Growing up in Washington, D.C., during the
Vietnam War era, Sonia Rosen '82 went to civil
rights demonstrations, not ball games (although she says
she is now an avid Baltimore Orioles fan).
Since then, her concern for human
rights has propelled her into positions with such groups
as Amnesty International and the Minnesota Advocates for
Human Rights.
Now, as director of the International
Child Labor Study Program in the U.S. Department of
Labor, she oversees research and investigation of child
labor worldwide at the request of Congress. Recent
studies have focused on child labor in manufacturing and
mining imports, child labor in agricultural imports,
forced and bonded (or slave) child labor, codes of
conduct relating to child labor among U.S. companies
importing apparel and cohesion to those codes, private
sector efforts to create a labeling program identifying
goods not produced by child labor, and child
prostitution.
Rosen, a political science major,
received her law degree from the University of Minnesota.
She worked for the Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights
and then directed the U.S. Midwest Region of Amnesty
International before taking the job at the Department of
Labor.
Child labor issues have increasingly
appeared in the press, and Rosen and her staffers have
felt the impact of this media outbreak. “We were the
only office within the U.S. Government that had been
publishing in this area,” she explains. “By the
time the Kathie Lee Gifford case came about, we had been
working on the issue and had the information
available.”
Rosen says that more groups are
becoming interested in child labor issues. “I think
we've played a good role in making the American public
aware,” she says. “I've been in the human
rights field a long time and I've seen more movement on
this issue in a short period of time than in any other
issue.”
Rosen says the best part of her job is
the opportunity to make a difference.
“I really feel like I am making a
difference — that in the long run, our work can make a
positive contribution to somebody's life,” she says.
“I feel lucky to be able to be a part of creating
institutional change and being a fundamental part of
making society better, even if it sometimes is on a lower
level.”
She is responsible for administering a
$5 million grant from Congress to the International Labor
Organization, which has led to programs getting children
out of the factories and into schools. She cites one
program for displaced workers in Nepal as a success.
“Children who typically work twelve hour days are
suddenly given a chance to have a childhood and be happy,
playing, and going to school,” she says.
Her trips abroad — to Thailand,
Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines,
Central America, and throughout Europe — are often
memorable as she reaches out to people who are surprised
that there are agencies willing to help. “Once, a
few years back, I was touring the slums of the
Philippines and the people there were so honored that
somebody cared about them,” she explains. “It
was a high point — but it's also a lot of
responsibility. To work in this field, you have to learn
to laugh at yourself so that you don't get depressed. You
learn to take wins when they come and to recognize the
small wins.”
May 6, 1997, is a day that Denise
Kitsock Gutstein '86 will certainly remember. It's
not only the day that she and her husband, Adam, founder
of nationally-recognized Diamond Technology Partners,
experienced the birth of their son, Grant. It's also the
day that Frontier Telephone (formerly Rochester [N.Y.]
Telephone) — the company she leads — and the
Communications Workers of America signed a contract after
eighteen months of labor strife.
Gutstein started with Rochester
Telephone as an assistant engineer just ten years before
her technical skills and experiences, business acumen,
and leadership propelled her to the presidency.
Established in 1899, the company serves some 400,000
customers, selling local phone, long distance, cellular,
and Internet-access service. It accounts for about
fifteen percent of the $2.6 billion in revenues each year
of its parent company, Frontier Corp., which focuses on
providing long-distance service.
An electrical engineering major at
Union, Gutstein chose Rochester Tel for two reasons: the
company's standing in a dramatically changing industry
and the terrific people. “I didn't want to go into
pure engineering, and Rochester Telephone offered a
program in which I could use my technical abilities
within a management track,” she says.
She entered a management program that
allowed her to gain experience in many areas of the
company and, over nine years, worked in engineering,
operations, and strategic planning.
It was Gutstein's technical expertise
— and her strong interpersonal skills — that made her
the top candidate for job as president in March of 1996.
Now, she oversees a major technical project as Rochester
Tel consolidates switching centers. She has also
assembled a management team and has put together a plan
for 1998 and beyond that incorporates significant change
into the very basis of how Rochester Tel does business.
“We are changing the business, making it easier for
customers to do business with us while strategically
differentiating ourselves,” she says.
Many attribute Gutstein's success to
her ability to work with others so well. She regularly
spends several mornings each week with workers on site,
listening to their concerns and suggestions. Gutstein
explains that her parents taught her that you can always
learn something from everyone, and she's always looking
to learn from her fellow employees.
