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Posted on Feb 24, 2010

Dean of Engineering Cherrice Traver and Dean of Interdisciplinary Studies Doug Klein co-chaired a panel on Engineering and Liberal Education at the 2010 American Association of Colleges and Universities meeting in Washington, D.C. The panel included participants from Dartmouth, Hope, Lafayette and Smith colleges, who discussed different aspects of integrating engineering, technology and the traditional liberal arts. The panelists all participated in Union’s 2009 Symposium on Engineering and Liberal Education. For more information, click here.  

Dean of Interdisciplinary Studies Doug Klein, Assistant Professor of Classics Stacie Raucci and Dean of Engineering Cherrice Traver were joined by Sharon Jones, director of Engineering at Lafayette, in presenting a participatory session, “Inventive Courses: Blending Engineering and the Liberal Arts,” at the 2009 Frontiers of Engineering conference in San Antonio, Texas in the fall. Building upon Union’s annual Symposium on Engineering and Liberal Education, they followed a theme of the symposia, addressing C. P. Snow’s “two cultures” problem in the context of the undergraduate curriculum. Participants worked in small groups to design new upper-level undergraduate courses that would appeal to both engineering and non-engineering students, aiming specifically to explore ideas for courses beyond the introductory level.

The March issue of Allure magazine, a Condé Nast women’s publication, includes a blurb on research published last year by George Bizer, assistant professor of psychology, and Jacquelyn Raftery ’08, a graduate student at Clark University in Worcester, Mass. The research, on reframing disappointment as a positive challenge, was Raftery’s senior thesis.  

Katelyn 'O'Brien '11 presents at the American Astronomical Society in Washington, D.C.

 

Associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy Rebecca Koopmann '89 and Katelyn O'Brien '11 traveled to Washington, D.C. last month to present the results of their research on the gas properties of galaxies, as traced by radio observations at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, at the 2010 American Astronomical Society meeting. O’Brien presented a poster with Union co-authors SreyNoch Chin '12 and Schuyler Smith titled "ALFALFA HI Observations Of The NGC 5846 Galaxy Group," reporting the gas properties of galaxies located in an intermediate density region of the ALFALFA survey area.

 

Also at the AAS meeting, Koopmann presented two posters. “ALFALFA HI Content and Star Formation of Early-type Dwarfs in The Virgo Cluster" describes Koopmann's work on gas and star formation in low-mass galaxies in a dense environment.  Co-authors are R. Giovanelli and M. P. Haynes of Cornell University, B. R. Kent of the National Radio Astronomy Observatories and N. Brosch of Wise Observatory and Tel Aviv University. Koopmann’s second poster, “The Undergraduate ALFALFA Team,” reported results from the first two years of the NSF-sponsored grant program that encourages undergraduate activities within the ALFALFA program. Co-authors are S. Higdon of Georgia Southern University, T. J. Balonek of Colgate University and Cornell’s Haynes and Giovanelli. More than 50 undergraduates across the United States have participated so far. Activities include annual workshops, organized by Koopmann,  and observing runs at Arecibo Observatory as well as summer and academic year research programs. For more information, click here.

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Warner Bros. studio chief Alan Horn to deliver 2010 Commencement address

Posted on Feb 23, 2010

Alan Horn '64, president and chief operating officer of Warner Bros., will be the featured speaker at Union’s 216th Commencement, College officials announced today.

Approximately 500 students in the Class of 2010 will receive degrees during the ceremony, scheduled for 10 a.m. Sunday, June 13, on Hull Plaza.

Alan Horn, commencement 2010

“Under Alan Horn's leadership, Warner Brothers has become one of Hollywood’s most influential and successful movie studios,” said College President Stephen C. Ainlay. “He has often been celebrated for his creativity, business acumen and insights into popular culture, and we are delighted he will return to the College to share his perspectives with our Class of 2010."

Warner Bros. is responsible for blockbusters such as “The Dark Knight” and all six films in the Harry Potter franchise. In 2009, the studio’s domestic box office soared to an industry record $2.13 billion, and overseas receipts reached $1.88 billion.

In addition to working closely with Barry Meyer, the company’s chairman and CEO, Horn oversees the studio’s theatrical and home entertainment operations, including the Warner Bros. Pictures Group, Warner Premiere and Warner Home Video. He also oversees New Line Cinema, which became a part of Warner Bros. in early 2008.

