Union College Magazine Winter 2014

WINTER 2014

UNION

COLLEGE A Magazine for Alumni and Friends

Mind, Body, Spirit: Union’s integrated approach to wellness | 12

Showcasing mavericks of the art world | 22

Coeur, a work by Valerie Hammond, is featured in “On Being: Exploring Psychological and Spiritual Well-Being Through the Creative Process” through March 9 in the Nott Memorial’s Mandeville Gallery.

The show, which also includes works by Keun Young Park and Sheila Ross, explores well-being through the symbolic use of destruction and reconstruction of form, the incorporation of spiritual iconography and the direct confrontation of mortality.

UNION

COLLEGE A Magazine for Alumni and Friends

WINTER 2014 Volume 108 • Number 2

ON THE COVER

The many aspects of wellness at Union

12

INTERIM VICE PRESIDENT FOR COLLEGE RELATIONS

Frank L. Messa ’73 SENIOR DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING

Gail Glover EDITOR

Charlie Casey caseyc@union.edu ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Erin DeMuth Judd demuthje@union.edu CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

22

Christen Gowan Tina Lincer Phillip Wajda CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

12 Mind, body, spirit:

Matt Milless Timothy Raab Donald Elliott

Union’s integrated approach to wellness

DESIGN AND PRODUCTION

cohesive approach to wellness. Learn how the center,

2k Design

together with other programs, augments the College’s

PRINTING

culture of caring for the entire person—mind, body

Fort Orange Press

and spirit.

UNIONCOLLEGE is published three times a year by the Union College Office of Communications, Schenectady, N.Y. 12308. The telephone is (518) 388-6131. Non-profit flat rate postage is paid at Schenectady, N.Y., and an additional mailing office.

Postmaster: Send address changes to Office of Communications, Union College, Schenectady, N.Y. 12308-3169.

Coeur (2010) by Valerie Hammond. Pigment, graphite, colored pencil, wax, glass beads, thread on paper, 65” x 36”

Alumni who want to inform the College about changes of address should contact the Alumni Office at (518) 388-6168 or via e-mail at alumni@union.edu. The same phone number and e-mail address should be used to correspond about ReUnion, Homecoming, alumni club events, and other activities.

Departments

The new Wicker Wellness Center is a pillar of Union’s

2

President’s Message

3 Letters 4

Across Campus

24 focUs

22 Showcasing mavericks of the art world

26 Bookshelf 28 Alumni Clubs

During fall term, a stunning collection of prints by 27 renowned artists, including Cézanne, Corot, Daumier, Goya, Lichtenstein, Manet and Miró, were on view at the Mandeville Gallery.

29 The Classes

and Profiles 47 Unions 51 Arrivals 52 In Memoriam

» Visit us online at www.union.edu/magazine

president’s message

letters

A GENEROUS GIFT

I

Listening to Every Voice THERESE A. McCART Y, Ph.D.

“

W

hat’s it like to be the first woman president at Union?” Many people asked me this question during my recent term as acting president. It’s a question that prompts reflection on the position of women and other historically underrepresented groups at Union. I’d like to share some observations on my experience of gender at Union, on progress that has been made in making Union a more inclusive campus, and on how Union can become even more welcoming of all people.

I arrived at Union in 1987 as a faculty member in the economics department. I couldn’t help but be struck by the extent to which Union still felt like a college for men. At the same time, I knew that I could build a good life here on the strength of congenial and supportive relationships with colleagues and students I met here. In a few instances, I sensed some dismissiveness of my professional competence. For example, while my faculty colleagues and students often sought my perspective on issues in my field, occasionally someone, upon learning that I am an economist, responded with a lecture on economics.

In such conversations, I was rarely asked for my views.

Now that I am well-established here at Union, I find myself reflecting on what I—and the College— can do to make Union an even more inclusive place.

For my part, I am asking people more about their own perspectives, experiences and expertise.

Institutionally, inclusion is a major initiative of the College’s Strategic Plan. We will, to quote the plan, “make all members of the Union community feel welcome, supported and able to access all aspects of our living, learning environment.”

In the past several years, the College has taken a number of steps toward this goal. To name a few: • The President’s senior staff includes a chief diversity officer who also oversees the College’s Title IX program.

• We have created an Office of Multicultural Affairs and the Presidential Forum on Diversity lecture series.

2 | UNION COLLEGE Winter 2014

• We joined the Posse Foundation, which recruits talented prospective students with strong leadership qualities from urban public schools.

Each of the past eight years, our first-year class has included ten Posse Scholars.

• We have developed and expanded programs that tend to be of particular interest to women, from dance to bioengineering.

• We have further diversified the curriculum with new majors in Africana Studies, Chinese, and Religious Studies, as well as many new courses that offer diverse perspectives.

• We have doubled and redoubled efforts to ensure that our campus is a safe and supportive environment for all students.

• We have created a prayer and meditation room for community members of all faiths.

• We have expanded enrollment in our Academic Opportunity Program Have we made progress since I arrived at Union in 1987? Definitely. Many alumni have remarked on their perceptions of change when they return to campus. We see positive trends in data from student surveys on campus climate. We can make further progress, in part by asking people who may not yet feel secure in their place and voice at Union about their perspectives and experiences. When we understand a wider range of people’s views, we make different choices. It is these choices that will ensure that we make further progress in creating a community of learners that welcomes and supports all. In the embrace of such a community, all will learn deeply and broadly, both about themselves and about the world in which we will live and work throughout our lives.

Therese McCarty is the Stephen J. and Diane K. Ciesinski Dean of the Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs. She served as acting president during the summer and fall of 2013 while President Stephen Ainlay was on sabbatical leave.

A WONDERFUL PROFESSOR

I

was saddened to read of the death of Manfred Jonas. As a physics major, I had the great experience of enrolling in Professor Jonas’s History 39b, U.S. History in the 20th Century, during my last semester in spring 1965. Professor Jonas was, indeed, a wonderful scholar and teacher. I had only one personal encounter with Dr. Jonas during that semester, and I am still amused by it today. At that time, senior students with bachelor of arts majors were required to take a comprehensive “field exam” prior to graduation instead of individual final exams. Not so for bachelor of science students such as me. In early May, the final exam schedule for the college was published in the Concordiensis. There was no scheduled exam for History 39b. I went to Dr. Jonas’s office and told him this. He looked at me and asked, “Don’t you know that you need to take a field exam?” I replied that I was a senior physics major. He asked, “What are you doing in this class?” To which I responded that I had a social sciences elective and wanted to learn some American history. I am not certain, but, apparently, I may have been the only student for whom he had to construct a final exam in that course. Talk about individualized education!

Joseph A. Keane ’65, Ph.D.

