Posted on Oct 27, 1998

Union College announced today (Oct. 27, 1998) the Union-Schenectady (US) Initiative, a broad-based plan to revitalize the neighborhood to the immediate west of the campus. The program includes a number of incentives for both homeowners and College employees, including scholarships, special mortgage programs, community outreach programs, and the establishment of a neighborhood association.

Union College President Roger Hull made the announcement in the presence of representatives from city and state government, private business and community leaders.

“I feel that we all – individuals and institutions alike – have a responsibility to contribute to the communities in which we live and operate,” President Hull said. “In fulfilling our responsibility, we are committing, among other things, our greatest asset – a first-rate education – to the revitalization of this area of Schenectady. We believe that others — neighborhood families, the City of Schenectady, Schenectady Municipal Housing Agency, local banks, and St. Anthony's Church – will join with us, and we are eager to begin work on a true partnership for the neighborhood.

The US Initiative will also serve to enhance the College's competitive position by expanding housing options for students, faculty and staff and by beautifying the area surrounding the west border of campus. The area is defined by Seward Place, Union Street, and Nott Street.

Key elements of the Union-Schenectady Initiative include:

Scholarships covering the full cost of tuition for eligible homeowners: Union College will make available scholarship funds of up to $1 million a year to cover the full cost of tuition to children of qualified homeowners. Children who meet Union's admissions requirements and whose primary residence is within the US Initiative area will be entitled to apply for four years of scholarships. The tuition benefit will be limited to two children per family.

To be eligible, homeowners (and their children) must reside in the area for five years preceding access to the benefit, continue to reside there during the period of matriculation at the College, and maintain their property in accordance with the standards set by the to-be-established Union-Schenectady Neighborhood Association. This association, which will include a five-member review board from the College and surrounding community, will establish standards for continued enjoyment of the tuition benefit, such as exterior esthetics, trash handling, landscaping and other maintenance issues.

Acquisition of property: Union College has acquired 20 properties in the US Initiative area. These properties, following extensive renovations, will be owned and maintained by the College for use as student housing and faculty residences. All Union College properties will be maintained in accordance with US Neighborhood Association standards, and they will serve as a catalyst for further revitalization and development of the area.

The ultimate use of each property – student housing, faculty or staff rental – will be determined in a planning process that will include discussions with neighbors and businesses in the area. The process of acquisition and renovation is expected to take 12 to18 months, with an estimated cost of $3 to $4 million.

Home ownership: Union College employees (faculty, administrators, staff) whose primary residence is within the US Initiative area will be entitled to access the Union College Community Stabilization First Mortgage Program. The program features a number of incentives designed to encourage home ownership in the area. These include no down payment, no closing costs, exterior façade improvement funds of up to $10,000 to be added to the mortgage amount and amortized over the life of the mortgage, payroll deduction, and a fixed interest rate two percent below local banks' no-points first mortgage rate.

Community Outreach: To create a center for the exchange of ideas, suggestions and community-focused activity, the US Initiative includes the development of the Office of Neighborhood Outreach. Staffed by Union students, staff and volunteers from the community, the Office will enhance the educational experience of children in the area by establishing a homework center and tutoring program, and by sponsoring South Avenue Park neighborhood weekend programs.

Additionally, the Office will focus its efforts on partnering with the not-for-profit community in enriching the neighborhood. Possible activities include organizing neighborhood cleanup projects and conducting community workshops on legal issues for home ownership.

Safety and esthetics: The College's plans call for the relocation of Union's Security Office to an address yet-to-be identified on Seward Place. Also, working with the Outreach Office and area neighbors, the College hopes to establish a neighborhood watch program. As part of the beautification effort, the US Initiative includes the use of banners, signage and historic lighting in the area, as well as the installation of cobblestone pavers at designated street corners and intersections to reduce the speed of area traffic.

“I am convinced that the outcome of these efforts will truly result in a win-win for Union and Schenectady. Our interests are inextricably linked – when Union benefits so does the City, and when the City benefits so does Union,” President Hull noted. “This initiative comes at a time when the competition among quality liberal arts colleges has never been greater. If we fail to act and ignore the issues around us, we are ultimately hurting our – and the City's – future.”

