Union in the Media

John Sexton, the president-emeritus of New York University, was the featured speaker at Union's 223rd Commencement on Sunday, June 11.

475 students in the Class of 2017 received their degrees during the ceremony.

To read a story in the Daily Gazette

To view a photo gallery in the Times Union

To read a story on Union's news site

Eight Union College seniors were chosen to represent the College's Minerva Fellows program.

They will travel the globe to work in developing countries while paired up with a social entrepreneurial organization. The students will work for nine months and return to the College and live in a Minerva house for one month, where they will participate in a social entrepreneurial course and educate current students about their experiences abroad.

This year's fellows are:

The College’s chapter of Phi Beta Kappa recently announced the new inductees to the honor society.

From the Class of 2018:

Gianluca Avanzato, Andrew Forte, Aidan Pieper, Rebecca Shamah, Jason Turner and Maria Van Nostrand.

From the Class of 2017:

Sharmeen Azher, Noemie Bechu, Kimberly Bolduc, Jack Bragg, Julia Brooks, Morgan Clark, Loren Collado, Kent Curran, Christopher Di Capua, Melissa Epstein, Rachel Fried, Sierra Goodfellow, Molly Graether, Matthew Hacker, Sara Halsey, Connor Hurley, Ruoxuan (Rosie) Jia, Thomas Lawton, Kimberly MacLeod, Kathryn Martin, Molly McDonald, Laura Mueller, Brendan O’Connor, John (Pete) Peterson, Matthew Rametta, Matthew Ramotar, Francis (Frank) Rocco, Zachary Roth, Allison Schachter, Laura Schaffer, Joshua Schwartz, Maddison Stemple-Piatt, Kevin Tran, Lam Vo and Matthew Wu.

They join the members of the Class of 2017 elected last year:

Kathryn Evans, Chelsea Kaiser, Rebeka Kelmar and Emily Su.

Juniors and seniors of academic distinction who are candidates for the B.A. or general B.S. degree are eligible for membership in Phi Beta Kappa. Election is based on scholarship and character, with particular attention given to intellectual maturity and breadth.

Union’s Phi Beta Kappa chapter, Alpha of New York, was established in 1817 and is the fifth oldest in the country. Election to membership is one of the highest distinctions given for academic achievement. An exhibit honoring the College’s Phi Beta Kappa history is currently on display in Schaffer Library.

Mechanical engineering students in Professor Ron Bucinell’s class collaborated with the Schenectady ARC on a prototype they designed that allows developmentally challenged individuals to use a machine that precisely places snaps onto clothing. The students were James Hawkins, Raquel Paramo and Lingzhi "Owen" Zhang.

The project was one of five demonstrated Friday. Other companies and the student groups included

• Automated Dynamics I: Daniel Beinstein, Alexander Chu and Grace Stewart
• Automated Dynamics II: Kyle Mason, Timothy Nelson, Joseph Noonan and Zachary Pray
• Precision Valve and Automation: Amelia Ezequelle, Sean Farrell and Christopher Porat
• Gatherer's Gourmet Granola: Andrew Fontaine, Christian Kaljulaid, Jeremy Manus and Keanu Rodriguez

Several media outlets attended the demonstration.

To view a clip from News10, the ABC affiliate in Albany, click here.

Linda Wallen Boff '83 was recently appointed to the Dunkin’ Brands Group Board of Directors. Linda is the chief marketing officer for General Electric, responsible for leading the company’s global marketing strategies.

At Union, she was involved with Concordiensis and Sigma Delta Tau, and played lacrosse.

Read the coverage of her new appointment here.

Follow her on Twitter here.

Bradley Hays, associate professor of political science, was a recent guest on "Congressional Corner" on WAMC, Northeast Public Radio. He discussed the recent terror attack in Manchester, England.

Northeast Public Radio is a member of National Public Radio serving parts of seven northeastern states. These include New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, New Jersey, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania.