“I’m honored to be delivering the commencement address and look forward to revisiting the campus in June,” said Horn, who will receive an honorary doctor of fine arts degree.

Horn, who grew up on Long Island, spoke at ReUnion last spring, where he discussed the entertainment business and his time at Union, where he graduated with an economics degree. He received a Master of Business Administration (with distinction) from Harvard Business School before serving for nearly five years in the U.S. Air Force. He achieved the rank of captain.

In 1987, he co-founded Castle Rock Entertainment, where he served as chairman and CEO until taking on his current role. At Castle Rock, Horn produced the TV series “Seinfeld”and was responsible for Best Picture Oscar nominees such as “A Few Good Men,” “The Shawshank Redemption” and “The Green Mile.” Before that, Horn served as chairman and CEO of Embassy Communications, a company owned by A. Jerrold Perenchio and legendary producer Norman Lear. He also spent two years in brand management with Procter & Gamble.

Horn is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, the Hollywood Radio and Television Society and the Museum of Broadcasting. In 2004, he received the Will Rogers Motion Picture Pioneers Foundation’s Pioneer of the Year Award, and in 2007 he was honored with the Harvard Business School’s Leadership Award. Most recently, Horn received the Producers Guild America’s 2008 Milestone Award.

Horn serves on the board of directors of the American Film Institute; as a vice chairman of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC); on the board of trustees for the Autry National Center in Los Angeles; and on the board of Harvard-Westlake School. He is also a member of the Harvard Business School Dean’s Board of Advisors and a founding board member of the Environmental Media Association.

Horn and his wife, Cindy, have two daughters, Cody and Cassidy.

Union College, founded in 1795 as the first college chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, offers programs in the liberal arts and engineering to 2,100 undergraduates of high academic promise and strong personal motivation. Union, with its long history of blending disciplines, is a leader in educating students to be engaged, innovative and ethical contributors to an increasingly diverse, global and technologically complex society.

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Daniel Levy, Middle East expert, to speak March 1

Posted on Feb 23, 2010

Daniel Levy, a senior fellow and director of the Prospects for Peace Initiative at The Century Foundation and the Middle East Initiative at the New America Foundation, will discuss “Israel and the Palestinians: Peace or Oblivion,” at the Nott Memorial Monday, March 1 at 5:30 p.m.

Daniel Levy

His talk, free and open to the public, is part of the “Pizza and Politics” series sponsored by the Departments of Political Science, History, Philosophy, and Religious Studies, and Hillel, Minerva Programs and Ethics Across the Curriculum.

“We hope to continue the dialogue on the Israel-Palestinian conflict that began with the invitation (last month) of ex-Prime Minister Ehud Olmert,” said Political Science Professor Tom Lobe. “Daniel will offer an alternative point of view in discussing Gaza, Jewish settlements in the West Bank, possible paths towards a two-state solution, and the U.S. role in creating a climate for serious negotiations.”

Levy was the lead Israeli drafter of the Geneva Initiative. Before joining The Century Foundation, he directed policy planning and international efforts at the Geneva Campaign Headquarters in Tel Aviv.

In 2003, he worked as an analyst for the International Crisis Group Middle East Program. During the Barak Government, he worked in the Prime Minister's Office as special advisor and head of the Jerusalem Affairs unit under Minister Haim Ramon.

From March 2000 to March 2001, as senior policy adviser to former Israeli Minister of Justice Yossi Beilin, he was responsible for coordinating policy on peace negotiations, civil and human rights, and the Palestinian minority in Israel. He was a member of the official Israeli delegation to the Taba negotiations with the Palestinians in January 2001, and served on the negotiating team to the "Oslo B" Agreement under Prime Minister Rabin.

Levy received a bachelor’s and master’s with honors from King’s College, Cambridge, where he was awarded prizes in Social and Political Science and was Scholar of the College. He served as world chairman of the World Union of Jewish Students in Jerusalem from 1991 to 1994 and as projects director for the Economic Co-operation Foundation, a policy planning think-tank in Tel Aviv.