Posted on Oct 23, 1998

They are much too young to remember
Tang, moon rocks or splashdowns.

But on Friday about 80 students from Birchwood, Zoller and
Elmer Avenue elementary schools will learn what it was like to walk on the moon as
Harrison Schmitt, the last person to set foot on the lunar surface, talks about his Apollo
adventures.

Schmitt is speaking to the children in a special program
on Friday, Oct. 23, at 9:30 a.m. in the F.W. Olin Center Auditorium.

Schmitt, a geologist, will be on campus Friday at 4:30
p.m. for the dedication of the F.W. Olin Center.

A member of the 1972 Apollo 17 mission, Schmitt will
discuss his career and research on the use of resources from space (including the
moon's helium-3 as a potential energy supply on Earth) in a lecture titled “The
Business of Returning to Deep Space: The Interlune-Intermars Initiative” after the
dedication (at about 5 p.m.) in the F.W. Olin Center Auditorium.

Most seats are reserved for Schmitt's 5 p.m.
presentation, but the talk will be broadcast live in other rooms throughout the building.

Schmitt also is to deliver a technical talk titled “A
Field Trip to the Moon” on Friday, Oct. 23, at 12:15 p.m., also in the F.W. Olin
Center Auditorium.

The dedication

Union students, staff and faculty will join leaders from
the F.W. Olin Foundation of New York City to formally unveil the latest addition to the
204 year-old campus – the F.W. Olin Center, on Friday, Oct. 23. The event kicks off
at 4:30 p.m. with welcome remarks by President Roger Hull.

“For more than 200 years, Union has been at the
forefront of change and technology,” said Hull. “The F.W. Olin Foundation, by
providing this state-of-the-art technology center, has provided an important vehicle for
Union to continue this emphasis as it begins its third century of service.”

The building

The new 53,640 square-foot Olin Center supports
computer-aided instruction throughout the College's science and mathematics
departments as well as in non-science programs. It also serves as the home of the
Department of Geology and the College's growing Environmental Studies Program. The
building will be used by nearly all Union students at some time in their undergraduate
careers.

Building features include:

— Two “collaborative computer classrooms;”

— Laboratories and classrooms equipped for
computer-intensive instruction;

— A multi-media auditorium;

— An Environmental Studies “clean lab, ”
usually exclusive to laboratories at the graduate level.

The high-tech learning center provides campus-wide use of
computers and study spaces with 24-hour-per-day access to Schaffer Library's
instructional technology center.

To Union faculty, the Olin Center represents a bridge
between the arts and sciences. “Using the technology of today – Power Point
presentation software for example – students are able to take a detailed look, with
microscopic precision, of the great works in poetry,” said Ruth Stevenson, professor
of English. “Much like biologists observing a specimen, we can examine the minute
elements that make up the body of famous pieces.”

'Compelling case'

The F.W. Olin Foundation, Inc., of New York City awarded
the $9 million grant to Union in 1996 to construct and equip a high-technology classroom
and laboratory building.

“Union College presented a compelling case for our
support. The very high quality of its academic programs and faculty were evident
throughout our review of its proposal,” said Lawrence W. Milas, Olin Foundation
president at the announcement of the grant.

Posted on Oct 23, 1998

Friday, Oct. 23, 12:15 p.m.
F.W. Olin Center Auditorium.
“A Field Trip to the Moon,” a technical talk with geologist and astronaut
Harrison Schmitt.

Friday, Oct. 23, 1:30 p.m.
Steinmetz 106.
Poetry reading with Mathias Goritz and Daniel Wissmann. Presented by German Department and
German Language School of Albany.

Friday, Oct. 23, 4:30 p.m.
F.W. Olin Center Plaza.
Dedication of F.W. Olin Center.

Friday, Oct. 23, 5 p.m.
F.W. Olin Center Auditorium.
Geologist and former Apollo astronaut Harrison Schmitt on “The Business of Returning
to Deep Space: The Interlune-Intermars Initiative.”

Friday, Oct. 23, through Monday, Oct. 26 – 8
and 10 p.m.
Reamer Auditorium.
Deep Impact presented by Film Committee.

Sunday, Oct. 25, 3 p.m.
Memorial Chapel.
15-year-old pianist Wei-Jen Yuan gives recital sponsored by Performing Arts and UCALL.