CORRECTION

A

n article in the fall 2013 issue incorrectly stated that a tapestry featuring SP95 computer chips was donated by the Fleming Museum of Art. Schaffer Library purchased the piece from the museum.

enjoyed reading that my classmate David Henle ’75 and his wife, Joan, have made a generous gift to fund the new Henle Dance Pavilion.

I was in the first dance practicum in 1972 when Gail George bestowed on us her love of dance, offering classes in Old Chapel. The next year, under the direction of Barry Smith and Charlie Steckler, we dismantled the oak risers in a former lecture hall and moved to Arts 202, the new home of dance.

After Union I danced in New York for six years, studying with Milton Meyers, Joyce Trisler, Denise Jefferson, Nat Horne and Pearl Lang at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center. I performed with Linda Diamond, Pearl Lang and the Parparim before moving to Seattle in 1983, where I applied my stage experience to architectural lighting design.

I am gratified to learn of Dave and Joan’s generous endorsement of dance at Union. May all the best success follow.

REMEMBERING BILL THOMAS

O

ur sadness at the passing of Professor Bill Thomas was buoyed by the obituary in the pages of this magazine (Fall 2013) and by our many fond memories of this one-of-a-kind teacher, mentor and friend. Conversations with him in his office (when we could see over the piles on his desk) invariably drew on his encyclopedic knowledge of alumni and their whereabouts (Facebook had nothing on him), his biting sarcasm and dry wit, and, most importantly, his passion for helping Union students learn: about themselves and the world.

We hope that fellow alumni will join us in contributing to the William W. Thomas Award, conferred to a graduating student each year at Prize Day. Seth ’91 and Becky ’90 Whidden

Michael J. Sherer ’75

FASCINATING HISTORY

T

hank you so much for writing “College Plot: a resting place in history” (Fall 2013). I especially appreciated seeing Tayler Lewis [professor of ancient languages] and his son, Charles, featured.

Tayler was my great-great-great-great uncle, and I fondly remember studying beneath his portrait in Schaffer Library. I always felt a bit inspired by his stern yet calm face as I struggled with my English lit essays and calculus problems.

When I came to Union in 1982, my great uncle, Harold Blodgett, who chaired the English department in the 1960s, gave me a “Union Worthies” pamphlet on Tayler Lewis. No one I met at Union had ever heard of him, so I was delighted to see him featured.

Janice Thompson ’86

Are You Reinventing Retirement?

Union College is planning a story about retirement, and we’re especially interested in hearing from Unionites whose retirements are radical departures from their careers. Have you reinvented yourself in retirement by doing something new, different, even unexpected? We’d like to hear your story.

Please share at: magazine@union.edu Union College magazine 807 Union St. Schenectady, N.Y. 12308 (518) 388-6090

Winter 2014 UNION COLLEGE

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across campus

Wicker Center highlights Homecoming & Family Weekend

Acting President Therese McCarty helps William M. Wicker ’71 and his wife, Pamela, cut the ribbon for the dedication of the new Wicker Wellness Center.

AROUND

For more detailed campus news, visit www.union.edu/news

4 | UNION COLLEGE Winter 2014

to Alumni Gym, the two-story, 6,600-square foot building will greatly enhance students’ educational experience by offering expanded services to keep them physically and mentally healthy.

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

SEPTEMBER

A

perfect autumn setting welcomed nearly 1,500 alumni, family and friends who gathered Oct. 11-13, 2013 to celebrate Homecoming & Family Weekend.

The event featured a host of fun activities, special speakers, the recognition of distinguished alumni and volunteers, and a full slate of athletic contests, including football, men’s and women’s ice hockey, women’s volleyball, men’s soccer, field hockey and men’s lacrosse.

Among the highlights was the dedication of the Wicker Wellness Center. Built adjacent

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.

Both offices were located in Silliman Hall.

Calling Wicker a gem of a building, Acting President Therese McCarty said the center supports “an optimal learning environment that nurtures mind, body and spirit holistically.”

Key financial support for the wellness center comes from longtime College benefactor William M. Wicker ’71 and his wife, Pamela. Wicker, the vice chairman of Investment Banking, Natural Resources Group

at Morgan Stanley, has been a Union trustee since 2009.

The wellness center also is supported by Nancy EpplerWolff ’75 and her husband, John H. Wolff, and by Neil and Jane Golub.

Also, at the Volunteer Appreciation Dinner Friday, Cal Welch ’62 received the Distinguished Service Award for a lifetime of commitment and contributions to the College; Leata Jackson ’88 was presented with the Alumni Special Appreciation Award for service and loyalty to the College and Alumni Council; Lorraine Ater ’09 was named winner of the Alumni Rising Star Award; and the Union College Club of New York City received the Most Outstanding Club Event Award.

A pumpkin carving competition was held at Beuth House during Homecoming.

Student gets “out-of-this-world” experience at Virgin Galactic An artist’s rendering of Karp Hall

Humanities building renovation; to be renamed Karp Hall

B

eginning in January, the College undertook a major renovation of the Humanities building with the goal of greatly enhancing the educational environment for students and faculty. The building will be renamed Karp Hall.

A lead gift from the Karp Family Foundation supports the project, which will include electronic multi-media classrooms, a seminar room, a media lab and a performance classroom that will facilitate staging components such as dramatic readings as part of the classroom experience.

The project also includes extensive improvements to the heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems that will be more environmentally friendly and energy efficient.

The total cost of the renovations will be $7 million. The architect is McKinney and MacDonald of Latham, N.Y. “This is an important project for Union College. It will reno-

vate one of our most heavily used academic buildings and it affirms the importance we attach to the humanities,” said President Stephen C. Ainlay.

“We are deeply indebted to the Karp family for their continuing support of the College.”

Opened in 1965, the threestory, 21,000-square-foot building houses classrooms and offices for nearly 40 faculty members in the departments of English and Modern Languages and Literatures.

Renovations are expected to be completed by November.

The effort is the latest project to transform the College’s historic landscape.

This past fall, the College dedicated the Wicker Wellness Center; and last spring, the Henle Dance Pavilion opened.

Other recent projects have included the Peter Irving Wold Center and a major renovation of the former Social Sciences building, which was renamed Lippman Hall.

B

aahh-Nazoshnnii Brown-Almaweri ’17 got a chance to get up close to one of the world’s most renowned entrepreneurs, thanks to her Galactic Unite Scholarship through the United Negro College Fund. A mechanical engineering major, she had a chance to meet Sir Richard Branson. The scholarship is used to encourage female students to pursue careers in STEM fields. Brown-Almaweri, who is from Oakland, Calif., and her fellow students traveled to Los Angeles to meet Branson and learn what Virgin Galactic is planning for space travel. She will attend future events with her fellow scholars as part of the Galactic Unite Scholarship program. Brown-Almaweri is shown second from the right in the photo below.

Amanda Bingel becomes

“Reality of Placement” exhibit opens

Author, professor and cultural critic

Union hosts its first THATCamp

Union’s director of

in Burns Art Atrium, featuring Latin

Andrew Delbanco discusses what

(The Humanities and Technology

Residential Life. Previously,

American art examining migration

a true college education should be.

Camp), an engaging interdisciplinary

she served in a similar

experiences globally. Arnold I. Burns

His talk, “What is College For?” is

“unconference” for humanists

capacity at Rensselaer

’50 passed away Oct. 1, 2013 (pg. 55).

part of the Common Curriculum

and technologists to learn and

Speaker Series.

work together.

Polytechnic Institute.

Que Rico by Anthony Montes

Winter 2014 UNION COLLEGE

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across campus

Convocation rings in Union’s 219th year Strategic Plan provides path for continued excellence

A

6 | UNION COLLEGE Winter 2014

David Hayes, acting dean of the faculty and vice president for Academic Affairs, presented the annual Stillman Prize for Excellence in Teaching to Carol Weisse, professor of psychology and director of the Health Professions Program

Memorial Chapel is packed for Convocation

tive in making contributions that matter to humanity,” McCarty said.

She also mentioned that special attention will be paid to the humanities at Union this year. This comes at a time when their role is under attack on the national level.

“This focus is prompted in part by a collective sense of urgency that we seek to define how we at Union can support study of the humanities,” McCarty said.

The focus also coincides with the upcoming renovation of the Humanities Building.

“Study of the humanities brings opportunities for gaining global perspectives, for integrating thought and action, for being creative and innovative, in fact, for supporting every educational value we hold dear,” McCarty said.

She concluded by challenging students to embrace the imperatives of “think, connect and act,” and in doing so, “know that the rest of us here at Union are striving to do the same.

Also at Convocation, McCarty welcomed the Class of 2017. The 564 first-year students were selected from

among a record 5,725 applicants, the most competitive year in the College’s admissions history.

David Hayes, acting dean of the faculty and vice president for Academic Affairs, presented the annual Stillman Prize for Excellence in Teaching to Carol Weisse, professor of psychology and director of the Health Professions program. Weisse joined Union in 1988. The prize was created by David I. Stillman ’72, Abbott Stillman ’69 and Allan Stillman in honor of Abraham Stillman,

Union welcomes the Class of 2017.

Hugh Johnson, one of the Capital

Its 564 students were chosen from

Region’s leading financial advisors, is

a record 5,725 applications, a 19

the keynote speaker at the Annual

percent jump from four years ago.

Business Campaign kickoff breakfast—

The admit rate was 37 percent, the

a thank-you to supporters of the

College’s lowest.

College’s scholarship fund.

OCTOBER

SEPTEMBER

cting President Therese McCarty helped the Union community celebrate the start of the College’s 219th year Sept. 8, 2013 with a simple message: notice, choose and tell.

In her Convocation address in a packed Memorial Chapel, McCarty said these three words sum up how the campus community guides students through their educational journey at Union.

“We help students to notice what they are interested in, we help them to articulate those interests…we help students to make choices inside and outside the classroom, and we help them to tell about those choices,” she said.

McCarty noted that the College as a whole engaged in a process of noticing, choosing and telling over the past year in revising its 2007 Strategic Plan to help shape Union’s educational values.

In sharing highlights of the plan, McCarty said one way to convey the school’s story is with the phrase, “Think, Connect, Act.” “Union students learn to think deeply and broadly, they connect disciplines, they connect theory and practice, they develop and connect both local and global perspectives, and they act by being innova-

father and grandfather.

Hayes also recognized the students who made the Dean’s List last year. Their names are on a plaque that will be displayed in Reamer Campus Center.

The convocation opened with remarks from William A. Finlay, College marshal and chair of the Department of Theater and Dance; Mark Walsh ’76, chair of the Board of Trustees; Ron Bucinell, associate professor of mechanical engineering and chair of the Faculty Executive Committee; and A. Richard Harris ’14, Student Forum president.

The Union College Chorale with the Heavenly Voice gospel choir, under the direction of John Cox, performed Didn’t My Lord Deliver Daniel?

Accompanied by Professor of Music Dianne McMullen, the Class of 2017 led Ode to Ole Union to close the ceremony.

S

eeking to reaffirm the core values that have made a Union education distinct for more than two centuries, the College has reshaped its Strategic Plan to help educate the next generation of students in a rapidly changing world.

Officially adopted by the trustees this fall, the ambitious plan provides a blueprint that strengthens and enhances Union’s position as a highly selective national liberal arts college that “produces graduates who make important contributions to humanity.”

“Our students, both those here on campus now and in the future, rely on the College to provide them with the opportunities and resources they need to become effective contributors to our society and to lead interesting and meaningful lives,” said Acting President Therese McCarty. “The Strategic Plan focuses our collective thought and energy on what we need to do to accomplish this goal.”

Building on key strengths outlined in the 2007 Strategic Plan, the latest version can be summed up in three words: think, connect, act. This includes the “ability to think broadly and strategically in all areas; the way in which students make connections, both in and out of the classroom; and a culture that encourages and provides opportunities to

take action, academically and socially, as well as locally, regionally and globally.”

Anchored by three foundations, academic quality, the learning environment and sustainable stewardship of resources, the plan is also guided by three differentiators.

These are: an academic village that reflects the diversity of the world; integrative thought and action for the 21st century; and a distinctive past connected to an innovative and creative future.

Together, these elements provide a roadmap to “ensure that Union remains the college of choice for highly qualified students, faculty and staff.”

To learn more about the 2013 Strategic Plan, visit www.union.edu/offices/president/ and click on "key publications".

Juliette Wells, associate professor

Economist Andrew Zimbalist gives a

Almost 500 students register

of English at Goucher College,

talk, “The Olympics and the World

for the College’s annual

gives a talk, “Pride and Prejudice

Cup: Who Wins? Who Loses? The

John Calvin Toll Day of

in America,” in conjunction with

Political Economy of Hosting Sport

Service, volunteering in and

Schaffer Library’s exhibit,

Mega Events.” It is part of the Minerva

around Schenectady.

“Literature in English, 1713-1913.”

Lecture Series.

Winter 2014 UNION COLLEGE

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across campus

New in Jewish Studies

S

everal recent initiatives have strengthened the College’s Jewish Studies program and the College's outreach to alumni.

Web lectures

OCTOBER

Stephen M. Berk, the Henry and Sally Schaffer Professor of Holocaust and Jewish Studies, has offered to post on-line a series of video lectures from his popular course, “The Holocaust.”

Open to alumni at no charge, the series was posted starting in early January with two classes added each week.

Alumni can register through April 6. Participants will receive weekly emails to access and view the videos and syllabus.

Registered viewers can watch all archived classes after they are posted.

Prof. Berk’s “The Holocaust”

explores European and American Jewry between 1933 and 1945, focusing on modern anti-Semitism, the Nazi world view, German extermination policies, the response of Europe and the U.S. and Jewish behavior in a time of crisis.

Besides the full class lectures on video, Prof. Berk will post course materials such as syllabi and suggested readings.

The course concludes April 7 at 7 p.m. (EST) with a live webinar including discussion and a question-andanswer session with Prof.

Berk. The webinar is made possible through a WebEx license donated by Cisco.

Registration with an email address is required to access to online videos and April's live webinar. To register, visit: www.union.edu/berklecture

Holocaust mini-term For three weeks last summer, Union’s new Holocaust History Mini-term sent 11 students to Poland and Lithuania to study the Holocaust first-hand and to help restore a Jewish cemetery in the small town of Aukstadvaris, Lithuania.

During the first 10 days in Poland, students visited Schindler’s Factory and the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial near Krakow; the Jewish Ghetto and the Museum of

Liz Artz: Union's new director of fraternity and sorority life Hometown: Jackson, Mich.

the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw; and the Treblinka memorial site. In the last 10 days they explored the capital, Vilnius, and the nearby towns.

They stayed a few nights with local host families as they worked on the abandoned Jewish cemetery.

Trip leader Anastasia Pease, lecturer in English, said the mini-term helped students not only to understand the history of the Holocaust, but to make personal connections with Eastern Europeans as they work together toward a common goal.

“This trip was about more than just restoring an old cemetery,” said Chris Graff ’16.

“It was about bringing the past back to life. If people forget the Holocaust, it would be almost as big a tragedy as the Holocaust itself.”

The trip was supported by a number of alumni. Prof.

Stephen Berk provided background lectures and met the group in Poland. Dr. Michael

Lozman, a Latham orthodontist who has been active in restoring Jewish cemeteries in Eastern Europe, helped arrange the trip.

Endowed Fund A gift from Dr. Arnold Goldschlager ’59, a prominent San Francisco cardiologist, has established an endowed fund for Jewish Studies.

“Dr. Goldschlager’s generous gift will enable the next generation of Union students to examine Jewish culture, history, language and religion from the Diaspora to Israel,” said program chair Stephen M. Berk, the Henry and Sally Schaffer Professor of Holocaust and Jewish Studies. “It is vitally important that the lessons of Jewish experience— including the Holocaust, the Arab-Israeli conflict and the American Jewish experience— carries on. Dr. Goldschlager’s gift will ensure that it does.”

Dr. Goldschlager, a biology major at Union, holds a

medical degree from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. After internships and residencies in New York City, and a stint in the Air Force, he settled in San Francisco.

For the next four decades, he practiced cardiology and taught medical students at the University of California, San Francisco. He also established air ambulance services in California and Hawaii.

After three decades as a “workaholic,” he began to balance his life with sailing and hunting. He recently sailed a 43-foot catamaran in the Caribbean. As a hunter, he has recorded more than 130 species over six continents.

In 2011, he was named the Steven E. Nelson Sportsman of the Year by the Mzuri Wildlife Foundation, a San Francisco-based organization that promotes preservation of wildlife habitat, conservation and education.

He is married to Dr. Nora Fox Goldschlager, an academic cardiologist at UCSF. They have two daughters, Hilary and Nina.

College: B.A. in business administration from Siena Heights University in Adrian, Mich.; master’s in educational leadership/student affairs from Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant.

Before Union: I was a substitute teacher for a while after graduating from Siena, and also worked at Consumers Energy as an administrative assistant. That whole time I missed higher ed., so I applied for graduate school.

While I drove two hours each way to Central Michigan University for classes, I worked as a residence hall coordinator at Lawrence Tech.

I was eventually asked to head up Greek life at Lawrence and became a student engagement coordinator, in charge of campus programming and Homecoming. But what I was most passionate about was Greek life.

I loved working with those students. I really felt like I was a mom to a lot of different organizations; they wanted me at every event. I decided I wanted to focus only on Greek life, so I came to Union.

Responsibilities at Union: I hope to really make this position my own. An important part of that is getting to know students. I plan to meet with sorority and fraternity chapter presidents monthly so we can talk about their accomplishments, goals, needs and concerns.

I’ll also be meeting regularly with each of the governing boards (Interfraternity Council, Panhellenic Council, Multicultural Greek Council) and working closely with College leadership as the liaison between the administration and Greek organizations.

Goals: I’m still very new to Union so I don’t have a detailed course of action yet. What works at universities I’ve [known] might not work here. I don’t want to enact a cookiecutter plan. I want to soak it all in for a couple months and then start making plans. I want to get to know Union and its students, and do what’s best for them.

Favorite thing so far: I love how small Union is. It’s just so comfortable. It just seems like home and family, everyone is so kind. In fact, the first thing everyone says is, “Welcome to Union. Welcome to the Union family.” You don’t see that often at all. It’s great.

Hobbies/Interests: I like to take pictures, I like to scrapbook. I get addicted to T.V. shows; I am a huge, huge fan of “How I Met Your Mother.” I love hanging out with friends and family.

Final words: I have a very open-door policy, so anyone—alumni, students, faculty, staff— should feel free to send me an email or stop by my office.

The Union College Academy

Union gets HEED Award from

Camille A. Brown & Dancers, a

Alvaro Peters ’14 receives the

Stacy Nadeau, a national spokeswoman for

of Lifelong Learning celebrates

Insight Into Diversity magazine,

New York City modern dance

Greater Albany Leadership

healthy body image, speaks about “Embracing

25 years of giving retirees and

which recognizes U.S. colleges

troupe comes to campus as part

Council on Inclusion

Real Beauty.” In 2005, she appeared on a Times

other community members a

and universities demonstrating

of the Theater and Dance

Multicultural Award for his

Square billboard, dressed only in her under-

way to expand their intellec-

outstanding commitment to

Department’s annual Stephanie

diversity and community

wear. The billboard promoted Dove products

tual horizons.

diversity and inclusion

C. Davis Dance Residency.

service commitment at Union.

featuring “real women with real curves.”

8 | UNION COLLEGE Winter 2014

Winter 2014 UNION COLLEGE

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across campus

Twelve years a slave: Professor co-authors book on Solomon Northup thousands of visitors and renewed interest in Northup’s life. Joined by David Fiske, a former senior librarian at the New York State Library, Brown and Seligman (now an assistant curator with the Tang Teaching Museum at Skidmore College) have teamed up again, for a new book, Solomon Northup: The Complete Story of the Author of Twelve Years a Slave.

The book coincides with a movie about Northup, “12 Years a Slave,” that has generated considerable buzz.

Written by John Ridley and directed by Steve McQueen, the film won the People’s Choice Award in September at the Toronto International Film Festival. Exhaustively researched, the book provides a fascinating look into Northup’s life, from his

NOVEMBER

Clifford Brown

upbringing as the son of a former slave turned farmer, to his experiences after his rescue.

“The book is a serious contribution because it’s the first,” said Brown, who continued to research and write about Northup for years after the exhibit. “There really is no other biography of Solomon Northup. Secondly, there is an enormous amount of archival research here culled from many different kinds of archives.”

One example is the reconstruction of the kidnapping. Using city directories, maps and other documents, the authors were able to provide a detailed account of how Northup, an accomplished violinist, was lured from near his home in Saratoga to New York by two men who promised him work as a performer for a few days.

From there, he was persuaded to accompany the men to Washington, D.C, where his drink was drugged at a tavern frequented by slave traders. He was shuttled off to a notorious slave pen and subjected to beatings for two weeks. He was eventually shipped to Louisiana and sold to plantation owners, enduring harsh and brutal conditions for the next 11 years, eight months and 26 days.

A chapter in the book,

“Survival,” is particularly poignant, detailing the daily whippings and psychological abuse Northup and the other slaves faced during this period. Focusing on the physical, intellectual and emotional resources that Northup summoned to cope with his seemingly hopeless situation, the chapter is the turning point of the book.

Physically fit and with a sharp mind, Northup endured, the authors write, “because he had a will to survive. He didn’t let the system overwhelm him. He didn’t lose his own identity, despite four changes in his name. He never forgot who he was and that he had a

home in the north. His recurrent thoughts about home could come at moments of despair, but the existence of a home offered hope of rescue to counterbalance that despair.”

Northup’s rescue was an “extraordinary achievement,” Brown notes, and the book provides rich details of the sympathetic white man and others who worked to free Northup.

After the rescue, which attracted national attention, Northup spent his time with speaking engagements, wrote his book (collaborating with a local writer and attorney, David Wilson, Union Class of 1840) and even produced two plays.

Brown credited his co-authors, Seligman and Fiske, for their many contributions to the book, which came together in less than a year. He hopes readers develop a greater appreciation for Northup’s story.

“You should get a real sense of what a slave experience was and how difficult it was to rescue him,” Brown said. “But you also learn about his life before slavery and what he did after he returned to his life as a free man. It’s as intense an investigation of his life as is possible at this time. And yet, the story isn’t finished.”

B

efore, when you walked into Schaffer Library, there was little distinctive about the space to the right: a bank of computers and microfilm machines, a sprinkling of study carrels and stacks of new release books.

It was, College Librarian Frances Maloy said, a “closed space.”

Thanks to significant renovations over the summer, that pedestrian space has been transformed into the Learning Commons, an engaging, open, student-focused area to support independent and collaborative research for today’s tech-savvy generation.

“You take the best parts of the library, the best parts of a

Chamber Concert Series kicks off new season

N

ow in its 42nd Season, the Union College Concert Series presents leading musicians in 14 concerts through April 2014 in Memorial Chapel. The Series offers an impressive lineup of artists including the Emerson String Quartet, pianist Jeremny Denk, the Artemis Quartet, pianist Emanuel Ax, Musicians From Marlboro, the Boston Camerata and the Brentano String Quartet. Tickets are $25 per person. For tickets, information and a schedule, call (518) 388-6080 or visit http://unioncollegeconcerts.org/

Annemarie Monahan, who

A play about air travelers, Union’s adaptation

Kevin Flike ’06, a Green Beret

Presidential Green Grants to

recently published her first novel,

of “Boeing, Boeing” hits Yulman Theater.

who was critically wounded

support environmentally

Three, kicks off the English

With a cast of six students, the classic farce

during his second tour in

sustainable projects at Union are

Department’s John and Winifred

by French playwright Marc Camoletti is

Afghanistan in 2011, spoke

awarded, with winners sharing

Smith Alumni Writers Series.

about a lying lothario.

on Veterans Day (Nov. 11) in

more than $31,000 in funding.

10 | UNION COLLEGE Winter 2014

computing lab, put them together and that’s the Learning Commons,” Maloy said. “It’s a space where students can go to research and write their paper, print it, create a Powerpoint or make a video, whatever they need to do to complete an assignment. And they can do this all in one spot.”

The 2,500-square foot space includes 13 new Macs and 10 Windows PCs loaded with the latest software, four flatbed scanners and color and black and white printers, and two whiteboards.

Featuring some of the most comfortable seating on campus, including café booths with oversized tables for students in a group project, the Learning Commons can accommodate more than 50 students.

By Christian Steiner

I

n 1998, Clifford Brown was introduced to the story of Solomon Northup through Rachel Seligman. A friend had given Seligman a copy of Northup’s powerful memoir, Twelve Years a Slave.

The simple yet moving narrative, first published in 1853, is a compelling account of Northup’s life as free black man in Upstate New York who was kidnapped into slavery in Louisiana, rescued and returned to his wife and three children a dozen years later.

Then director of Union’s Mandeville Gallery, Seligman believed the story contained enough material for an exhibit and quickly convinced Brown, the Robert Porter Patterson Professor of Government and chair of the gallery committee.

The exhibit, which opened in January 1999, attracted

Learning Commons a place to study and create

Memorial Chapel.

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Mind, body, spirit:

Union’s integrated approach to wellness

BY ERIN DEMUTH JUDD

A

lexa Steriti ’17 and Carolyn Connors ’17 have just one term at Union under their belts, but they’re glad they chose a school with a holistic approach to wellness.

“The Wicker Center is very nice; it has everything you need, which is important,” Steriti said. “A lot of first-year students have trouble adjusting to college, so having counseling in the same place as medical help is great.”

“It’s a really good idea,” Connors added. “It would be inconvenient and stressful to have to go somewhere else for either counseling or sickness.”

Union’s leadership recognizes this as well, and has made expansion of the College’s integrated approach to wellness— caring for the whole student (mind, body and spirit)—a priority of its revised Strategic Plan.

The new Wicker Wellness Center, dedicated at Homecoming in October (see pg. 4), sits next to Alumni Gym and is the home of Health Services and the Eppler-Wolff Center for Psychological Services. It has inspired the College to dedicate this year to promoting a culture of wellness on campus.

“Silliman Hall, where health and counseling were located previously, was not appropriate for a school of our quality or size. So I was very enthusiastic about improving things,” said trustee Bill Wicker ’71. “The Wicker Center will be one of the most visited buildings in any given year. Something used by so many students should be beautiful, comfortable, functional, and located in a central place.”

Wicker, and his wife Pamela, gave the lead gift that made the center possible.

The project was also supported by Nancy Eppler-Wolff ’75 and her husband, John H. Wolff. The second floor is dedicated to 12 | UNION COLLEGE Winter 2014

Psychological Services, named in their honor. Other donors include Norman A. Lasda ’69, Charles M. Wilson and Amy Bermingham (parents of Jack Wilson ’14), Mr. and Mrs. Ronald DePoalo (parents of Daniel DePoalo ’14), and Dr. and Mrs. Marlon S. Rosenbaum (parents of Elliott Rosenbaum ’15). Life Trustee Neil Golub and his wife, Jane, also supported the center with their gift of the reception area.