At Union, Gutstein says she learned
problem solving and critical thinking skills that have
allowed her to excel. “I learned how to attack
problems logically and work through issues based on fact,
not emotion,” she says.
Even as one of only a handful of women
in her electrical engineering classes, Gutstein says that
she was never intimidated. When she began at Rochester
Tel and people told her that many men might be hesitant
to accept a woman in a leadership role, she was not
worried. “I went into each position not trying to be
the superstar, but rather comfortable that I was going to
learn from them while hopefully providing some critical
thinking,” she says.
Gutstein says her first year leading
the company was full of challenges. “It was a time
of learning, of building a team, and of understanding
priorities,” she says.
And how does she deal with the stress
of running a $320 million a year company? She doesn't
actually feel much stress, she says, explaining that her
confidence in her own experience and in her management
team and the potential of all employees minimizes the
stress. Still, she enjoys taking time out for tennis,
golf, volleyball, skiing, and, most importantly, her son.
The Union Bookshelf regularly calls special
attention to books written by alumni and other members of
the Union community. If you're an author and would
like to be featured, please send us a copy of the book or
the jacket as well as your publisher's news release.
Our address is Public Relations Office, Union College,
Schenectady, N.Y. 12308-3169.
David Butenhof
'78
A practical textbook, Programming
with POSIX Threads, (Addison-Wesley), teaches a
method of multitasking programming which allows faster,
easier, and more responsive results. The book addresses
debugging, the major problem with thread programming, and
gives a look at future standardization. The book also
includes annotated examples illustrating real-world
concepts as well as a Pthreads mini-reference.
Butenhof '78, an engineer with
Digital Equipment Corporation, is the lead architect and
developer of Digital's threading architecture and
designer of the Pthreads interfaces on Digital UNIX 4.0
and is a recognized Pthreads authority.
Robert O'Hara
'79
A Handheld PC, or M/PC, a miniaturized
version of a desktop PC or a laptop PC, is small enough
to fit in the palm of your hand. Robert O'Hara, who
was part of a highly specialized team at Microsoft,
worked to create this PC as well as Microsoft CE, the
software program which connects a computer the size of a
pocket calculator to the Internet using operating systems
which are already familiar. Windows CE for the Handheld
PC, produced by Microsoft Press is s comprehensive guide
for running Windows CE.
William Maynard, Jr.
'50
In the children's corner are two
new books by Bill Maynard. Incredible Ned is the
story of a boy who speaks things into existence. When he
says “gorilla” a gorilla appears, and so on,
until his classroom is turned into a zoo. The teacher and
the whole school become involved in solving this
not-so-funny problem.
Santa's Time Off is a
picture book illustrated by Tom Browning whose paintings
of Santa have been popular for many years.The book is a
collection of poems by Santa as told to Bill Maynard
about what the rest of the year is like for the Christmas
Elf.
Maynard lives in Westchester County,
N.Y., and Martha's Vineyard. These two books,
published by G.P. Putnam's Sons are available now.
Also in the works for 1998 release are Quiet, Wyatt,
another picture book, and The River, a novel for readers
eleven and up.
Aaron Feingold, M.D.
'72
Three Jewish Physicians of the
Renaissance: The Marriage of Science and Ethics is an
inspirational essay detailing the lives of three Jewish
physicians. Persecuted for their faith, these three found
in Judaism a deeper belief in medicine and a closer bond
between medical ethics and science which is as relevant
today as it was then.
The hard cover book by Aaron Feingold,
M.D. '72 is available from the American Friends of
Beth Hatefutsoth in New York City.
Recently, the Parents Council asked its members
to give their impressions of Union, and I'm happy to say that we look very good to this constituency. Overall, 330 of the 388 respondents rated Union good to excellent in such areas as academic affairs, student and residential life, and extracurricular activities. However, forty-eight rated the institution average, and, at the other end of the spectrum, ten parents
said we were poor or fair.
The survey also asked parents to contribute comments, and their remarks were for the most part reassuring. We were delighted to read statements such as “teachers friendly, approachable, and competent,” “amazed at the quality, variety, nutrition” of food, and “great opportunities” for participation. We were thrilled when we saw comments such as “she is growing and developing into a wonderful adult” or “it has taught him the things that he wants and does not want for his life” or “the atmosphere of learning was almost palpable in comparison to that of other campuses we visited.” We were even happy (I think) to see “Union College taught my child how to deal with disappointments in his life.”
