Posted on Sep 19, 2008

Rebecca Cortez, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, has been awarded a National Science Foundation grant of $175,000 to support the project, “BRIGE: Morphological Characterization of Nanomaterials by Atomic Force Microscopy.” 

A chapter by Jillmarie Murphy, visiting assistant professor of English and American literature, and Ronald A. Bosco, titled “New England Poetry,” is included in the Oxford Handbook of Early American Literature (Oxford University Press, 2008). The chapter examines the dominant critical view of colonial New England verse and the modification of that perspective in the 20th century and offers an in-depth analysis of the major colonial New England poets Michael Wigglesworth, Anne Bradstreet and Edward Taylor.

A book by Jennifer Matsue, professor of music, anthropology and East Asian studies, has been published by Routledge. “Making Music in Japan's Underground: The Tokyo Hardcore Scene” considers how individuals make music in the underground Tokyo hardcore scene, expanding views on the complicated position of young adult Japanese as they negotiate both increasing social demands and escalating problems in society at large.

“Going for the Gold,” by Ashraf Ghaly, professor of engineering, is included in the August issue of Concrete Today. The article describes the innovative design and construction of the Beijing’s Olympic stadium.

An article titled “Landmark in the Air,” which appears in the August issue of Mechanical Engineering, was authored by Professor of Mechanical Engineering Frank Wicks, a frequent contributor to the publication and a licensed pilot of gliders and powered aircraft. The article describes the pioneering glider flights of John Montgomery and how his work helped to inspire the Lockheed brothers, Glenn Martin, Donald Douglas, James McDonnell, Larry Bell, Claude Ryan and William Boeing to design their own airplanes and start major companies.

A book by Rudy Nydegger, professor of psychology and in the School of Management at Union Graduate College, was released in August by Praeger Publishers. “Understanding and Treating Depression: Ways to Find Help and Hope” explains the history, increasing incidence, diagnosis, costs, treatment and other aspects of depression across ages, gender, culture, ethnicity, socioeconomic group and sexual identity. 

Daniel O. Mosquera, associate professor of Spanish and Latin American studies, was invited to present his documentary, “Sanpachando” at the Seventh Biennial International / Interdisciplinary Research Conference of the Afro-Latin/American Research Association (ALARA) in Cartagena, Colombia, in August. He also read a paper titled “Cultura Popular y Complicidades de Consumo: San Pacho Llega a Santa Fe de Bogotá, con la Fundación BAT.” He was elected a member of ALARA’s executive committee.

Posted on Sep 19, 2008

Union College has received gifts from generous alumni and friends, such as Burt Payne '41, who share in the dream of an exceptional education for talented students.

Find out how you can support Union’s students, click here.

Burton Payne ’41 owned and operated Payne Chemical Corporation in Glendale, Calif. for 35 years before retiring in 2005. Burt, as he is known to acquaintances, still resides in Glendale, where at age 90 he retains the straight-forward demeanor of a business owner.

So, when asked why he established three charitable gift annuities totaling more than $1 million and named the College as the largest beneficiary of his trust, he gives a short but complete answer.

“They gave me a good education,” Payne says during an interview at his California home. “As a matter of fact, a business came around and offered me a job before I graduated.”

Payne moved to California to work for a company that later eliminated his job. But he stayed in the Golden State and by 1970 had founded Payne Chemical Corporation.

Burt and his late wife, Dolores, visited Union on their honeymoon in 1943, but he has not been back to campus since.

Nonetheless, he is appreciative of Union’s role in his success and frequently recommends the College to young people. Burt admires fellow alumni John S. Wold ’38 and Gordon Gould ’41 and followed their lead in issuing several unrestricted gifts to the College.

“I’m getting older every day, but that’s good,” he says jokingly. “When you give to Union, you know your money’s going to do some good.”

For more information, contact:

Jacqueline Cavalier, Director, Gift Planning

(518) 388-6156 (direct)

(888) 843-4365 ext. 6156 (toll free)

giftplanning@union.edu

www.union.plannedgifts.org

Posted on Sep 19, 2008

A wooden maze that dispenses M&Ms. Plastic straws and ping pong balls. A basket full of brain teasers.

Karen Ferrer-Muñiz, Union’s new director of Multicultural Affairs, is thinking outside the box when it comes to stimulating dialogue and understanding about diversity on campus.         

"These are my thinking toys,” she said recently, showing a visitor around the Office of Multicultural Affairs, located in Reamer Campus Center Room 304. “I want to motivate students, to provide the spark they need to know themselves.”

This means, she said, giving them an opportunity to engage in conversations, workshops and events in which they can freely and comfortably embrace their background and family history.

“Where you grew up, who raised you, what school you went to – these are what make you who you are. They are more important than race, deeper than ethnicity, gender or age.”

Ferrer-Muñiz arrived in August from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where she was associate dean of students and director of Minority Student Affairs & HEOP. In looking at diversity in the broadest sense of the word, she espouses a philosophy that is consistent with Union’s goal of supporting a living and learning environment in which people from varied backgrounds can succeed and thrive.  

