Posted on Feb 26, 2009

The College celebrated Founders Day Thursday by recounting its role during the abolitionist movement and honoring one of the campus’s notable historical figures.

Pulitzer Prize-winning author James M. McPherson, in the keynote address, said the real character of the College was established by its longtime president, Eliphalet Nott. Though he never affiliated with the organized anti-slavery movement, Nott held strong anti-slavery convictions.

McPherson cited Nott’s baccalaureate adress in 1811, in which he praised the British anti-slavery leaders who had abolished the African slave trade.

Their fame, Nott said, “I had rather inherit than Caesar’s.” McPherson noted that in the same speech, Nott, whose son and grandson were named after British abolitionists, predicted that “Africa will rise if there be any truth in God.”

McPherson, a Civil War historian and the George Henry Davis ’86 Professor of American History Emeritus at Princeton University, paid homage to the hundreds of students and alumni who fought in the war, including 61 who died, as proof of the “devotion that the nation might experience a new birth of freedom.

“It is a record of which this institution may be justly proud.”

During the hour-long ceremony in Memorial Chapel, the College unveiled a portrait of Moses Viney, a runaway slave from Maryland who escaped to Schenectady on the Underground Railroad. Viney was a coachman, messenger and constant companion of Nott, who eventually secured his freedom.

Viney’s portrait was painted by Simmie Knox, a renowned African-American artist who painted the official White House portraits of former President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and other political and cultural figures.

President Stephen C. Ainlay praised Knox, who used a photograph from the College’s archives to complete the portrait. Borrowing the words of Jared Gourrier ’10, who spoke about Viney before the painting was uncovered, Ainlay told Knox he captured the “integrity, capability and intelligent humility” of one of the campus’s most central figures.”

Also at Founders Day, Daniel Frio, a history teacher at Wayland High School in Massachusetts, received the Gideon Hawley Teacher Recognition Award. Frio was nominated by Priscilla Wright ’12. The award is named for the 1809 graduate of Union who was New York state’s first superintendent of public education.

Seniors Adrienne Hart and Alexander Schlosberg received the Hollander Prize for Music. The pair provided a musical interlude, “All I Ask of You,” from “Phantom of the Opera.”

The Founders Day convocation is the first in a series of events to commemorate Union’s role in the abolitionist movement.

The College will host “The Underground Railroad, Its Legacies and Our Communities,” the eighth annual Underground Railroad History Conference, at College Park Hall Feb. 27-29.

In addition, a Schaffer Library exhibit, “Abolitionism and the Struggle for African-American Freedom: The Union College Experience,” chronicles the College’s involvement in the struggle for African-American freedom. It will include an 18th century sermon against the keeping of “negros” by Union College President Jonathan Edwards the Younger, photographs of Moses Viney, and copies of Union’s African-American student newspapers from the 1970s.

This exhibit will be on display through March 6.

Founders Day commemorates the 214th anniversary of the granting of the College’s charter from the New York State Board of Regents.

Posted on Feb 26, 2009

Posted on Feb 25, 2009

Quantum physics isn’t typically taught at the high school level, but two Union students recently brought their passion for this and other scientific topics to local students in preparation for the STEP Bowl, an annual competition of scientific knowledge.

As part of Union’s involvement in the Science and Technology Entry Program, Tom Perry '09 and Juan Canales '10 met with local high school students several times a week to discuss a number of topics. Perry is a physics major and an astrophysics minor, and Canales, a neuroscience major with a computer science minor.

Their hard work paid off, and the team was given the Spirit Award for the third consecutive year, recognizing their enthusiasm and drive.

Perry said he enjoys having the opportunity to share scientific theories and ideas, such as the uncertainty principle, with the students.

“It is only when one moves beyond the basic theories of a science and into its manifold applications that the physical sciences reveal their true beauty and interconnectedness,” he said.

Perry and Canales used teaching games as aids and encouraged student interaction.

“We reinforced what they were learning by having them interact and ask questions, and letting them dictate what their interests were so that we could further their understanding of topics,” Canales said. “For any competition, sportsmanship is key – and this is something that our kids demonstrated.”

Canales has agreed to be a coach again next year for a team of middle school students and to help coordinate the regional STEP Bowl to be held at Union next year.

“I only hope that our passion for what we are studying has impacted them for the better and encouraged them to think outside the box and outside the classroom, and apply science to their everyday lives,” he said.

Posted on Feb 25, 2009

The industrial rock music by Nine Inch Nails is the inspiration for this year’s student winter dance concert, to be held at the Yulman Theater Thursday, March 5 through Sunday, March 8.

There will be three evening and two matinee performances.