But, being an institution that is constantly looking for ways to improve, we also read with great interest the not-so-favorable comments. I would like to share some of them with you, along with some ideas of what we can do to address them.
There were numerous comments about drinking and the Greek system-“too much boozing,” as the parent of one senior put it, and “the Greek system detracts from academics” and “students are left on their own and abuse their freedom.”
As I have repeatedly said, despite many seemingly not hearing the message, I want to continue to treat eighteen-year-olds as adults (after all, they can vote in and die for this country) and to support Greek life so long as it entails neither discrimination nor hazing. We repeatedly discuss these issues with students (one well-attended session this year was led by the local district attorney, a Union alumnus), but I refuse to send security officers into houses to check for either of these “activities.” Drinking, despite efforts that range from non-alcoholic social events to individual counseling, continues to be a problem here and at virtually every American college campus. We do have work to do-a great deal of work.
A broader array of social opportunities was another often repeated sentiment. Coupled with that sentiment were comments that we should do more to encourage student involvement in volunteer and off-campus activities. Here, theme houses are part of the answer. From Smith House (whose members open its doors to a range of student organizations for meetings and events) to Wells House (where residents share a common interest in community service) to the newly-formed and
environmentally-minded Tree House, students are trying different approaches to living and learning. And we will continue to accommodate students' interests.
Another common theme was the condition of the residence halls, which too many felt needed work. “Rooms and dorms need updating” is how one parent put it; said another, “either fix the houses or replace them.” We need both to renovate existing facilities and to develop new accommodations, which presents us with a fundraising challenge and a space problem (which is the reason for our ongoing lawsuit on our Lenox Road properties).
Terms Abroad, while generally praised, elicited some criticism. As one parent put it, “the lack of openings and opportunity is a serious defect.” We now have more than two dozen international programs, and the number of students participating puts us among the top twelve schools in the nation. We also continue to explore further options, especially regarding exchanges, which have the benefit of bringing more international students to campus. But we will never have the resources to enable students to study wherever and whenever they choose.
Perhaps the chief complaint in our academic area came with advising. “There have been many wonderful teachers, but the academic advising needs to be more informative,” said the parent of one sophomore. We do a fine job with first-year students and an excellent job once students choose a major, but we recognize that we have a problem with sophomore advising.
I do not want alumni and parents reading this column to assume the worst. The critical comments were far outweighed by wonderful ones, and, even in the areas where some parents criticized us, others had nice comments (one parent, for example, said our residence halls seem “sturdy and long-lasting, very organized and clean”).
On the whole, the parents' responses made for encouraging reading. In fact, I do not think that I can praise Union any better than the parent of one junior: “Our daughter has been challenged by a strong academic program and has benefitted by having several strong professors. She has found many opportunities to strengthen her character. This has been a wonderful opportunity.”
To that parent-thank you! To all who participated and made suggestions-thank you. And to the alumni whose support has enabled us to do
so much-thank you. We will continue to try to improve!
At Bob Holland's graduation from Union in 1962, one of the people he met was an alumnus who had graduated
thirty-five years before, in 1927. The alumnus, he said, was “very proud” to describe what his generation had accomplished. This June, thirty-five years after his graduation, Holland looked out at the crowd gathered on Library Field and
offered a different perspective.
“I'm here to contend that the Class of 1962, and many of the intervening classes, did not get the job done.”
Holland described growing up in segregated Michigan and, while acknowledging that there have been many positive steps in civil rights, he said that there has been much backsliding recently. The real tragedy, he said, is that we are losing our capacity to care for the poor, especially children, the elderly, and the chronically-ill.
“It has been our generation that elected the bunch now in Washington that are acting like the gang that could not shoot straight,” he said. “In the pursuit of a balanced budget and lower taxes, they have declared war on the poor for being poor.”
The issue, he said, was “a lack of simply giving a damn.”
Holland said there were two reasons he wanted to make that point with the graduating seniors. First, economic deprivation anywhere is a threat to economic stability everywhere. Second, each graduate can make a difference.
“If you decide to have a positive impact on one poverty-stricken child's life, one each year until you come back to your thirty-fifth reunion, you will have a meaningful impact on a body of people the size of New York City.
“You can check my math or you can get busy making a difference.” Holland is president of Workplace Integrators of Detroit, a large distributor of office furniture, and the former president of Ben and Jerry's, the Vermont ice cream maker (which still gives him 365 free pints of ice cream a year). Chairman of the board of Spelman College in Atlanta, his many community activities include the NCAA Foundation, the Harlem Junior Tennis Tournament, and the Make a Difference Program in Detroit.
