Posted on Oct 25, 2010

Union has received a $300,000 grant from the Wright Family Foundation to support a biochemistry laboratory and other space in the new Peter Irving Wold Center for Science and Engineering.

The grant will help fund the Wright Family Laboratory and an instrumentation room in the three-story, 35,000-square-foot research and education facility, scheduled to open next year. The lab will be one of four in the biochemistry suite, which also includes a cold room and a culture room.

The private Wright Family Foundation was established in 1997 to support community, education, health, social needs and the arts. The foundation is the philanthropic arm of the SI Group, Inc. (formerly Schenectady International, Inc.), a 104-year-old global producer of alkylphenols, electronic chemicals and phenolic resins.

The College’s connection to the Wright family dates back five generations. A number of family members are alumni or have served as members of the board of trustees. The foundation has been a generous supporter of various College programs, including the W. Howard Wright Chemistry Scholarships, created in honor of SI Group, Inc.’s founder and his son, Henry DeForest Wright. Four scholarships are awarded each year to students from Schenectady and surrounding counties who plan to major in chemistry or biochemistry.

“We are extremely grateful to the Wright Family Foundation for their continued support of critical College projects,” said Union President Stephen C. Ainlay. “Their generosity and commitment to philanthropic causes is well-known, and we are pleased they have deemed as a worthy project our Wold Center, which advances our leadership in what it means to be liberally educated in the 21^st century.”

The Wold Center will host interdisciplinary programs in biochemistry and environmental science and engineering. Building highlights include a high performance computer lab, state-of-the-art laboratories and classrooms, and labs for cutting-edge collaborative research. The center will house a roof-top renewable energy lab and undertake research and demonstration projects related to energy and the environment.

The $22 million project was made possible in large part due to a lead gift from John S. Wold ’38 and his wife, Jane. The Wolds have directed more than $14 million of their original $20 million You are Union Campaign commitment to be a catalyst for the project.

Posted on Oct 22, 2010

Posted on Oct 21, 2010

The Stephanie C. Davis Residency, now in its third year, welcomes the Rioult dance company from New York this week.

A lecture/demonstration will take place in the Union Dance Studio, Visual Arts Building, today (Oct. 21) at 6:30 p.m., with a show at the Egg theater in Albany on Friday, Oct. 22 at 8 p.m.

At 7:15 p.m., there will be a pre-show discussion introducing Artistic Director Pascal Rioult by professor Miryam Moutillet.

Show your Union ID at the Egg Box Office for a free ticket.

The residency is made possible by a gift from Sue and Gus Davis ’59, a pathologist from Orange, Conn., in memory of their daughter, Stephanie C. Davis, who was a modern dancer and environmental activist with a lifelong love of the performing arts.

Posted on Oct 21, 2010

The Union-Schenectady Alliance is teaming up Phi Delta Theta, a local restaurant and others to raise awareness of the devastation in Dulac, La. in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the BP oil spill.

During halftime of Saturday’s football game between Union and Salisbury University, 10 students will face off in an eating contest featuring the New Orleans specialty, the muffuletta sandwich.

In addition, as part of their regular grilling charity fundraiser, the brothers of Phi Delta Theta will feature a Louisiana-themed game day. Samples of muffuletta sandwiches will be available. Donations will be accepted, with proceeds going to the Dulac Community Center.

Students, faculty and staff have worked with the center for the past five years as part of Union’s Community Service mini-term in Louisiana. The mini-term grew out of trips students took on part of their December break to help rebuild parts of New Orleans damaged or destroyed by hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Some participants will be on hand Saturday to discuss their experiences.

Food for the event is provided by Dining Services and Café Nola, a Schenectady restaurant specializing in Cajun cuisine.

Posted on Oct 21, 2010

There will be a panel discussion for the “Critical Stitch” exhibition currently on view in the Mandeville Gallery today (Oct. 21) at 4 p.m. in the Nott Memorial.

The panel includes three distinguished exhibition artists with national and international recognition, including work in important public and private collections and representation with major galleries in New York, Los Angles and San Francisco.

The fourth participant is Elissa Auther, professor of art history at the University of Colorado and author of “String, Felt and Thread: The Hierarchy of Art and Craft in Contemporary Art.” Her forthcoming book is titled “The Countercultural Experiment: Consciousness and Encounters at the Edge of Art.”

For more information about the exhibit, click here.

Posted on Oct 21, 2010

For the past year, a group of faculty, students and staff have been working to create a Union College time capsule for the new Peter Wold Center for Science and Engineering. One segment will be opened at a special 2062 ReUnion 50 years after the capsule’s dedication in 2012; the other will be unveiled 100 years after the dedication. 

“We know where it will go and what it will look like; all we need is the stuff inside,” says Lexie Crosby ’12.

She and other members of the Time Capsule Committee are asking members of the Union community to make their mark on history. The committee is handing out special archival paper designed to stand the test of time “so you can write a letter to your future self.”

Photographers may also submit photos to the capsule. Photos should have a resolution of 3264×2448, 8 megapixels (most digital cameras meet this requirement), and can be submitted electronically to uniontimecapsule@gmail.com. Other questions? Contact Crosby at crosbya@union.edu.