Union in the Media

The Schenectady Silhouettes recently recognized Andrew Guyette ‘17 for his community service on and off campus. Guyette, an Africana Studies major, was awarded the Dr. Marshall G. Jones award and given a citation by New York State Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara at the annual banquet of the Schenectady Silhouettes, a group dedicated to improving the social relations and stimulating community empowerment.

Michael Vineyard, the Frank and Marie Louise Bailey Professor of Physics, gave a talk at the meeting of the Northeastern New York Section of the American Nuclear Society at College Park Hall. His talk was titled “Ion-Beam Analysis as a Teaching Tool at Union College.”

Rebecca Koopmann '89, professor of physics and astronomy, and Gregory Hallenbeck, visiting assistant professor of physics and astronomy, presented at “Pathfinders HI Survey Coordination Committee Workshop: HI Surveys Get Real” at Rutgers University. Koopmann presented "The Undergraduate ALFALFA Team: a Model for Involving Undergraduates in Radio Astronomy Surveys," describing her NSF-sponsored program that supports a 19-institution consortium headed by Union College. Hallenbeck presented "HI and H2 flows, holes, and Spin Parameters in HIghMass Galaxies: High HI mass, HI-rich Galaxies in the Local Universe," describing a sample of galaxies the size of our Milky Way, but which have very low star formation rates, despite having lots of hydrogen gas, the fuel from which new stars are formed.

Stacie Raucci, associate professor of classics, has published “Revenge and Rivalry in Rome” in Rome Season Two: Trial and Triumph, through the Edinburgh University Press.

Jeffrey Corbin, associate professor of biology, and Lauren Hafkemeyer '14, along with two co-authors, published a paper that details the successful reforestation of an abandoned landfill in New Jersey's Meadowlands. “A long-term evaluation of applied nucleation as a strategy to facilitate forest restoration" was published in Ecological Applications.

Helen Hanson, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, co-organized a special session for the Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America held in Pittsburgh, titled "Celebration of Kenneth N. Stevens' Contributions to Speech Communication." She delivered a talk about some of Stevens’ theories of speech production, distinctive features, quantal theory and enhancement.

Ann Anderson, the Agnes S. MacDonald Professor of Mechanical Engineering, and Mary Carroll, professor of chemistry, were honored with the Insight Into Diversity 2015 Inspiring Women in STEM Award. They will be recognized in the September issue of INSIGHT Into Diversity Magazine, which is honoring 100 women.

Katherine Pouliot ’16 spoke at Ellis Hospital recently on a panel on palliative homecare. The event was part of the Department of Internal Medicine’s Medical Grand Rounds program, with many physicians attending to learn more about end-of-life homecare. Pouliot conducted summer research on the topic, which became her senior thesis, under the advisement of Health Professions Program Director Carol Weisse.

The Wicker Wellness Center was recently featured in University Business.

Built adjacent to Alumni Gym, the two-story, 6,600-square foot building has greatly enhanced students' educational experience by offering expanded services to keep them physically and mentally healthy since opening in 2013.

The first floor of the $2.3 million building is occupied by Health Services, which is staffed by nurse practitioners, registered professional nurses and a collaborating physician. The space includes six exam rooms, offices, a conference room, reception and waiting area, and a staff lounge.

The Eppler-Wolff Center for Psychological Services is on the second floor. The center, which provides confidential individual counseling, couples counseling and roommate conflict mediation, includes a private entry, waiting rooms, six counseling rooms, a relaxation area and offices.

Abbe Hall, home of College Relations, was recently featured in the Sunday Gazette.

Located at Lenox Road and Union Avenue, the home is part of an upcoming tour of the GE Realty Plot.

To read the story, click here (subscription may be required).

Ashraf Ghaly, the Carl B. Jansen Professor of Engineering, was a recent guest on WAMC, Northeast Public Radio's program Vox Pop.

Ghaly talked about the nation's infrastructure in the wake of the Amtrak accident in Philadelphia May 12.

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 34 members of Alpha Delta Phi Fraternity are the Kenney Community Center’s volunteers of the week.

Throughout spring term, members have regularly volunteered at the Vale Urban Farm, as well as have an ongoing can and tab drive that benefits park renewal in the area. The fraternity also consistently volunteers at the Kenney Center’s after-school homework program with local elementary school children.

