Posted on Oct 14, 2005

Research by Mark Walker, professor of history who specializes in the development of nuclear technology, was featured in the Sept. 30 Guardian, a leading British newspaper, in a prominent article, “Author Fuels Row Over Hitler's Bomb.”

The article, previewed on the front page with a picture of an atomic bomb explosion, featured an interview with author Luigi Romersa, the last known witness to what many consider the experimental detonation of a rudimentary weapon on an island in the Baltic in 1944.

Walker was quoted in the piece, which can be found at http://www.guardian.co.uk/.

In June, Walker and another historian, Rainer Karlsch, published an article in the British monthly, Physics World, that included a previously unpublished diagram of what they say is a German nuclear weapon.

Posted on Oct 14, 2005

Ed Pavlic, associate professor of English and director of Africana Studies, has written an essay, “Open the Unusual Door: The Dark Window in Yusef Komunyakaa's Early Poems,” that will appear in the fall Callaloo: A Journal of African Diaspora Arts and Letters. The special edition is dedicated to Komunyakaa's work.

Six of Pavlic's poems, called “One Word for Rachel Corrie,” are in the current issue of Crab Orchard Review. The poems are written in the voice of the American woman and International Solidarity Organization peace worker who was crushed by a bulldozer in the Gaza Strip in 2003.

In the fall issue of Cross-Cultural Poetics, Pavlic's piece, “Phoneme Death,” explores the implications of radical changes in human sensory capacity that occur in infancy.

Posted on Oct 14, 2005

Students, faculty and staff will join city leaders and local residents to spruce up parks, libraries and other key Schenectady sites on Saturday, Oct. 15, during the 11th annual John Calvin Toll Day. Activities, from 10 a.m. until noon, include planting daffodils and tulip bulbs between State Street and Nott Terrace.

The event is coordinated by the Kenney Community Center, Downtown Schenectady Improvement Corporation (DSIC) and local volunteers. Campus volunteers should meet at Old Chapel Circle at 9:45 a.m. for transport to selected sites.

Begun in 1995 as a way to strengthen ties with the city and expose students to volunteer opportunities, the popular community service day is named for one of Union's first graduates, John Calvin Toll, Class of 1799. The day is supported by Al Hill, a 1946 Union graduate, and his wife, Perrie. Toll was the great-great grandfather of Hill, a retired attorney from Buffalo. The Hills created the fund to encourage Union students to undertake volunteer service.

For more information, contact the Kenney Center, ext. 6609.

Posted on Oct 14, 2005

Teatro Círculo will present Un Quijote en Nueva York, a parody of Cervantes' masterpiece novel, Don Quixote, on Saturday, Oct. 15 at 4 p.m. in Old Chapel. A dinner reception at Blue House will follow.

“This performance has been quite a success in New York City,” said Nicole Valentin '06, president of Círculo Estudiantil Latino Americano (CELA). “The purpose of this event is to foster campus-wide awareness and appreciation of the richness of Latin American culture through exposure to classical theatrical production. All are welcome.” 

Posted on Oct 14, 2005

The Rev. Dr. Martin Marty, author of more than 50 books and a contributor to The Christian Century and Contexts, will present two seminars as part of the 25th anniversary of the Protestant Campus Ministry this year.  

“Literate Faith for College Students: What's In It for U” will be held at 11 a.m. at College Park Hall on Tuesday, Nov. 1. A portion of the $40 cost, which includes a buffet lunch, will help fund a new endowment for the campus ministry. It is tax-deductible.

Registration is due by Oct. 18. To RSVP, contact Viki Brooks-McDonald, campus Protestant minister, at 388-6618, or brooksmv@union.edu.

Marty will discuss “When Beliefs Collide: Is There Hope for U?” at 7:30 p.m. in Memorial Chapel, also on Nov. 1. The talk will address themes from his book, When Religions Collide. The event is free to the College community. All others are asked to make a $10 donation. 

Marty's visit is supported by funding from Union's Lamont Funds and First Methodist Church Carl lecture funds, in cooperation with the Capital Region Theological Center.

Posted on Oct 14, 2005

A Committee on Teaching panel discussion – “Should Union Adopt Grading Guidelines?” – will be held Tuesday, Oct. 25, 12:30-1:30 p.m., in Everest Lounge. The panel will address standards and expectations of student performance, an issue highlighted recently by Princeton University's new program to combat grade inflation. 

The Princeton plan calls for no more than 35 percent “A” and “A-” grades in undergraduate classroom courses and no more than 55 percent such grades in junior/senior independent studies and theses by department. 

According to Steve Sargent, department of history chair, at Union last year, “A” was the most commonly given grade (19.6 percent); “A” and “A-” grades together comprised 38 percent of all grades given. In 1998-99, 16 percent of all grades were “As.”

Those interested in speaking on the panel (either pro or con), should contact Sargent at sargents@union.edu. 

For more details on the Princeton decision, visit: http://www.princeton.edu/~odoc/grading_information.htm