“As a clinical psychologist, I am very aware of the tough social, emotional and mental health issues college students are facing,” said Eppler-Wolff, a former trustee and inaugural chair of the President’s Council. “And today, we understand that the mind is part of the body and cannot be treated separately. For example, a student experiencing psychological symptoms (sadness, distractibility) may also experience physical symptoms (sleepiness, pain management issues), and even compromised immune function (frequent colds).”

“By working collaboratively, psychologists, physicians and others can help the student address his or her issues comprehensively, so that he or she returns to optimal functioning as quickly as possible,” she continued.

Marcus Hotaling, director of Psychological Services, knows the truth of this as well. He’s pleased Union is taking its commitment to the whole person a bit farther than many of its peers.

“Most colleges are just starting to focus on the whole person,” he said. “They are integrating health and counseling centers into one office, but the idea of greater collaboration with athletics and religious life is somewhat unique to Union.”

It’s also what invigorates the College’s culture of wellness, which nurtures not only mind and body, but spirit too.

Winter 2014 UNION COLLEGE

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The Mind “The new Wicker center has made it possible for us to do even more for our students,” Hotaling said. “The biggest survey complaints we would get from students about their experiences in our old location, in Silliman Hall, was that the waiting room was uncomfortable and the wait-times were too long.”

Neither of these are issues any longer.

Inside Wicker, a spacious, upstairs waiting room (separate from the one utilized by Health Services patients) welcomes students, and three more offices staffed by qualified counselors cut wait-times drastically.

This is hugely important because of demand and need, Hotaling said. “Last year, we saw 473 unique students for a total of 2,932 appointments. This is slightly above 22 percent of the student body. Over the last two years, we have seen about 50 percent of each graduating class.”

Students here seek counseling services for the same concerns most people their age want help.

“The main reasons are anxiety and depression,” Hotaling said. “They might be anxious about social interactions or academics or depressed about a relationship ending. This tends to be the trend nationally as well.”

Union can now capitalize on its place in this national picture too, thanks to the completely paperless records system at Wicker. It allows the College’s patientintake data to be shared with the Center for Collegiate Mental Health at Penn State University. No personal, identifying information is ever given to CCMH, only 14 | UNION COLLEGE Winter 2014

generalized statistics like reasons for visits.

“This allows us to compare ourselves with other schools our size to see where we’re behind or where we’re excelling year to year,” Hotaling said. “It will help us establish baselines and do even more for our students, programming to the needs of the campus. For example, if more and more students are indicating difficulties in relationships, we can build a program about healthy relationships.”

Union’s interdepartmental cohesiveness is equally beneficial.

“I’ve worked at larger schools where you just refer students to another office, you don’t know the people there, you just know a name,” Hotaling said. “But here, I know them and they know me.”

“Students come to Union for the small liberal arts community, and we do not let them down in that. We are all willing to work together to make sure the student is the first priority,” he continued. “This level of collaboration is crucial to caring for the whole person.”

Why? Mental health is affected by other aspects of wellness that might seem unrelated to the brain itself. Take diet, for instance.

According to a January 2013 Psychology Today article, foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids (like salmon), have been shown to reduce symptoms of schizophrenia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Similarly, spinach, broccoli and lentils are high in folic acid. Too little folate, and other B vitamins, has been linked to higher rates of depression, fatigue and insomnia.

“Students come to Union for the small liberal arts community, and we do not let them down in that. We are all willing to work together to make sure the student is the first priority.”

— Marcus Hotaling

Winter 2014 UNION COLLEGE

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The Body (diet) David Gaul, director of Dining Services, understands the importance of food to wellbeing. It’s why the entire Dining Services team is continually striving to expand its initiatives to give students, faculty and staff healthy (and tasty) meal choices.

One such initiative, the anchor of several other related efforts, is the Mindful program. Launched in September, it offers healthy choices and educates its consumers at the same time.

“The nutritional content of all meals is displayed prominently on a menu board at each serving station,” Gaul said.

“It makes it easy for students, faculty and staff to be more aware—more mindful— of what they’re eating.”

“Each item on the Mindful menu is also barcoded, so diners can scan the nutritional information right into their phone, for use with the MyFitnessPal App,” he added.

Made available through the partnership of MyFitnessPal and Sodexo, the College’s food supply vendor, the app is free to download and compatible with most mobile devices. It allows individuals to track their food consumption and compare it with goals they’ve set for calories, carbs, fat and so on.

And if diners would rather speak with a licensed dietician about the nutritional value of their food, they’ll have that option too. A term-by-term initiative, the campus dietician will be available in dining halls twice a month as part of Rate My Plate.

“Students can build their plates as they normally would and then stop by the dietician’s table to learn exactly what they’re eating—how many carbs or vita-

mins their chosen items have,” Gaul said.

If this wasn’t enough, Simple Servings is being unveiled this year in Upper Class Dining too. Offered during lunch and dinner, this permanent station provides allergen-free choices to students with food sensitivities. It compliments My Zone, a similar program already installed at West Dining.

“These programs build on our existing dedication to dietary wellness, like our work with local vendors for organic meats and sauces and our support of vegetarian and vegan needs with our specialized offerings in the O3 café,” Gaul said. “We understand how important it is to promote good eating.”

Indeed, dietary choices can impact many aspects of life, even academic success. A 2009 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that U.S. high school students with higher grades were less likely to be physically inactive (i.e. not playing sports, watching lots of TV) and engage in unhealthy dietary behaviors (i.e. regular consumption of soda).

The College’s own Cay AndersonHanley, associate professor of psychology, has made similar findings in her research.

Though focused on older people, she’s found that elderly individuals who lift weights are better at planning, decision-making and multitasking after a month-long strengthening, nonaerobic exercise program.

Here at Union, opportunities to get your heart pumping (and your brain finely tuned) abound.

“The nutritional content of all meals is displayed prominently on a menu board at each serving station.

It makes it easy for students, faculty and staff to be more aware—more mindful—of what they’re eating.”

— David Gaul

16 | UNION COLLEGE Winter 2014

Winter 2014 UNION COLLEGE

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The Body (exercise) At Alumni Gym, “we offer fitness classes for students, faculty and staff—everything from kickboxing, boot camp, Zumba, Pilates, yoga and spinning. During winter term, we had a total of 16 classes,” said Mike Polsinelli, director of Wellness and assistant director of Intramurals and Recreation. “There are also programs solely for faculty and staff, including personal health assessment, biometric health screening, the Lifepoints Program, and Lunchtime Health Seminars.”

“Whether through fitness classes or intramurals, we offer something for everyone in the College community,” he added.

