Laura Weed, a professor of
philosophy at the College of St.
Rose, will speak on “Quine and Chinese
Philosophy: Relativity, Indeterminacy, Anti-essentialism” on Friday, Oct. 4, at
4:30 p.m. in Humanities 213.
Her talk, free and open to the
public, opens the Union College Philosophy Department's Fall Term Colloquia.
Other talks in the series are:
— Friday, Oct. 25, Randall Curren, University of Rochester, on “The
Structure of Socratic Ethics;” and
— Friday, Nov. 8, Fred Dretske, Duke University on “Change
Blindness: Where Philosophy and Psychology Intersect”
Ad hoc committees have been formed to consider the
tenurability of eight assistant professors: Timothy Olsen, Performing Arts;
Jonathan Marr, Physics; Lori Marso, Political Science; Michael Hagerman,
Chemistry; Robert Lauzon, Biology; Sarah Mace, Classics; David Cotter,
Sociology; and Kathryn Lesh, Mathematics.
Any
member of the campus community wishing to offer written or oral testimony
concerning the candidates should contact the respective committee members.
For
Olsen, committee members are Hilary Tann (Performing Arts), David Hannay (Computer Science), Ed Pavlic (English), and Teresa Meade (History), chair.
For
Marr, members are George Williams (Computer Science), Kurt Hollocher (Geology),
Gary Reich (Physics), and Donald Arnold (Graduate Management Institute), chair.
For
Marso, members are Terry Weiner (Political Science), Kenneth DeBono
(Psychology), Presha Neidermeyer (Graduate Management Institute), and Brenda
Wineapple (English), chair.
For Hagerman, members are Mary Carroll
(Chemistry), Ronald Bucinell (Mechanical Engineering), Martin Benjamin (Visual
Arts), and Seth Greenberg (Psychology), chair.
For
Lauzon, members are Ashraf Ghaly (Civil Engineering), Janet Anderson
(Chemistry), Stephen Horton (Biology), and James Lambrinos (Graduate Management
Institute), chair.
For Mace, members are Mark Toher (Classics),
Robert Wells (History), Jordan Smith (English), and Linda Stanhope
(Psychology), chair.
For
Cotter, members are Martha Huggins (Sociology), Felmon Davis (Philosophy),
Theodore Gilman (Political Science), and Suzanne Benack (Psychology), chair.
For
Lesh, members are Karl Zimmermann (Mathematics), Michael Rudko (Electrical and
Computer Engineering), Therese McCarty (Economics), and Daniel Burns
(Psychology), chair.
The
Master Dancers of Bali, featuring eight of the Indonesian island's
most celebrated dancers and musicians, will perform on Tuesday, Oct. 8, at 8 p.m. in Union College's Yulman Theater.
Master Dancers of Bali
Cost
is $5, free to members of the Union community. For more information, call the
box office at 388-6545.
The
troupe will be on campus for two days, doing a number of lectures and
demonstrations on Monday, Oct. 7, and Tuesday, Oct. 8, which are free and open
to the public. (A complete listing of workshops appears below.)
Under
the direction of Mr. I Gusti Raka Pinji Tisna, the Master Dancers of Bali capture the magic of
their island with a program of five traditional dances and selected Balinese
operas, all with gloriously colorful costumes and live traditional Balinese
music.
Master
Dancers of Bali is an eight-performer
troupe of some of the island's most accomplished and highly regarded dance
masters, who will perform together for the first time outside of Bali. The performers range
in age from 30 to 80, and span three generations within the same family. Ms. Ni
Ketut Cenik, 80, is the most experienced traditional Balinese dancer
performing. She made her debut at age 12 and has been awarded the highest
honors in the performing arts by the local Balinese government as well as by
the Ministry of Culture of Indonesia.
“(In
the West) we require our dancers to retire when they can no longer do the
technical feats of their youth,” said Gail George, who is organizing the
group's visit at Union. “In Bali, as elsewhere in the
East, they not only value, but revere, their older master performers. Ms. Ni
Ketut Cenik is a wonder to behold.”
Other
dancers include Mr. Ida Bagus Oka Wirjana, a 70-year-old master of Kebyar
Duduk; Mr. I Made Jimat, the son of Ms. Ni Ketut Cenik, is one of the most well
known and celebrated Balinese dancers and also an accomplished musician; Mr.
