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Friends Say Farewell to Bob Ridings; Remembered as Union’s ‘Dutchman’

Posted on Oct 9, 1998

Friends and family on Thursday said farewell to Robert
Ridings Sr. with a campus funeral that included — among other things unique to the
man — a final blast from the cannon he fired to celebrate touchdowns at football
games.

Robert Ridings Sr., who for decades was the Dutchman
mascot for Union College athletics, died on Saturday at the age of 81.

During his 48 years with the College, as athletic
equipment manager and later as intramural equipment manager, thousands came to know him as
the congenial man who dispensed equal parts of equipment and good-natured teasing from his
“cage” at Memorial Field House, and later at Alumni Gymnasium.

Ridings and his cannon were fixtures at most home football
games. As a Union score looked imminent, Ridings would move over to his cannon to prepare
for a firing. Seconds after a touchdown, the cannon boomed and a cloud of white smoke
would obscure the cannoneer. The crowd would roar its approval, as much for Ridings and
his cannon as for the Union team.

“It's great,” he once said, “except
when the west wind is too strong and it forces the smoke back into the barrel. Then we
sometimes have complications.”

Ridings also used the cannon to start running races at
alumni events and cross country meets.

For many football games, Ridings was dressed in a Dutchman
costume complete with yellow wig and the deep-bowled pipe he used to smoke. At work in the
“cage,” he often wore a Union baseball jersey over his shirt and tie. He always
wore a Union baseball hat.

The College each spring presents the Robert B. Ridings
Award to a senior woman for her attitude, ability, participation and achievement in
intercollegiate sports.

He was retired, but continued to work part time until he
became ill last summer.

Survivors include his wife of 49 years, Anne Solarski
Ridings; a daughter, Dessa Anderson; and a son, Robert Jr.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Robert M.
Ridings Memorial Scholarship Fund at the College.

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Student Wins Community Award

Posted on Oct 9, 1998

Beth Wierzbieniec '99 has received the “Creating
a More Welcoming Community” student award from Hudson Mohawk Association of Colleges
and Universities.

She was cited for her part in organizing a number of
initiatives aimed at promoting diversity, tolerance and community service.

One of her most impressive undertakings was the project
titled “Dialogues on Race.” Under her leadership, for a month last spring, 21
student organizations, dozens of faculty and staff and the College's athletic teams
hosted more than 30 events and activities designed to foster an exchange of ideas,
information and concerns regarding diversity at Union.

The Schenectady County Human Rights Commission last May
recognized her for “Dialogues on Race” with the 1998 Human Rights Youth
Achievement Award.

In his nomination, President Roger Hull cited
Wierzbieniec's commitment to the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program at Union. Last
summer, she developed and directed the College's first-ever summer camp for kids.
Each year, more than 75 Union students participate in the Big Brothers/Big Sisters
program, acting as mentors to disadvantaged youth in the region. Until this year, when
students returned home for the summer, their “littles” were left without mentors
until classes resumed in September.

Hull also praised Wierzbieniec in her role as president of
the Union College Student Forum, for her commitment to open discussion of concerns
affecting students. Over the summer, she was a member of a committee of students, staff,
faculty and alumni to address social and residential issues.

Wierzbieniec, an economics and sociology major, is a
native of Amherst, N.Y., and a 1995 graduate of Amherst Central High School.

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Time to Lace Up the Skates

Posted on Oct 9, 1998

It may not seem like it outside, but Achilles Rink has ice
and skating season has arrived.

Students, faculty and staff may skate free of charge
starting Monday, Oct. 12, weekdays from 1:15 to 2:45 p.m. A faculty and staff-only skate
is set for weekdays from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m.

Immediate family members of faculty and staff must obtain
a family pass from the Achilles Rink Box Office. Parents should accompany children under
10.

There will be no recreational skating on Friday afternoons
of scheduled men's or women's hockey games.

Skate and shoot hours are set for Monday and Tuesday from
10:15 to 11:15 a.m. All skaters must wear helmet with face mask, mouthpiece and gloves.

Figure skating will be available Wednesday and Thursday
from 10:15 to 11:15 a.m.

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Faculty, Staff Works Listed

Posted on Oct 9, 1998

Yoshimitsu Khan, assistant professor of Japanese and
East Asian Studies, has published a book, Japanese Moral Education Past and Present
(Associated University Presses and Fairleigh Dickinson University, 1998).

Seth Greenberg, Gilbert Livingston Professor of
Psychology, is co-author (with Albrecht Inhoff and R. Radach) of a paper titled “Does
recognition of words during a fixation progress in a strictly serial order?”
presented at the European Workshop on Language Comprehension at Luminy last April. He also
presented at a workshop at the Williams College Summer Cognitive Institute on comparative
methods of measuring the use of structural cues during reading.

George Butterstein, Florence B. Sherwood Professor
of Life Sciences, presented two papers at the Society for the Study of Reproduction
meeting in August at Texas A&M. They were “Serum leptin changes throughout rat
pregnancy” by Butterstein, J.A Angerosa.'98, J.S. Kuehn '98 and V.D.
Castracane; and “Effect of exogenous DHEA and DHEA Sulfate on the endocrinology of
the pregnant rat” by Castracane, J. Sachar '97 and Butterstein. DHEA is an
androgenic steroid that has received national attention because it can be purchased over
the counter. Castracane is at Texas Tech, Amarillo.

Brenda Wineapple, Washington Irving Professor of
Modern Literary and Historical Studies, published an essay, “The Conjuror's Hat:
Poetry and Biography,” in the spring issue of the journal PARNASSUS. Wineapple
juxtaposes the autobiographical poetry of modernist writer Mina Loy with the recent Loy
biography, which, conversely, interprets Loy's poetry in terms of events, real and
imagined, in Loy's life. Last spring, Wineapple was the keynote speaker at the
Washington, D.C., conference jointly sponsored by the New York Council for the Humanities
and the American Library Association that launched the ALA's new program for
community libraries, “Lives Worth Knowing.” This program will bring the
discussion of biography to libraries nationwide. During the conference, Wineapple also
assisted the more than 100 scholars and library personnel attending by giving a
discussion-demonstration of a typical “Lives Worth Knowing” program. Wineapple
has been involved in the program since its inception at the New York Council for the
Humanities in 1992, and she has lectured on biography, under its auspices, throughout New
York State.

Timothy Olsen, visiting assistant professor of
music, and Hilary Tann, professor of music, have been chosen as American Society of
Composers, Authors and Publishers' (ASCAP) award recipients. ASCAP annually makes the
cash awards to assist and encourage writers of serious music. They are granted by a panel
based on each composer's catalog of original compositions and recent performances.

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AAC Minutes Listed

Posted on Oct 9, 1998

September 28, 1998

1. The minutes of September 23, 1998 were approved as
corrected.

2. Discussion of the report on allocation of tenure lines
continued. There was general agreement that Psychology had real need. One additional
tenure line to be filled by a minority was approved for Psychology. One additional tenure
line to be filled by a minority was approved for English. One additional tenure line to be
filled by a minority was approved for Modern Languages in Spanish. Discussion of the
allocation of the fourth line was tabled until after the external review of Sociology is
completed in the Winter Term.

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Berezovsky Opens Chamber Series

Posted on Oct 9, 1998

Pianist Boris Berezovsky, the Tschaikovsky gold
medalist who last season thrilled concertgoers in the Schenectady Museum-Union College
chamber series, is back to launch the 98-99 season with a program to include works by
Ravel and Mussorgsky on Friday, Oct. 9, at 8 p.m. in Memorial Chapel.

Members of the College community are invited to attend any
of the 14 concerts free of charge. Those who make a contribution to the series will
receive two season tickets. Those who choose not to support the series financially may
pick up two tickets at Central Scheduling, Reamer Campus Center 404C.

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