Posted on Mar 16, 2009

In continuing celebration of the College’s rich history – and the extraordinary people who are part of that history – a new “Union Notables” exhibit is on display in Schaffer Library.

The exhibit, which runs through September, features a past United States president, a humanitarian and a businessman. 

Chester Alan Arthur, Class of 1848, grew up in Union Village, N.Y. (Greenwich, N.Y.). In 1845, he enrolled in the College and became a member of Psi Upsilon and the Delphian Institute debating society. After graduation, Arthur held several positions in New York state government. On Sept. 20, 1881, a day after James Garfield died from a gunshot wound, Arthur was sworn in as the country’s 21^st president.

Philip G. Di Sorbo ’71 studied psychology at Union, graduating Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude. He is the co-founder of the Foundation for Hospices in Sub-Saharan Africa, which encourages U.S. and international organizations to work together to provide palliative care in the far reaches of a land where AIDS claims thousands of lives daily. In 2006, Di Sorbo received the Eliphalet Nott Medal for alumni who have achieved success in their professional lives. 

Robert Holland Jr. ’62 studied mechanical engineering at Union. He has since gained an international reputation for turning around troubled companies. Holland began his career with an international management consulting firm and went on to lead a variety of companies, from an automotive parts manufacturer to Ben and Jerry’s ice cream. In 1997, he delivered the College’s main Commencement address and received an honorary doctor of laws degree.

“Union Notables” is an ongoing, rotating exhibit that features three outstanding individuals every six months. Each person selected either studied or worked at Union sometime between its founding in 1795 and the present day. 

When a new group “notables” is installed, the preceding “notables” are each given a permanent home elsewhere on campus.

For more information on “Union Notables,” click here. 

Posted on Mar 12, 2009

When President Barack Obama pledged to overhaul the nation’s health care system last Thursday, he declared “the status quo is the one option that is not on the table.”

Last October, Union College hosted an alumni symposium on health care reform featuring physicians, health administrators, college faculty, lawyers, insurance executives and nurses. The keynote speaker was Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, now serving as a health care expert for the White House. His brother, Rahm, is President Obama’s chief of staff.

The major points of a white paper developed out of the symposium and sent to Washington began with “the status quo is not an option.”

Perhaps the president heard our message? 

Posted on Mar 12, 2009

Sixteen Union students and five Chemistry Department faculty members will attend the 237th national meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS) in Salt Lake City, Utah, March 22-26, joining about 15,000 other participants.

Each student will present a poster on his or her research, and two professors will give oral presentations. Many of these presentations represent collaborative and interdisciplinary work.

Participating students include biochemistry majors Marti Gabriella, Devin Harrison, Danielle Kimble, Linah Rusere, Evan Schloss and Michelle Wu, all seniors; chemistry majors Christopher Backlund, Shazia Baig, Daniel Bailey, Laura Castellano, Steven Herron, Jacob Klein, Michael Topka and Ursula Williams, all seniors, and junior Zachary Smith; and mechanical engineering major Michael Bono, a senior.  

Accompanying them are Professors Mary Carroll, Michael Hagerman, Joanne Kehlbeck, Susan Kohler and Laura MacManus-Spencer.

During the event, the Union College Chemistry Club will also receive an Outstanding Student Affiliates Chapter Award, based on its 2007-2008 activities. This is the 15th consecutive year Union’s club has received an ACS award.

Backlund will be recognized by the ACS Division of Analytical Chemistry. He is one of three students from across the nation to be given an I.M. Kolthoff Enrichment Award.

Travel funding for the students comes from grants from Union’s Internal Education Fund, the ACS Division of Analytical Chemistry, the National Science Foundation, Research Corporation and departmental support. To learn more about the ACS National Meeting, visit www.acs.org.

Posted on Mar 12, 2009

Through March 13
Arts Atrium Gallery
Visual Arts Department
Works by James McGarrell

Features “Orbiana Oliveto,” a suite of monotype drawings by internationally prominent artist James McGarrell with related poems by noted poet Rosanna Warren, as well as a selection of small paintings.

Through May 10
Mandeville Gallery
Nott Memorial
Dynamic Equilibrium

Show explores the intersection of art and science and features artists who explore science and scientists who explore art. Related events include Friday, March 20, 5-9 p.m., Nott Memorial, Art Night Schenectady reception; Thursday, April 9, 4:30 p.m., “Physics and Art” lecture, Reamer Campus Center Auditorium, by Thomas B. Greenslade Jr., professor emeritus of physics at Kenyon College; Thursday, April 9, 5:30-7 p.m., artists’ reception and Gallery Talk, Nott Memorial; and Monday, April 20, 6 p.m., lecture by Ken Rinaldo and Amy Youngs, “Parasite to Symbiont," F.W. Olin Center Auditorium; reception to follow.

Posted on Mar 12, 2009

Faculty, administrators and staff who have ideas for enriching Union’s curricular and other offerings in ethics are invited to apply for the next round of Ethics Across the Curriculum Grants. The Initiative offers a $2,000 course development honorarium, and/or funds for travel, curricular materials and guest speakers. Applications for spring and summer projects will be considered in this round and are due by March 25.

Click here to download the cover form and a detailed Call for Proposals. Send all applications to Marianne Snowden, administrative assistant for Classics and Philosophy, at snowdenm@union.edu. If you have questions, please contact Robert Baker, chair of the Rapaport Everyday Ethics Across the Curriculum Initiative, at bakerr@union.edu.

Posted on Mar 12, 2009

The Scanning Electron Microscopy Show in the F.W. Olin Center Atrium this week was the culmination of collaboration between students in “Frontiers of Nanotechnology” and students in “Photography II.” Members of both classes displayed and discussed images they captured using the scanning electron microscope this term, and photography students also juxtaposed these with pictures taken with traditional cameras.

In the nanotech class, co-taught by Electrical Engineering Professor Palma Catravas, Biology Professor Brian Cohen and Chemistry Professor Michael Hagerman, students learned to operate the microscope.

They used materials provided by Professors Seyffie Maleki (Physics), Kathleen LoGiudice (Biology) and Sam Amanuel (Physics), and David Frye of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Some materials studied during microscopy labs, co-developed with Mark Hooker, bioengineering technician, also came from the visual arts students.

“The samples provided by the photography students presented interesting imaging challenges,” Catravas said of items like phone books and paper bags. “They helped nanotechnology students master different microscopy techniques.”

Photography students, like Alec Rosen '10, also learned to use the microscope. “It was very interesting, I never see things that close up,” said Rosen, a psychology major. “It showed me that there are different perspectives, different ways of looking at things.”

Union Graduate College Electrical Engineering student Yohan Dupuis said engineers "usually see how technology works, but this nanotechnology class focused on something different. It was like, not learning how a TV works, but learning what’s inside a TV on the molecular level.”

Photographer and Visual Arts Professor Martin Benjamin agrees that the microscope introduces students to a whole new realm of knowledge.

“If you’re trying to create art, the more input you get on all facets of the world, the better off you are,” Benjamin said. “In this case, for instance, you’re seeing things in a way you can’t ever see them with your eyes.”