Ida Bagus Suteja Manuaba, who began performing at age 10 and has won numerous
awards at festivals throughout Bali; Ms. Ni Wayan Sekarriani, the granddaughter
of Ms. Ni Ketut Cenik and niece of Mr. I Made Jimat, known for her roles as
Rangga (prince) in the Balinese operatic dance-drama of Gambuh; Ms. Ida
Ayu Diastini, a noted performer and teacher who has starred in three Indonesian
film and television productions; and Ms. Ni Wayan Latri, who specializes in the
Arja dance and is one of the few female dalangs (shadow puppet masters) in
Bali.
Musical
accompaniment will be performed by Mr. I Wayan Sedia, who specializes in the
bamboo flute, drums, rindik (bamboo xylophone) and gender (metallophone).
The
dancers will give the following free workshops and discussions:
Monday,Oct. 7
2:50 p.m., Yulman Theater,
“Drama in Bali” with Prof. Bill Finlay's theater class;
5 p.m., Old Chapel,
“Issues Relating to Tourism and Modernization in Bali;”
8 p.m., Old Chapel,
“Dance and Drama in Bali with a Focus on Shadow Puppets and
Masks;”
Tuesday, Oct. 8
10 a.m., Arts Building Dance Studio,
lecture and dance demonstration with a class led by Union dance director Miryam
Moutillet
1:35 p.m., Arts Building Dance
Studio, lecture and demonstration of music with Prof. Hilary Tann's class.
The
program is supported by the Henry Luce Foundation, Women's Studies, Unitas, East Asian Studies,
Performing Arts Department, Minerva Committee, Dean of Students Office, and the
Anthropology Department at Union College.
A new program called “Food for Thought,” which allows a
student to treat a professor to a free lunch or dinner in Upperclass Dining or West
College, is the brainchild of Carol
Weiss, associate professor of psychology and director of the Health Profession
Program.
The program has already drawn a good deal of interest, with about a half dozen students getting meal coupons during the first three days, according to Jim Holdren, director of dining services.
The idea came to Weisse a few years back when her schedule had
her frequenting Upperclass Dining for dinner. “I really enjoyed it when
students came over to join me at the table,” she recalled. There were also
enjoyable times when students would join Weiss and her family, she said.
“For years, I have been thinking, 'Wouldn't this be a good
idea?'”
So with support from administrators including Christie Sorum,
dean of faculty; Kimmo Rosenthal, associate dean for undergraduate education;
and Fred Alford, dean of students; Weiss approached Holdren, who agreed to make 100 passes available this term to get the
program started.
The faculty response has been nothing short of thrilling,
Weiss said, and a number of colleagues have told her of the success of similar
programs at other institutions.
“Of course, part of this is my own cheapness and always
looking for a free meal,” Weiss quipped. “But I think there's a nice
interchange that takes place in the dining hall. You can talk about class and
other things as well, and that's important. It's a nice experience to continue
intellectual discussion in an informal session. This is what Union
is about.”
As for the next step, Weiss is encouraging her colleagues to
help make students aware of the program. “We need to let the students know that
we would be very willing and flattered by an invitation,” she said. “But I'm
still waiting for my free lunch.”
Hockey with Motrin …
This
from Dean of Students Fred Alford in a campus memo soliciting players for a
faculty/staff hockey league: “People of all skill levels are welcome — the
pace is slow and furious. Each player should have, at minimum: skates, shin
pads, stick, helmet with face mask and gender-specific under-armor. Motrin is
distributed at the door.”
Games
are Wednesdays from 9 to 10:30 p.m. in Achilles Rink.
Wondering what prospective students are seeing and hearing about Union College? Check out the new online
admissions viewbook, a lively and edgy companion piece to the new printed viewbook.
The online version uses multimedia
to extend the profiles in the
viewbook. Like the printed version, the online viewbook contains 16 profiles:
15 of Union students, and one of Dean of Faculty Christina Sorum (whose weimaraner, Hector, also has a starring role).
In addition to introducing a member of the Union community, each of the profiles illustrates an aspect of life at Union,
many with video or animation. According to Admissions VP Dan Lundquist, “The
video representation of the Nott Memorial at dawn brings the building and the
campus to life in a way that's difficult to achieve with traditional media.
These online profiles really enhance an online visitor's understanding of Union.”
The first four profiles were
launched this week. They include Sorum on the Nott Memorial (“the most spectacular
building in the world … at sunrise and sunset it's all twinkly and beautiful”),
Ariadne Papagapitos '02 on the House System, Frederic Cyr '02 on Terms Abroad,
and David Chapin '02 on Converging Technologies. Four new profiles will be
launched every six weeks until all 16 are available on the web.
The online viewbook is available through the Admissions home page:
