Posted on Nov 12, 2009

Thursday, Nov. 12,–Saturday, Nov. 14, 8 p.m. / Yulman Theater / Fall theater production, “Servant of Two Masters” by Carlo Goldoni, directed by William Finlay. A cross between traditional Italian commedia and postmodern vaudeville, this new version of Goldoni’s classic pits the madcap servant Truffaldino against masters, mistresses, lovers, lawyers and 27 plates of meatballs. 

Thursday, Nov. 12, 5 p.m. / Emerson Auditorium / Union College Student Recital; free and open to public

Friday, Nov. 13, 7 p.m. / Messa Rink at Achilles Center / Women’s ice hockey vs. Brown

Friday, Nov. 13 – Monday Nov. 16, 8 and 10 p.m. / Reamer Campus Auditorium / Film: “Julia & Julia”

Saturday, Nov. 14, noon / Frank Bailey Field / Football vs. Susquehanna; the team will be wearing black jerseys in support of the Wounded Warrior Project, benefitting injured members of the Armed Services. The team encourages fans to show their support of this “blackout” game by also wearing black.

Saturday, Nov. 14, 2 p.m. / Alumni Gym Pool / Swimming & Diving vs. Rochester       

Saturday, Nov. 14, 4 p.m. /Messa Rink at Achilles Center / Women’s ice hockey vs. Yale

Sunday, Nov. 15, 3 p.m. / Memorial Chapel / Camerata Singers; free and open to public

Sunday, Nov. 15, 2 p.m. / Yulman Theater / Fall theater production, “Servant of Two Masters” by Carlo Goldoni, directed by William Finlay. A cross between traditional Italian commedia and postmodern vaudeville, this new version of Goldoni’s classic pits the madcap servant Truffaldino against masters, mistresses, lovers, lawyers and 27 plates of meatballs. 

Sunday, Nov. 15, 6:30 p.m. / Arts Building, Room 215 / Union Film Night ’09 / Students from Professor Jim de Sèves’ IDM 202 will be showing their final cuts

Tuesday, Nov. 17, 12:30 p.m. / Old Chapel / The Exploring Engineering class will test “Roomba” automatic cleaning machines in a test “kitchen” and “living room”

Friday, Nov. 20, 5-9 p.m. / Mandeville Gallery and various venues, downtown Schenectady / Art Night Schenectady 

Saturday, Nov. 21, 8 p.m. / Memorial Chapel / Chamber Concert Series: Sasha Cooke; mezzo- soprano, Ken Noda; piano

Sunday, Nov. 29, 2 p.m. / Viniar Center / Women’s basketball vs. WPI

Tuesday, Dec. 1, 7 p.m. / Viniar Center / Men’s basketball vs. Vermont College

Friday, Dec. 4, 9 a.m. / Alumni Gymnasium / Men’s and women’s swimming and diving vs. University of Rochester

Friday, Dec. 4, 7 p.m. / Messa Rink at Achilles Center / Men’s ice hockey vs. Colgate

Saturday, Dec. 5, 9 a.m. / Alumni Gymnasium / Men’s and women’s swimming and diving vs. University of Rochester

Saturday, Dec. 5, 1 p.m. / Messa Rink at Achilles Center / Women’s ice hockey vs. RPI

Saturday, Dec. 5, 7 p.m. / Messa Rink at Achilles Center / Men’s ice hockey vs. Cornell

Tuesday, Dec. 8, 6 p.m. / Viniar Center / Women’s basketball vs. Bridgewater State College

Friday, Dec. 11, 2 p.m. / Messa Rink at Achilles Center / Women’s ice hockey vs. University of Maine

Friday, Dec. 11, 2 p.m. / Viniar Center / Women’s basketball vs. University of Rochester

Friday, Dec. 11, 7 p.m. / Messa Rink at Achilles Center / Men’s ice hockey vs. U.S. National Under 18 Team

Saturday, Dec. 12, 2 p.m. / Messa Rink at Achilles Center / Women’s ice hockey vs. University of Maine

Sunday, Dec. 13, 3 p.m. / Memorial Chapel / Chamber Concert Series: Boston Camerata, presenting a Christmas narrative retold through songs, chants and instrumentals from Spain, Italy, southern France and northern Africa

Sunday, Jan. 3, 3 p.m. / Memorial Chapel / Chamber Concert Series: Cellist David Finckel and pianist Wu Han present the complete sonatas of Beethoven

Posted on Nov 12, 2009

Through Nov. 14
Visual Arts Building
Arts Atrium
Greg Eltringham, Paintings and Drawings

This exhibit features the work of Greg Eltringham, professor of painting at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Ga.

