.
- Minervas joined other campus groups to help with the Kenney Community Center’s annual U-Care Day
- In addition to raising money for St. Jude’s Hospital, Golub House made breakfast for the Crop Walk participants and joined in the Minerva Games.