The highlight of ReUnion 2017 was the groundbreaking for the new Integrated Science and Engineering Complex.

The $100 million project is the most ambitious and largest in the school’s history.

The complex will be completed in phases over the next two years. This includes an addition completed for fall term 2018 and renovation of three sections of the existing S&E Center by fall 2019.

Click here to view a clip on News10, the ABC affiliate in Albany.

Click here to read more in the Daily Gazette.

Click here to see photos in the Times Union.

Samuel Eddy ’17, Samantha Frye ’17, Alexis Wojtowitz ’17 and Emanuella Oppong ’19 presented their research at the Society of Developmental Biology’s Northeast regional meeting in Woods Hole, Mass. Nicole Theodosiou, associate professor of biology, accompanied the group.

A section by Rudy Nydegger, professor emeritus, was published in the Sage Encyclopedia of Abnormal and Clinical Psychology. The piece focused on post-traumatic stress disorder.

Rajashree Mazumder, assistant professor of history, recently presented her research on East Pakistan-Burma borderlands at the international workshop on “Connected Landscapes: The Alternative Understanding of Asian Societies, History, and Ecology.” The South Asian Studies Council and the MacMillan Center at Yale University co-organized the event.

Nick Sabatelli ’19 rode for Team 26, an organization dedicated to raising awareness to reducing gun violence in America. The group gets its name from the 26 people killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School on Dec. 14, 2012. Cyclists ride from Alexandria, Va. to Newtown, Conn.

Submit your news to gowanc@union.edu.

The College’s chapter of Phi Beta Kappa recently announced the new inductees to the honor society.

From the Class of 2018:

Gianluca Avanzato, Andrew Forte, Aidan Pieper, Rebecca Shamah, Jason Turner and Maria Van Nostrand.

From the Class of 2017:

Sharmeen Azher, Noemie Bechu, Kimberly Bolduc, Jack Bragg, Julia Brooks, Morgan Clark, Loren Collado, Kent Curran, Christopher Di Capua, Melissa Epstein, Rachel Fried, Sierra Goodfellow, Molly Graether, Matthew Hacker, Sara Halsey, Connor Hurley, Ruoxuan (Rosie) Jia, Thomas Lawton, Kimberly MacLeod, Kathryn Martin, Molly McDonald, Laura Mueller, Brendan O’Connor, John (Pete) Peterson, Matthew Rametta, Matthew Ramotar, Francis (Frank) Rocco, Zachary Roth, Allison Schachter, Laura Schaffer, Joshua Schwartz, Maddison Stemple-Piatt, Kevin Tran, Lam Vo and Matthew Wu.

They join the members of the Class of 2017 elected last year:

Kathryn Evans, Chelsea Kaiser, Rebeka Kelmar and Emily Su.

Juniors and seniors of academic distinction who are candidates for the B.A. or general B.S. degree are eligible for membership in Phi Beta Kappa. Election is based on scholarship and character, with particular attention given to intellectual maturity and breadth.

Union’s Phi Beta Kappa chapter, Alpha of New York, was established in 1817 and is the fifth oldest in the country. Election to membership is one of the highest distinctions given for academic achievement. An exhibit honoring the College’s Phi Beta Kappa history is currently on display in Schaffer Library.

A group of Union students and faculty will travel to Washington, D.C. April 29 to protest the environmental policies of U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration.

Over 40 students, faculty and staff are representing the College at the Peoples Climate Movement. Angelica DeDona ’19 and Jeffrey Corbin, associate professor of biology, are organizing the group. The national march is being organized by 350.org, led by environmentalist Bill McKibben who was on campus last week to speak.

Participants will march from the U.S. Capitol building and surround the grounds of the White House, ending at the Washington Monument.

“I am hoping that this gives people the energy to keep fighting for their voices to be heard by the government,” said DeDona. “Constantly fighting for the earth, something we all benefit from, can be exhausting because it is so obviously important to those who have always cared.”