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EVENTS

Posted on Feb 23, 2010

Thursday, Feb. 25, 4 p.m. / F.W. Olin Auditorium (reception 3:30 p.m., Olin Rotunda) / Richard Stallman, a leader in the free software movement, will speak on “Copyright vs. Community in the Age of Computer Networks”; sponsored by the Computer Science Department

Thursday, Feb. 25 and Friday, Feb. 26, 8 p.m. / Yulman Theater, Actor’s Studio / “The Lesson” by Eugene Ionesco, a senior project directed by Bart Tomaszewski ‘10

Friday, Feb. 26, 8 p.m. / Memorial Chapel / Musicians from Marlboro, free to the Union community

Friday, Feb. 26-Monday, March 1, 7 and 10 p.m. / Reamer Campus Center Auditorium / Film series: “The Blind Side”

Monday, March 1, 5:30 p.m. / Nott Memorial / Pizza and Politics series presents: “Israel and the Palestinians: Peace or Oblivion” by Dr. Daniel Levy, director of the Prospects for Peace Initiative at the Century Foundation and of the Middle East Initiative at the New America Foundation

Tuesday, March 2, 4 p.m. / Bailey Field / Men’s lacrosse vs. SUNY Geneseo

Tuesday, March 2, 4:30-6:30 p.m. / Humanities Building, Room 019 / National Geographic photographer Dana Romanoff presents: “No Man’s Land: The Women of Mexico,” focusing on the effect of immigration on the women left behind in rural Mexico when men go to the U.S. in search of work. Sponsored by Latin American and Caribbean Studies and Women’s and Gender Studies

Thursday, March 4, 4:30 p.m. / Shaffer Library, Phi Beta Kappa Room / Philosophy Speaker series presents: “Social Perception: Enaction or Simulation” by Shaun Gallagher of Central Florida/Herfordshire

Thursday, March 4 and Friday, March 5, 8 p.m. / Yulman Theater / Winter Dance Concert, “Red Roja,” directed by Miryam Moutillet

Friday, March 5, 10 a.m-3 p.m. / F.W. Olin Rotunda / 5th Annual Faculty Multimedia Fair. USB headsets, webcams, portable drives and UltraHD flip camcorders will be given as door prizes throughout the day. Sandwiches at 12:45 p.m.; refreshments all day. For details, contact Kesheng Yu, Curricular Support, keshengy@union.edu

Friday, March 5 – Monday, March 8, 8 and 10 p.m. / Reamer Campus Center Auditorium / Film series: “Boondock Saints 2”

Saturday, March 6, 2 and 8 p.m. / Yulman Theater / Winter Dance Concert, “Red Roja,” directed by Miryam Moutillet

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The dialogue continues: Talk by Middle East expert Daniel Levy set for March 1

Posted on Feb 22, 2010

Daniel Levy, a senior fellow and director of the Prospects for Peace Initiative at The Century Foundation and the Middle East Initiative at the New America Foundation, will discuss “Israel and the Palestinians: Peace or Oblivion,” at the Nott Memorial Monday, March 1 at 5:30 p.m.

His talk, part of “Pizza and Politics,” is sponsored by the Departments of Political Science, History, Philosophy and Religious Studies, as well as Hillel, Minerva Programs and Ethics Across the Curriculum.

“We hope to continue the dialogue on the Israel-Palestinian conflict that began with the invitation (last month) of ex-Prime Minister Ehud Olmert,” said Political Science Professor Tom Lobe. “Daniel will offer an alternative point of view in discussing Gaza, Jewish settlements in the West Bank, possible paths towards a two-state solution and the U.S. role in creating a climate for serious negotiations.”

Levy was the lead Israeli drafter of the Geneva Initiative. He also directed policy planning and international efforts at the Geneva Campaign Headquarters in Tel Aviv; worked as an analyst for the International Crisis Group Middle East Program; and, during the Barak Government, worked in the Prime Minister's Office as special advisor and head of the Jerusalem Affairs unit.

From March 2000 to March 2001, as senior policy adviser to former Israeli Minister of Justice Yossi Beilin, he was responsible for coordinating policy on peace negotiations, civil and human rights, and the Palestinian minority in Israel. He was a member of the official Israeli delegation to the Taba negotiations with the Palestinians in January 2001, and served on the negotiating team to the "Oslo B" Agreement under Prime Minister Rabin.

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