Union in the Media

Robert Olberg, the Florence B. Sherwood Professor of Life Sciences, co-authored the cover story of the Jan. 15 edition of Nature. The article is titled “Internal models direct dragonfly interception steering” and can be read here.

Cay Anderson-Hanley, associate professor of psychology, gave a talk, “Move it and Use it or Lose it? The Role of Mental and Physical Exercise in Cognitive Aging," for the Department of Psychology's Seminar Series at the National University of Ireland in Galway. Results were presented from a pilot of the Aerobic and Cognitive Exercise Study started when Anderson-Hanley was a Fulbright Scholar in Ireland in 2013. Irish older adults from Galway exercised using a cyber-cycle at the St. Francis Adult Day Program. Collaborators include Nikita Shah '14 and Ariella Yazdani '15, who traveled to NUIG to assist with the research for the past two years.

Christopher Chabris, associate professor of psychology, provided expert opinion on new research from neuroscientists at MIT and Massachusetts General Hospital which reveals that different parts of the brain work best at different ages.

Chabris's insight on the study has been included in a number of media outlets.

To read a piece in Newsweek, click here.

Sara Covelli ’17 recently won a Presidential Green Grant that will be used to create the College's first rain garden.

Now in its seventh year, the program supports environmentally sustainable projects at Union, and is open to faculty, staff and students. Since it was launched, grants totaling nearly $120,000 have been awarded to support 81 projects.

Her project was featured in The Daily Gazette.

Learn more the Green Grants and other project winners

Elizabeth Murad ‘16 is the Kenney Community Center’s Volunteer of the Week.

As both the president of Alpha Delta Lambda, the community service sorority on campus, and a member of community service-themed Wells House, Murad has participated in many philanthropic events on- and off-campus.

She has helped to raise awareness and funds for pancreatic and breast cancer, LGBTQ rights, education equality and domestic violence, among other causes. Additionally, through her participation in Random Acts of Kindness Week, Murad distributed hot cocoa, popcorn and baked goods to the community.

In addition to her community service endeavors, Murad is a philosophy and psychology double major, who serves as the treasurer and secretary of the Philosophy Club. She is also the editor of The Ephemeris, Union’s undergraduate philosophy journal, a member of the pre-law society and a student ambassador for prospective students.

An article by Jennifer Matsue, associate professor and director of the Asian Studies program, will be published in Ethnomusicology. The piece is titled “Drumming to One’s Own Beat: Japanese Taiko and the Challenge to Genre.”

John Garver, professor of geology, was quoted in a Times Union article about Mohawk River flooding. The article discusses how local officials and those monitoring the river are anxious since the winter has brought thick ice and snow to the river basin. Read the piece here. [subscription may be required]

Zoe Oxley, professor of political science, served as a guest editor for a special issue of Politics, Groups and Identities, which focused on gender and political psychology. Click here to view the journal.

Submit your People in the news items to gowanc@union.edu.

The Union College Hillel is the Kenney Community Center’s volunteers of the

week.

After collecting money, bread, peanut butter and jelly over the last few weeks, Hillel held this term’s a Sandwich Brigade. Over 60 students made 1,000 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to donate to Bethesda House, an organization that helps the homeless in Schenectady.

Hillel is dedicated to maximizing the amount of Jewish students actively involved on campus, seeking new and innovative ways to engage students by providing meaningful opportunities. Additionally, Hillel aims to strengthen connections among Jewish students by offering programming that emphasizes religious, cultural and social aspects of Judaism.

“Thank you to all of the students, groups and Hillel members who helped with this effort of Tikkun Olam, which means ‘repairing the world’ in Hebrew,” Bonnie Cramer, director of the Union College Hillel, said.

The campus community recently gathered in Memorial Chapel to celebrate the 220th anniversary of its charter for Founders Day.

The keynote speaker was Laura Skandera Trombley, president of Pitzer College.

To learn more from Union's news site, click here.

The members of Jim DeSeve’s Community Media Action Lab class are the Kenney Community Center’s Volunteers of the Week.

This term, the group has been working with local community service organizations to create media. On Tuesday, March 3, the films will be shown at a banquet held at Proctor’s GE Theater at 5:45 p.m. Transportation to and from the event will be provided from Old Chapel at 5:25 p.m. Please RSVP here (link to UnionCMAL@gmail.com).

The following are the filmmakers and their respective projects:

• Anders Goetz '15 - Salvation Army
• Christopher Brown '15 - Center for Community Justice
• Mary Cordier '16 - Joan Nicole Prince Home
• Evan O’Connor '16 - Community Hospice
• Janey Fine '16 - Dudley Observatory
• Jordan Witzel '18 - Boy's and Girl's Clubs
• Krystal Edwards '17 - Things of My Very Own
• Matthew Hellauer '16 - Schenectady Inner City Ministry
• Mollie Gilchrist '15 - Troy BID
• David Nowrouzi '16 - Community Fathers
• Nolan Stauffer '16 - Kenney Community Center
• Cassandra Padilla '17 - YWCA
• Yisy Grullon '16 - Working Group on Girls

The Environmental Science, Policy and Engineering (ESPE) Winter Seminar Series will conclude on Wednesday, March 4 with Dr. Anthony Leiserowitz, director for the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication, at 7:30 p.m. in the Nott Memorial.

Considered an expert on American and international public opinion on global warming, his talk, “Climate change in the American Mind,” will discuss recent trends in Americans’ climate change knowledge, attitudes, policy support and behavior and strategies for more effective public engagement.

The Yale Project on Climate Change Communication works to empower educators with more knowledge and tools to better engage audiences, conduct research and design and test new strategies to educate the public.

Leiserowitz and his project have led some of the most careful studies of public opinion related to climate change science and policy. Their reports on the "Global Warming's Six Americas" have fascinating implications for effective environmental communication.

The University of America Press published a book by Peter Heinegg, professor of English. “Dim and Dimmer: Prospects for a New Enlightenment” is a collection of essays on the global environmental crisis. Free copies are available upon request.

Ruwimbo Makoni ’15, Yilun Zhang ’15 and Mary Grace Wajda ’15 were selected as student fellows for the New York Six Think Tank. Students will research and create multimedia projects, studying a project of their choice. The goal of the program is to explore the surprising ways in which the arts and humanities play a part in the lives of today’s students. The Union students will be supervised by Christine Henseler, professor of Spanish.

Submit your People in the news items to gowanc@union.edu.