“Theatre of Worlds: The Voyage” combines theater, live music, dance and performance art. The cast’s 60 performers have spent all term preparing for the event. In addition to performing, students are involved behind the scenes in lighting, costumes, make-up, and technical production.

“The voyage will show the beauties of the world as well as the world’s vulnerability to human consumption,” said Miryam Moutillet, dance program and concert director.

Each dance scene is designed to mimic a particular ecosystem or showcase a modern issue, such as global warming. The show will move the audience through a series of settings as if they were travelers, taking them to underwater, desert and other worlds.

“It’s a very technical show, with lots of unexpected twists, props and visual effects,” said Shauna Keeler ’09, who is dancing in numerous ballet and modern pieces. “It’s a phenomenal undertaking. Even though we’ve been rehearsing for months, I keep discovering new aspects of the show.”

Moutillet said the audience will be set up around three sides of the stage “to break down the traditional barriers that exist during performances and give the public a chance to view dance in a new and exciting way.”

The show also features the choreography of hip-hop instructor Carla Domenico-Wasbes, Professor of French Charles Batson and Annie Benfield ’09, Amelia Patten-Whitney ’09, Sarah Coleman ’09, Jen Fleischer ’09, Katie Newingham ’09 and Stacy Paul ’10.

Patten-Whitney, a recent Edward Villella dance scholarship recipient, is incorporating the belly dancing style that she studied with Mark Morris last summer in the desert scene. She created “Out of Space” with Benfield.   

Dance concert band members include Jake Klein ’09 (drums), Julio Vidal ’09 (guitarist), Will Wilkins ’09 (bass) and Moutillet’s son, Tristan Allen (keyboard). Andy Iorio of Saratoga Springs is the musical director.

Performances are March 5, 6, and 7 at 8 p.m. and March 7 and 8 at 2 p.m.

Tickets are on sale at the Yulman Theatre. The cost is $10 for general admission and $7 for Union faculty, staff and students (with Union College ID) as well as area seniors. The box office is open Monday through Friday, 12:30 p.m.-1:30 p.m. For more information or reservations, call 388-6545.

Posted on Feb 24, 2009

The 2009 Wold Lecture on Religion and Conflict will feature Pulitzer Prize winner Jack Miles in a lectured titled “Religion and International Relations in the Obama Administration: The Aftermath and the Anticipation.”

The event, free and open to the public, will take place Monday, March 2 at 5:30 p.m., with a reception preceding his talk at 5 p.m., at the Nott Memorial.

Miles is the Distinguished Professor of English and Religious Studies at of the University of California UC Irvine and senior fellow for religious affairs with the Pacific Council on International Policy.  His book, “God: A Biography,” won the 1996 Pulitzer Prize for Biography. His following book, published in 2001, is “Christ: A Crisis in the Life of God.”

In 2002 he was named a MacArthur Fellow.  He is general editor of the forthcoming Norton Anthology of World Religions.

Posted on Feb 24, 2009

President Stephen C. Ainlay and his six senior staff members hosted two campus-wide panel discussions Tuesday to update faculty and staff on the impact of the economic downturn on the College and the plans to address it.

In a tone best described as realistic but confident, the president and senior administration assured the campus community that while Union is certainly not exempt from the effects of the recession, the College is in a much stronger position to respond to those effects than many of its peer institutions. 

“Let me assure you that we are not here today to make any drastic announcements, but rather to provide information,” the president emphasized at the start of the session. “We want to share with you not only how Union is addressing economic challenges, but how we will continue to fulfill our critical mission as an institution.”

The president and leaders from the areas of Finance, College Relations, Student Affairs, Admissions, Academic Affairs and Diversity explained that while all three of the College’s major revenue streams—endowment income, tuition and fundraising—are under stress, Union is in a relatively strong position to react to this stress.  The relative liquidity of the endowment, the strong applicant pool for next year’s class and a budget surplus in the current fiscal year were all cited as critical strengths.

“We are currently experiencing a very positive fiscal year,” said Diane Blake, vice president of Finance. “This means we are able to be proactive and deliberative in planning for future years when the decline in our endowment value will have a greater impact on our operations.  Fortunately, we are not in a position where we need to take immediate action or sell assets in a down market.”

As part of the proactive planning process, the president invited each member of the campus community to submit cost savings ideas that could be implemented if necessary by the 2011-12 fiscal year.  All ideas will be evaluated within the current budget planning and College governance structure to identify those with the potential to save money without jeopardizing the College’s mission and the goals laid out in the Strategic Plan.

“We are absolutely committed to doing everything we can to avoid layoffs as an option,” the president informed faculty and staff.  “As sure as I’m sitting here, we will come out of this crisis.  We will weather this storm and we will continue to move forward on our important objectives.”