Additionally, members have also raised hundreds of dollars for the Northeastern Association of the Blind and have trained new members to be volunteers for Eddy Alzheimer’s care center, where they will begin working in the fall.

In May, Alpha Delta Phi will be hosting an event in Jackson’s Gardens with a live band to benefit the American Heart Association.

A new report states the percentage of women earning bachelor's degrees in science and engineering has decreased.

Valerie Barr, professor of computer science, was quoted in U.S. News and World Report about the issue.

Barr is the chair of the Association for Computing Machinery Council​ on Women in Computing.

To read the story, click here.

As the nation prepares to mark the 150th anniversary of the end of the Civil War and Lincoln’s assassination, the contributions of a number of remarkable alumni are told in a new exhibit, “Profound and Poignant: Union College Connections to the Civil War Era.”

The Sunday Gazette featured the exhibit in a front page article.

To read the article, click here.

As the nation prepares to mark the 150th anniversary of the end of the Civil War and Lincoln’s assassination, the contributions of a number of remarkable alumni are told in a new exhibit, “Profound and Poignant: Union College Connections to the Civil War Era.”

The Associated Press made note of the exhibit, which was picked up by dozens of media outlets, including the San Franciso Chronicle, Houston Chronicle, Philadelphia Inquirer and Washington Times.

Stefan Kiessling, an organist from Bach’s St. Thomas Church in Leipzig, Germany will be in residence at Union College from April 13 through the 21. During his time on campus, Kiessling will perform two concerts and give three lectures, all of which are free and open to the public. The following are dates and times of his performances and lectures:

Lecture: Stefan Kiessling: “Insights into Leipzig” (Class in German; slide show)
Union College, Schaffer Library, Room 222
April 15 (Wednesday), 3:00-3:50 p.m.
Open and free to the public

Lecture: Stefan Kiessling: “1,000 Bits, Pipes, and Stops”
(Features Stefan Kiessling’s computer software program that transfers organ registrations from an organ to a computer and vice versa with a USB stick)
Union College, Memorial Chapel
April 16 (Thursday), 12:50-1:55 p.m.
Open and free to the public

Lecture: Stefan Kiessling: “The Chorale in Baroque Music”
Union College, Taylor Music Center, Room 224
April 17 (Friday), 9:15-10:20 a.m.
Open and free to the public

Concert: Stefan Kiessling, assistant organist at Thomaskirche in Leipzig
Zion Lutheran Church, 153 Nott Terrace, Schenectady
April 18 (Saturday), 1:00 p.m.
Reger, Karg-Elert, and Duruflé
Open and free to the public
Reception following the concert

Concert: Stefan Kiessling, assistant organist at Thomaskirche in Leipzig
Union College, Memorial Chapel
April 20 (Monday), 5:00-5:50 p.m.
All-Bach program
Open and free to the public
Reception following the concert

Jillmarie Murphy, assistant professor of English, was awarded a 2015 Thoreau Society Research Fellowship. The award will help support Murphy's research on her book project, Waves of Futurity, Monstrous Attachment: American Literary Representations of Affect, Place, and Otherness (1797-1901). She was also invited to present her research at the annual Thoreau Society Gathering, in Concord, Mass.

Robert Hislope, associate professor of political science, presented his research at the New York African Studies Association meeting held at Union. He also delivered a lecture (via Skype) to a hip hop honors class taught by Union alum Don Harrell ’75 at the University of Central Florida.

Zoe Oxley, professor of political science, gave a talk at the College of Wooster. She spoke on “Family Politics: Gendered Patterns in the Transmission of Party Identification” and guest lectured in two classes on the topics of issue framing and gender and elections.

Jennifer Matsue, associate professor of music, was a featured speaker at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her talk, “The Ideal Idol: Making Music with Hatsune Miku,” discussed the anime-style character created with voice-synthesizing software.

Lori Marso, professor of political science, spoke at “Hannah Arendt: A Symposium” at the Center for Philosophy, Art and Literature at Duke University. The event is part of the Center’s Intellectual Women Series.

Submit your news to gowanc@union.edu.