Through Dec. 20
Nott Memorial
Mandeville Gallery
Reimagining the Distaff Toolkit

This traveling exhibit curated by New Paltz, N.Y., independent curator and historian Rickie Solinger, featuring 36 works by 28 contemporary artists. Each work incorporates a tool that was important for women’s domestic labor in the past.

Through March 14
Schaffer Library Atrium
Union Notables

Union Notables celebrates the great men and women who have studied and worked at the College from its founding in 1795 to the present day. Every six months, a new group of three notables is featured. Currently featured are assistant professor and janitor Charles Frederick Chandler (1836-1925);  actor, playwright,  journalist and producer John Howard Payne (1791-1852); and College Librarian Ruth Anne Evans (1924-2001).

Posted on Nov 12, 2009

John Garver, the chair of the Geology Department and an expert on the Mohawk River, was recently quoted in an article in the Utica Observer-Dispatch about plans for a comprehensive report on the river.

To read the article, click here.

Posted on Nov 12, 2009

John E. Kelly III ’76, senior vice president and director of research at IBM, is this year’s recipient of the Robert N. Noyce Award, the semiconductor industry`s highest honor. The award is presented annually by the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) to recognize outstanding contributions to the microelectronics industry.

To read about the award in the Poughkeepsie Journal, click here.

Posted on Nov 12, 2009

A dozen Union students will spend a big chunk of winter break on the road, following the celebrated path of our nation’s Civil Rights Movement.

Beginning in Charleston, S.C., on Dec. 1, they’ll wind their way through nine cities in seven states to experience historical sites firsthand and speak with individuals who lived the moments commemorated by museums and landmarks.

“We’ll meet two of the Little Rock Nine, one of the original 1961 CORE Freedom Riders and the Rev. C.T. Vivian, a major civil rights leader and close ally of Martin Luther King Jr.,” said Melinda Lawson, Department of History lecturer.

“We’ll also meet with a woman who was at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala., on the day of the bombing. She was a friend of the four girls who were killed.”

The inaugural Civil Rights Public History Mini-term (HIS 277T) culminates in New Orleans Dec. 18.

“We want to teach students about the most transformative social movement of the 20^th century,” Lawson said. “The election of Barack Obama has highlighted the profound accomplishments of the Civil Rights Movement. But at the same time, every day we are reminded how much work there is to be done to achieve full equality for all Americans.”

Lawson began brainstorming the mini-term several years ago while thinking about how to teach history in a palpable way. She then turned to Maggie Tongue, director of Post-Baccalaureate Fellowships, shortly after Union introduced a public history program.

The two were encouraged by the desires and passions of then-sophomores Jared Gourrier, Ewodaghe Harrell and Peter Haviland-Eduah (now seniors).

“All expressed a strong interest in the trip,” Lawson said. “It became our goal to make it happen before they graduated. And we did, just in time.”

Both Lawson and Tongue will make the trip with the 12 students, whose majors and interests span all disciplines.

In addition to tours of key sites and meetings with individuals from that time and place in history, there will be workshops and classes in hotels and on the bus, so students can process and discuss both the meaning of the movement and its commemoration.

“There’s a sense that this history is starting to be lost,” Tongue said. “The Civil Rights Movement is often not covered in high school. In their mini-term application essays, students noted that this history is very relevant to them, and yet they know little of it. So we are not only filling a gap in knowledge, we are providing them an opportunity to connect with our shared history.”

It’s this chance to connect that matters most to Haviland-Eduah, a history and Africana Studies major.

“This trip is not so much about what I want to learn, it’s about what I want to feel,” he said. “Standing on the same land, under the same sky, as those who came before us will be a very emotional experience for me.

“I see this, in a sense, as a pilgrimage to pay respect to those who gave so much to make the U.S. a place where diversity is more celebrated,” he added. “The people of the Civil Rights Movement revolutionized the way this country thought, and being immersed in that will be a powerful thing.”

Making the trip a reality took not only hard work, but the financial support of a dedicated alumna. Mini-terms are not covered by financial aid, and in the spirit of the Civil Rights Movement, Lawson and Tongue decided that no student should be kept from applying because of limited resources.

With the help of students, Lawson and Tongue conducted a campaign to cover the cost of scholarships.

“We are extremely grateful to Dr. Estelle Cooke-Sampson, a 1974 graduate of Union, who shared our belief in the importance of today’s students learning about the enormous contributions of the Civil Rights Movement,” Lawson said. “Her generosity – along with the generosity of other donors – allowed us to put in for course approval and begin seriously planning.”  

Harrell, Haviland-Eduah and Gourrier will be joined by fellow seniors Marissa Gaines, Elizabeth Mariapen, Aaron Ray, James Schellens and Sarah Tardiff; juniors Sarayfah Bolling, Georgia Swan-Ambrose and Amanda Egan; and sophomore Jessica Johnson.