President Hull is joined by Mary Patterson McPherson and Paul LeClerc
He received an honorary doctor of laws degree from the College. His citation noted that he has compiled an impressive record of improving the fortunes of companies while developing and supporting a range of community programs, particularly those that enhance opportunities for minorities.
“Your achievements do not surprise us,” his citation read. “From the moment you arrived here after a twenty-six hour bus ride from your home in Michigan, you have shown a remarkable combination of energy, enthusiasm, and leadership. For your positive and productive efforts on behalf of so many, we are proud once again to welcome you into our alumni body.”
Honorary doctor of letters degrees were awarded to Paul LeClerc, president of the New York Public Library and a former professor of French at Union, and Mary Patterson McPherson, the retiring president of Bryn Mawr College.
The citation for LeClerc, noting the enormous changes that are transforming libraries, praised his innovations, such as Library Entrance Online, which links all eighty-four branches of
the New York Public Library, and the new $100 million Science, Industry, and Business Library. “The library you lead is one of the world's great centers of learning, and it is appropriate that we greet you today with a quotation from the man you studied, Volta ire-'Liberty of thought is the life of the soul.' ”
McPherson, who will join the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation after leaving Bryn Mawr, was honored for the exuberant and affectionate goodwill she has shown leading her college. “You once wrote that a liberal arts curriculum is the single most important support of civilization because it liberates the intellect from the confines of time and place,” read her citation. “You have lived that credo at Bryn Mawr, and in your new role at the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, we are confident that you will encourage an even wider audience in the difficult art of critical thinking.”
Holland's advice was echoed by President Roger Hull, who drew applause with a Chinese proverb:
“If you want happiness for an hour, take a nap. If you want happiness for a day, go fishing. If you want happiness for a month, get married. If you want happiness for a year, inherit a fortune. If you want happiness for a lifetime, help others.”
The senior speech was given by Randall Pellish, a political science major from Pittsfield, Mass., and the fifth member of his family to attend Union (his father, Larry, graduated in 1968).
Noting that members of his class can expect to live well into the next millennium with all of its changes, he said that the constant changes will require continuing education.
“So, maybe, in a sense, we should not fret that this is our last day at Union,” he said. “Instead, this may be a new beginning where we will just
have to come back to Union and continue to learn about the world transforming outside these gates.”
Although new pressures will push and pull all of the graduates, he told his classmates to
remember that “a diamond is a chunk of coal that made good under the pressure of change.”
The senior class gift was a present that will make it more difficult for succeeding generations of students to be late for class-a large, double-faced clock atop a ten-foot pole immediately in front of the Reamer Campus Center. The lighted faces are easily seen at distances up to 100 feet.
The class raised more than $7,000 for the gift, and more than sixty percent of the class participated. Leading the senior gift committee were Pellish, Ashley Richter, Arielle Liberman, Megan Donovan, and Luis Beltre.
The valedictorian of the senior class was Dawn Landry, a chemistry major from Plattsburgh, N.Y., and the salutatorian was Jennifer Lawless, a political science major from Middletown, N.Y.
Landry was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Sigma Xi (the national scientific research honor society), and Sigma Iota Pi (the chemistry honor society). She participated on the track and diving teams; was social chairman of Wells House, a residence hall that promotes community service; and was a mentor in a program with Zoller Elementary School in Schenectady.
Lawless was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Pi Sigma Alpha (the political science honor society). She was a member of the Pre-Law society, the Union College Democrats, an editor of Concordiensis, and student assistant in the College's International Programs office. She is
co-author, with Professor Richard Fox, of an article titled “Why Women's Voices Are Not Heard,” which will appear in the December issue of the journal Current World Leaders.
All told, the College awarded 651 degrees -154 graduate degrees, 247 bachelors of arts, 188 bachelors of science,
twenty-eight bachelors of science in civil engineering, sixteen bachelors of science in mechanical engineering, fourteen bachelors of science in electrical engineering, and four bachelors of science in computer systems engineering.