And the community seems to be taking advantage of this.

“Participation in our wellness classes has been high and the programs are very successful,” Polsinelli said. “With the addition of spinning classes this fall, our efforts have been elevated to another level.”

Going forward, he’s excited raise the bar even more, for the benefit of everyone at Union.

“I work collaboratively with Human Resources, especially with Eric Noll and Jennifer Blessing. They are very supportive of wellness initiatives and HR provides great financial and organizational support,” Polsinelli said. “We also 18 | UNION COLLEGE Winter 2014

The Body (medical health) have a Wellness Committee that consists of faculty and staff that is active, and with the opening of the new Wicker Center, I look forward to working with their staff to offer joint programs.”

Such teamwork between departments will only strengthen Union’s ability to provide valuable exercise opportunities, and thereby, grow its culture of wholeperson wellness.

“Physical wellness plays an important part in overall mind, body and spiritual health,” Polsinelli said. “These classes are opportunities for people who want to 'live healthier lives, want to reduce stress, meet new people and just feel better.

“Simply being physically active helps change your life for the better.”

Indeed, the Mayo Clinic states that exercise improves mood, promotes better sleep, controls weight, and combats illnesses like heart disease, diabetes and even the common cold.

In 2010, USA Today reported on a study by David C. Nieman (Appalachian State University) in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. The research found that the frequency of colds among people who exercised five or more days a week was 46 percent less than those who were active one day or less a week.

Illnesses like colds are the most common reason students visit Health Services.

“Most of our work is sick care,” said Health Services Director Angela Stefanatos.

“But we offer a wide range of services, from health education, term abroad physicals, and gynecological and sexual health to immunizations, blood draws and vision tests.”

“Last year, for all services, we had 5,000 student visits,” she added.

The in-demand center also has its own small formulary, and works closely with a local pharmacy to deliver additional medications directly to campus. A therapy dog named Jenna is also on-hand three days a week, and a taxi service is available to take students to see area specialists.

Health Services, like Psychological Services, is also paperless and utilizes an appointment-based system.

“It’s a very good system that allows us to be very efficient, as does the new building itself,” said Stefanatos. “We have more space, with a wonderful waiting

room that assures comfort and exams rooms that assure privacy. Our new location beside Alumni Gym is also fantastic; it puts wellness front and center in the community, and means we are easily accessible for all students.”

“And the fact that we share a building with Psychological Services is also critical,” she continued. “We’ve become more integrated—health and counseling. We collaborate closely, as we should, and can see to students’ needs in tandem, giving them much better whole-person care.”

And that’s just perfect for Carolyn Connors ’17.

“I love the sense of community here, I didn’t want to be anonymous at a big school,” she said. “Everyone here is so caring, including the nurses at the health center. No one at Union is just another patient.”

The individualized nature of the Union experience also extends to support of students’ spiritual needs, an integral part of their overall health.

Winter 2014 UNION COLLEGE

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“Spirituality involves seeking after meaning, purpose and authenticity in life.… When these are in balance with everything else a person does, that’s spiritual wellness.

I can’t tell you how thrilled I am that Union is recognizing this.”

ADDITIONAL WELLNESS INITIATIVES Complementing the new Wicker Wellness Center and its place in ongoing efforts to support the whole student— mind, body and spirit—the College is also promoting its culture of wellness with several key events.

— Viki Brooks

• In October, Dr. Padmini Murthy, physician and activist for public health and human rights, spoke as part of the Presidential Forum on Diversity. In August, she was the first American to receive the prestigious Jhirad Oration Award for a talk highlighting the strong link between women’s health, human rights and the well-being of society.

The Spirit “Spirituality involves seeking after meaning, purpose and authenticity in life. It’s about easy access to gratitude, about a sense of being part of something larger than you,” said Viki Brooks, director of the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life, and campus Protestant minister. “When these are in balance with everything else a person does, that’s spiritual wellness.

I can’t tell you how thrilled I am that Union is recognizing this.”

“It speaks to our understanding that, as a lot of research suggests, spirituality and religion is very individual at the college age,” she added. “This is why we offer our students expansive opportunities for engagement and exploration of faith.”

There are 14 religious and spiritual groups on campus—open to all—from the American Yoga Association and the Association of Atheists and Agnostics to the Muslim Student Association, Hillel, and the Catholic Student Association.

The Office of Religious and Spiritual Life also coordinates wellness meditation at the Wicker Center, prayer and meditation in Reamer Campus Center, and has plans to bring Chakra dance, Reiki energy practitioners and spiritual counselors to campus.

All of these offerings will help Union’s diverse student community meet its diverse spiritual health needs, which in turn will help maintain physical and mental health. How? Consider the intimate relationship many faiths have with the body.

“Muslim prayer is very physical. If, suddenly, a person was unable to pray 5 times a day, they would feel disconnected 20 | UNION COLLEGE Winter 2014

from their community and their sense of self,” Brooks said. “That can produce anxiety that will impact physical and mental health.”

“I know, when I’m out of whack with my ability it pray, I don’t feel well,” she added.

Food and diet is also integrally related to faith.

“All of the religious laws about food are also about wellness. For Jews and Muslims, the purity of meat has as much to do with community as it does with health,” Brooks said. “Eating kosher at Sabbath, you know the animal was treated well and was raised well. And the prayers said in Islam and Judaism before the animal is slaughtered establishes important connections between what is eaten and the divine.”

“What is eaten also obviously impacts health,” she added. “Hindus, for example, are mostly vegetarian, which certainly affects the body.”

In understanding the complex and deep connections between one aspect of wellness and another, and in promoting exploration of these connections, Bill Wicker knows his alma mater is doing great things for its students.

“I don’t think you realize how valuable this kind of thing is until well into your adult life, but it’s essential for students to be aware of all aspects of wellness early on,” he said. “Adult life is about physical health, mental health, spiritual health and intellectual vigor. Union is increasing its support of all these things, and that will only make its graduates more complete, successful, healthful people.”

• A new exhibit, “On Being: Exploring Psychological and Spiritual WellBeing through the Creative Process,” opened in the Mandeville Gallery this month. This contemporary show features three figurative artists and their visual explorations of well-being.

For more information, visit http:// muse.union.edu/mandeville/ •

“Adult life is about physical health, mental health, spiritual health and intellectual vigor.

Union is increasing its support of all these things, and that will only make its graduates more complete, successful, healthful people.”

April 25-26, the College will host a symposium on careers in global public health and wellness. Attendees will have the opportunity to hear from leading experts in these fields.

Additional details will be available at www.union.edu/offices/diversity/ global-symposium/

• On Feb. 27, Dr. Alfred Sommer will give the Founders Day keynote address. Sommer is dean emeritus at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and university distinguished service professor. Learn more at www.union.edu/news in the coming weeks.

