Posted on Oct 13, 2009

Samson O.A. “Sam” Ullmann, professor of English emeritus, died Oct. 11, 2009, at his home at 1148 Rugby Road, Schenectady. He was 87.

A specialist in Victorian literature and modern drama, he taught at Union from 1957 to 1992.

A native of New York City, he went on to earn an A.B. and Ph.D. from Harvard University, and a master’s degree from Stanford University.

His edition of Sir Leslie Stephen's volume of essays, Men, Books, and Mountains, was published by Hogarth Press and the University of Minnesota Press in 1956. In 1989, the University of Michigan Press published his edition of The Yale Manuscript: Matthew Arnold, drawn from a collection of Arnold's writings held in the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library of Yale University. Rossetti, Stillman, and the Union College "Willowwood" manuscripts: with two previously unpublished drawings by Dante Gabriel Rossetti appeared from the Friends of the Union College Library in 1985.

Prof. Ullmann split the year between his home on Rugby Road and an apartment he kept in London. Between November and March, he might average three or four plays a week at London’s West End, according to Prof. Josef Schmee, a colleague and neighbor.

Prof. Ullmann regularly attended campus plays and the Union College Concert Series. He also recently sponsored a series of works by local playwrights at Proctor’s Theater.

Funeral arrangements are pending.

Posted on Oct 12, 2009

The Union College Dance Team has organized “Dance Days,” a fundraiser that is sure to keep everyone on their toes. Children ages 8-13 may take a dance class, play music games and learn an original dance routine during one or all of the next three Sundays. The cost is $5 per child per session.

The event will be held in the dance studio on the first floor of the Visual Arts Building Oct. 18 and 25, and Nov. 8, 11 a.m.-noon (ages 8-10) and noon-1 p.m. (ages 11-13). All participants must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

To reserve a space, contact Santos Avila ’08, Kenney Community Center

Community Outreach Specialist, at avilas@union.edu.Questions? Contact Lisa Crescenzo ’11, crescenl@union.edu or Sara Mark, marks@union.edu. 

The Union College Dance Team performs during half-time at home basketball and football games.

Posted on Oct 12, 2009

Rudy Nydegger, professor of psychology and of management and psychology at Union Graduate College, recently gave a paper, titled “The Challenges in Managing Virtual Teams,” at the International Business and Economic Research Conference in Las Vegas. His co-presenter was his daughter, Liesl Nydegger, a graduate student at Claremont Graduate University in California.

Scott Kirkton, assistant professor of biology, recently co-organized, with Jake Socha of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, a symposium titled, “Insights from Synchrotron X-Ray Imaging and Beyond: Mechanisms and Regulation of Flow Generation in Tracheal Systems,” for the 2nd International Congress of Respiratory Science (ICRS) in Bad Honnef, Germany. In addition, he co-authored the paper, “Synchrotron imaging of the grasshopper tracheal system: Morphological and physiological components of tracheal hypermetry” with Kendra Greenlee1 (North Dakota State University), Joanna Henry and Jon Harrison (Arizona State University), Mark Westneat (Field Museum of Natural History) and Kamel Fezzaa and Wah-Keat Lee (Argonne National Laboratories). Their research investigates how developmental life-history changes affect oxygen delivery and muscle performance. The article is in press at the American Journal of Physiology –  Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology.

Posted on Oct 9, 2009

Want to do something fun, funky and philanthropic? Put a pink streak in your hair like seniors Lori Cassorla and Lindsey Goldberg. The two women are presidents of Union’s Colleges Against Cancer chapter, and by bringing “The Pink Hair Tour” to campus, they’re hoping to raise money and awareness for breast cancer.

The tour kicked off Thursday in Reamer Campus Center, with Rumors Salon of Latham offering pink hair extensions for $10 each. This Wednesday, Oct. 14, Hair Razors Salon of Schenectady will do the same from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m.

“We think this tour, which the salons participate in all month all over the region, is a really great idea,” Cassorla said. “All the money goes to a local organization – The Neil and Jane Golub Breast Cancer Center at Bellevue.”

“The tour is a great way to do a good thing and work with businesses in the local community,” Goldberg added.

Last year, the campus’s participation in the pink tresses campaign raised over $1,000 for the Golub Breast Cancer Center. This time around, Cassorla and Goldberg are hoping to amass more money with some help from their friends.

Culinary House hosted a bake sale on Thursday, with everything from pink ribbon cookies to pink frosted cupcakes, and it’ll do the same next week. The house also pitched in to get Hair Razors on campus, while Gamma Phi Beta has been in charge of drumming up publicity for the effort.

Posted on Oct 8, 2009