Continuing a recent tradition, the College awarded bachelor's degrees to alumni whose years at Union were interrupted-in most cases, by military service. The degrees went to:
Dr. Robert Dewell '64, an otolaryngologist at Mary Imogone Bassett Hospital in Cooperstown, N.Y.;
Edward W. S. Hull '43, a former Washington Post correspondent and author of a number of books about marine coastal affairs;
Dr. Kenneth R. Lang '71, a dentist from Williston Park, N.Y.;
Dr. Richard H. Lange '46, retired chief of nuclear medicine at Ellis Hospital in Schenectady;
Dr. George Palmer '76, a veterinarian in Plattsburgh, N.Y.;
Dr. Joseph Honet '54, chair of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Sanai Hospital in Detroit;
Dr. Alan DeMayo '50, a pediatrician in New York City;
Dr. Sara Jane Goldberg-Weiss '76, a dentist in Wappingers Falls, N.Y.
They received their degrees based on the following criteria-completing at least two years at Union, not receiving bachelor's degrees elsewhere, earning higher degrees, and attaining distinction in their fields. Thirty-four alumni have received bachelor's degrees in the seven years of the program.
Frank J. Studer, who taught physics at Union from 1930 to 1943 and then served as a research professor at the College, died March 29 in Bethesda, Md. He was ninety-six.
The Gordon Gould '41 Professorship in Physics, established in 1995, honors Studer. Gould, who discovered the basic concepts of the laser, says Studer sparked his interest in the physics of light.
A graduate of the University of British Columbia, Studer received a master's degree from the University of Washington and a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin. After fifteen years at Union, Studer went to work at the General Electric Company's Research and Development Laboratory, where he developed advances in the light measurement field until his retirement in 1966.
He is survived by his wife, Katherine; a son; a stepdaughter; and two granddaughters.
Frederick Hartwig, a former professor of political science at the College, died May 27. He was fifty-six.
A graduate of Lawrence University, he received his Ph.D. from Northwestern University and joined the Union faculty in 1968, specializing in quantitative analysis, or polling data. He left in 1983 to join Peter D. Hart Research Associates in Washington, D.C., where he became senior vice president. He worked with pro-democracy groups in Chile and with the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs to moderate focus groups in post-apartheid South Africa. Survivors include his companion, Debbie Klingender, of Washington, D.C.; his former wife, Johanna Petersen, of Schenectady; a daughter, Karen; and a son, John.
A memorial service will be held Oct. 18 at 11 a.m. in Old Chapel.
On leadership
Edgar Letriz '92, assistant dean of students, has accepted a new position as assistant dean of Yale College. While making the announcement at the annual awards reception for the Academic Opportunity Program, he offered the following thoughts on alumni leadership:
“Leadership can only be defined by the service one renders to society and the humility and force with which it is exacted. Leadership by its own right demands a selfless giving of the soul for the greater humanity of the masses. It is not offered for the taking. Rather, it is earned to be shared with others. Such are the true qualities of a leader….
“I go to Yale for a number of purposes and with several obligations in mind. Of the most pressing of these is my obligation to Union… [M]y greatest obligation will be to extol her virtues and com
plement her unyielding success in forming an individual firmly grounded in a solid foundation of tomorrow's future. All that I've accomplished thus far and all that I wish to accomplish, as irrelevant or daunting as the task may be, I owe in a large part and careful measure to this College. To make her look good by all comparison is the very least I can do. To make her look splendid and, by so doing, to allow her to take her rightful place among the finest of liberal arts colleges, is what we all must do.”
Zolner '76 to lead GMI
Joseph P. Zolner '76
Joseph P. Zolner '76 has been named director of the Graduate Management Institute, responsible for student recruitment, accreditation, fundraising, and placement.
Zolner has been special projects consultant at Harvard University's Institutes for Higher Education. Previously, he was director of the Graduate School of Business Administration at Northeastern University.
The appointment follows a recently-completed strategic review of GMI, which recommended a full-time director.
“Because of its outstanding faculty, relevant curriculum, and attractive student/faculty ratio, GMI has already established itself as a first-rate provider of graduate management education,” Zolner said. “My goal is to support the faculty in their continuing efforts to make Union's MBA programs even stronger.”
Zolner, who earned his undergraduate degree in psychology, has a master's degree in public and private management from Yale and a master's degree and doctorate in education from Harvard.
Two seniors to teach in China
Seniors Jesse Karotkin and Joseph Quini have won fellowships to teach English next year at Capital Normal University in Beijing.
The two were selected to participate in a new program run by the United Board of Christian Higher Education in Asia. The program allows graduating students of ASIANetwork member institutions-including Union-to teach English at colleges and universities in the Peoples Republic of China. The program is supported by a grant from the Freeman Foundation.
Karotkin and Quini will take part in a summer orientation program (funded by the Amnity Foundation) before leaving for China. Both say their desire to teach in China arose from their term abroad at Nanjing Normal University.