Wednesday, Oct. 28, 8 p.m.
Memorial Chapel.
Moscow Chamber Orchestra performs works by Shostakovich, Schnittke, Prokofiev and Mozart.

Friday, Oct. 30, 8 p.m.
Reamer Auditorium.
Performance by Union College Jazz Ensemble, under the direction of Prof. Tom Olsen,
featuring guest percussionist Ray Kaczynski.

Through Dec. 20.
Mandeville Gallery, Nott Memorial.
“Martin Benjamin: Photographs 1970 to 1998”

Posted on Oct 23, 1998

Byron Nichols, professor of political science, this
fall assumes the post of director of graduate honors and fellowships in addition to his
teaching duties. Many other colleges and universities, have similar full- or part-time
positions, Nichols notes.

“I am not replacing those important members of the
faculty who are doing liaison work,” he emphasizes. “But I hope to work with
them to achieve more.”

In large part, his role will be to recruit prospective
students and cultivate current ones who may be appropriate applicants for fellowships and
grants during their senior year, Nichols said. He plans to contact incoming “A”
admit and honors students, send letters to students of high achievement, and send
pamphlets to faculty describing various programs and their criteria for eligibility.

He also plans to establish a Web site for Union
fellowships, scholarships and prizes with links to homepages of national organizations;
meet regularly with directors of national fellowship programs; consult with department
chairs and other faculty to help identify outstanding candidates; work closely with
students throughout the application process; and organize mock interviews.

Several years ago, a student approached Nichols with a
problem: he had applied for a fellowship and had been invited to New York City for an
interview luncheon, but he didn't know how to use the silverware.

So Nichols brought him to his home where he showed him how
and when to use knife, fork and spoon at a formal dining occasion. “My father was a
member of the clergy, so formal dining was natural to me,” said Nichols. “But it
was something new to this student.”

So began Nichols' idea to formalize the
College's program to encourage promising students to pursue honors and fellowships,
and to teach them all the skills – including formal dining etiquette — that will
make them viable candidates.

Posted on Oct 23, 1998

Complimentary tickets for home men's ice
hockey games will be available for students (one ticket per ID) and faculty and staff (two
tickets per ID) each Monday prior to that weeks' home games.

Ticket window hours are 8:30 to 1 p.m. and 2 to 4:30 p.m.
at the Achilles Rink Box Office.

After Monday, tickets can be purchased at $5 for students,
$7 for faculty and staff.

For more information, call ext. 6134.

Posted on Oct 23, 1998

Union's Chemistry Department
was well-represented at the 216th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society in
Boston recently.

Janet Anderson, professor of chemistry,
presented a talk on “Using Mathematica to teach the applications of group theory in
chemistry.”

Mary Carroll, associate professor of
chemistry, presented a talk titled “Use of Instrumentation in a one-term,
laboratory-based, general chemistry course.” Tara Morcone '99,
and Julia Barkin '00, were co-authors.

Morcone also gave a poster presentation on
“Sol-gel-derived sensor for sulfite based on immobilized methylene blue,”
research performed under Carroll's direction. Kristen Slawinski, '99,
was co-author on the poster as were collaborators from the research group of Prof. F. V.
Bright at SUNY Buffalo.

Michael Hagerman, assistant professor of
chemistry, and Samuel Salamone '00, presented a poster on their
summer project “Surface and intergallery polymerization of aniline and
ortho-substituted aniline monomers on Cu(II)-exchanged hectorite.” Co-author was Charity
McManaman '99.

Thomas Werner, professor of chemistry,
gave a talk titled “Water project: a 'real-world' problem for the quant
lab.” Peter Tobiessen, professor of biology, Karen Lou,
visiting assistant professor of chemistry, and Alexandros Polemeropoulos '98,
were co-authors.

In addition, the 1997-98 Chemistry Club officers (Louis
Carrazzone '98, Allison Ciolino '98, George Lombardo '98, and McManaman)
along with advisors Carroll and Hagerman prepared a poster on “Student Affiliate
activities and chapter successes at Union College (1997-98),” which was presented by Kellie
Forrestall '99, Morcone and Salamone.