“This is the right time for Union, the right moment to go in this direction,” Ferrer-Muniz said. “This generation of students at Union is ready for new diversity leadership skills.”

Ferrer-Muñiz will work with a number of student groups, from Academic Opportunity Programs to Student Support Services. In the coming weeks, in particular, she plans to get together with fraternities and sororities, the Minerva Houses, Posse students and athletic teams.

“Besides playing hockey or football together, do they know and understand each other?” she said.

Ferrer-Muñiz has found that a few props go a long way toward breaking the ice, getting students to stretch their ideas about themselves and furthering understanding among individuals. Her work with several dozen resident advisors at the beginning of the term quickly demonstrated her hands-on approach.

“I came in with four tubes of toothpaste, toothpicks and a toothbrush, and portable blackboards,” she explained. “I gave them 15 questions about diversity and family history – What do you like most about where you grew up? Tell about something you did that was out of character for you. What is a characteristic in others that you admire? – Then I asked them to answer by writing symbols on their blackboards.

“They were looking at me like I was crazy, but once they broke into groups and started working, they couldn’t stop.”

Ayanna Vinson-Dobson ’11 of Boston, an R.A. in Davidson who also works in the Office of Multicultural Affairs, is one who enjoyed symbolizing her thoughts and life.

“I never imagined drawing with toothpaste, but we got to learn a lot about people, things we wouldn’t normally ask,” Vinson-Dobson said. “I was so excited, I went home and told my mom about it that night. You would never think you would have this deep experience with toothpaste and black cardboard.”

Ferrer-Muñiz calls herself a connector and a main resource for diversity issues on campus. She also likens herself to a scout leader.

In fact, she was a member of the Girl Scouts – Niñas Escuchas – in her native San German, Puerto Rico, from which she came to the Capital Region 18 years ago to earn a master’s in social sciences from the University at Albany. Currently, she is  pursuing her Ph.D in Latin American Studies and Higher Education Administration there.

She serves on the board of directors of the Hudson Valley Council Girl Scouts and is president of the board of directors of Centro Civico Hispanoamericano of Albany.

Her cheerful office and the Straus Unity Center next door are full of tapestries, photographs and other items that present a rich array of messages about heritage, family and culture.

“Our students should understand that when they leave Union, which is a safe zone for four years, and they are ready for their careers, they alsoo need to be ready for all kinds of people with different backgrounds, ideas and values,” Ferrer-Muñiz said.    

Editor’s note: The Office of Multicultural Affairs is sponsoring an open house today, Friday, Sept. 19, 12:30 p.m.-2 p.m. in Strauss Unity Center on the third floor of Reamer Campus Center.

Posted on Sep 19, 2008

Posted on Sep 18, 2008

Poet Ed Pavlic, who taught English and Africana studies at Union from 1997 to 2006, will read from his recent collection of prose poems, “Winners Have Yet to be Announced:A Song for Donny Hathaway,” Monday, Sept. 22 at 7:30 p.m. in Room 215 of the Visual Arts Building.

“Winners Have Yet to be Announced” (University of Georgia Press, 2008) uses imagined conversations and interviews to convey the voices, surroundings and clashing dimensions of the life of Hathaway, a blues singer who died tragically at 33.

Pavlic’s other recent books include “but here are small clear refractions” (Kwani? Books, Nairobi, 2008) and “Labors Lost Left Unfinished” (UPNE, 2006). His “Paraph of Bone & Other Kinds of Blue” won The American Poetry Review/ Honickman First Book Award in 2001.

Pavlic also is the author of the study of African-American literary culture, “Crossroads Modernism” (University of Minnesota Press, 2002). He lives in Athens, Ga., where he directs the M.F.A. and Ph.D. programs in creative writing and teaches at the University of Georgia.

Monday’s event is sponsored by the Department of English. For more information, call 388-6231.

Posted on Sep 18, 2008

Union’s Chamber Concert Series begins its 37^th year Thursday, Oct. 2 at 8 p.m. in Memorial Chapel with the Jupiter String Quartet, acclaimed as one of the strongest young string quartets in the country.

Violinists Nelson Lee and Meg Freivogel, violist Liz Freivogel and cellist Daniel McDonough will perform works by Haydn (Op. 77, No. 2), Shostakovich (No. 7), Gubaidulina (No. 2) and Beethoven (Op. 59, No.2) in the Capital Region debut.

Based in Boston, Jupiter made its debut in 2001. Since completing their schooling at the New England Conservatory of Music, the musicians have won numerous awards, including first prize in the Banff International String Quartet Competition. The group has played in some of the world’s most prestigious halls, including Lincoln Center, where it is scheduled to perform one week after its Union appearance.

The group's members have been hailed for "imaginative depth beyond their years" by the Washington Post.

Jupiter heads a fall line-up that also includes Trio Cavatina (Oct. 30), pianist Orion Weiss (Nov. 11), solo violinist Christian Tetzlaff (Dec. 5) and Musicians from Marlboro, Dec. 15.

All concert tickets are free for the Union community, $20 for general admission and $10 for area students. For tickets, call 388-6080. For more information, visit www.union.edu/concertseries