— Bill Wicker ’71

Winter 2014 UNION COLLEGE

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Mandeville exhibit showcases mavericks of the art world

BY TINA LINCER

Julie Lohnes

UNION’S NEW CURATOR OF ART COLLECTIONS

Los Proverbios by Goya

La Petite Fille Tenant un Bébé by Manet

22 | UNION COLLEGE Winter 2014

A

collection of prints by 27 major figures of the art world—including Cézanne, Corot, Daumier, Goya, Lichtenstein, Manet and Miró—were on view at the Mandeville Gallery during fall term.

“A World of Prints: Selections from the Union College Permanent Collection,” featured a number of techniques including etching, engraving, lithography, screen printing and woodcuts. Many of the works were gifts to the College by alumni, including Union Life Trustee Arnold Burns ’50, and his wife, Felice, as well as by the Martin S. Ackerman Foundation.

“This was a great opportunity to see the breadth, depth and quality of our Permanent Collection,” said Julie Lohnes, curator of Union art collections and

Untitled by Tiepolo

exhibitions. “All of the artists in our exhibit were visionaries of their generations.”

Though the 30 artworks spanned 500 years, they primarily embodied two distinct eras: late 1700s-1800s and late 1960s-70s. Both groups represented printing processes popular during their time periods and demonstrated how each was innovative—indeed, groundbreaking—in method of production and subject matter.

“In both time periods, the artists were cutting-edge,” said Lohnes. “They were bending and breaking the rules and conventions of the day.”

In the 1800s, sympathetic depictions of the working class were revolutionary.

This was exemplified in one of the highlights of the show, Manet’s print of

motherhood, La Petite Fille Tenant un Bébé, as well as in Millet’s image of a layperson at work in La Grande Bergère.

Progressive subjects at that time also included political unrest and modest landscapes, as in Goya’s Los Proverbios, which pictures crowds of spectators mesmerized by performers’ feats at a Spanish carnival.

Other artists featured in “A World of Prints” were: Michael Wolgemut, David Hockney, Roy Lichtenstein, Josef Albers, Adriaen Collaert, Joe Goode, Robert Graham, Oskar Kokoschka, Lee Krasner, Jean-François Millet, Henry Moore, Francesco Piranesi, Ken Price, Joseph Raffael, Edward Ruscha, Frank Stella and Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo.

As the new curator of art collections and exhibitions at Union, Julie Lohnes is brimming with ideas on how to make art a greater part of the fabric of campus.

“Union College is my oyster,” she said. “I’m thinking about activating some of the really sunny spaces with contemporary artwork. There’s a ton of great air space.”

Spoken like a New Yorker used to thinking up instead of out—which is not surprising, since Lohnes comes to Union from Brooklyn, where she was executive director of the not-for-profit A.I.R. Gallery, the nation’s first women’s artist collective. Previously, she was director of the former DFN Gallery, also in New York, and the Boston-based Chase Gallery, and she managed the Judi Rotenberg Gallery in Boston.

In addition to showcasing art outside the Nott’s Mandeville Gallery, Lohnes would like, eventually, to move art outdoors as well. In the meantime, she is creating a Mandeville Gallery schedule through summer 2016 that includes faculty and student exhibits, contemporary artists solo and group shows, and curated exhibitions.

Lohnes also brings to campus a commitment to giving students a greater role as visual arts ambassadors. She is spearheading a student docent and gallery aide program aimed at creating public and campus wide interest and investment in the Mandeville Gallery and the Permanent Collection.

“They will be encouraged to think about and relate to the art and to interact with each visitor,” Lohnes said. “We want to foster empowerment and ownership over Union’s galleries and collections. All of this is theirs while they’re here and afterward, when they are alumni.”

Lohnes earned an MFA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and a BFA in painting with a minor in art history from Boston University.

Her own sculptures and multi-media installations have been on exhibit throughout the Northeast, and she is the recipient of a Puffin Foundation Grant and a Vermont Studio Center Residency.

Lohnes succeeds Marie Costello, interim director of the Mandeville Gallery and curator of the Permanent Collection for the past two years.

Winter 2014 UNION COLLEGE

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focUs Mutual funds: Fine dining or cheap eats?

Ever wonder what

Tomas Dvorak, associate professor of economics (With Jigme Norbu ’14)

Union professors are up to when they

When you think of mutual funds, you may not think of eating. Unless you’re Tomas Dvorak, who likes to think of mutual fund companies as restaurants.

aren’t teaching?

Just about everything, as it turns out.

Nothing is beyond their collective reach or curious minds. Here’s just a glimpse of the diverse and intriguing work they do.

Those with a range of inexpensive offerings—domestic, international, small cap and large cap funds—are like cheap cafeterias, he observes. At the other end of the spectrum, those that offer highlymanaged small cap funds resemble fine dining establishments with high prices to match.

The analogy prompted Dvorak, associate professor of economics, and a student, Jigme Norbu ’14, to ask a question: “Do Mutual Fund Companies Eat Their Own Cooking?” They co-authored an article under that title in the fall 2013 issue of The Journal of Retirement.

Just as a diner might ask a highly-informed expert—a server, say—what she prefers from the restaurant’s menu, Dvorak and Norbu examined 401(k) menus that mutual

funds offer their own employees.

In general, they found that mutual fund companies prefer their own cuisine.

And when they eat elsewhere, it’s usually a side dish of something their own cook does not make. That is, outside funds usually represent a small portion of the average employee’s 410(k) portfolio.

Not surprisingly, those most likely to opt for funds from other companies have higher expense ratios in their own funds.

And therein, says Dvorak, is a lesson for the rest of the 410(k) plan universe: when their own funds are too expensive, they order take out.

— by Charlie Casey

Investigating online health habits

How were the heaviest elements made?

Rebecca Surman, professor of physics It’s a mystery.

“Despite decades of efforts, we still don’t know where, or even exactly how, the heaviest elements were made. It’s a compelling puzzle,” said Rebecca Surman. “I want to figure out where they came from and how they got here.”

The lightest elements, from helium to iron, are made inside stars in very hot, dense conditions. These reactions, combining two lighter elements to form a heavier one (i.e. carbon + helium = oxygen), produce a lot of energy—the kind that makes stars shine. The sun, for instance, is bright because it’s fusing hydrogen into helium.

But the heaviest elements can’t be made this way, fusing them does not release energy, it requires it. So there must be another process to produce the likes of gold, lead, mercury and uranium.

24 | UNION COLLEGE Winter 2014

“We’re very confident that neutron capture processes created most of the elements heavier than iron on Earth and in our solar system,” Surman said. “But we don’t know exactly where in the galaxy this synthesis takes place. That is what I’m trying to figure out.”

And she can’t just rig up an experiment in a lab to do so. Heavy elements can’t be manufactured on Earth, at least not without a sophisticated machine (a particle accelerator) that makes very small amounts at great expense.

So she’s looking to space, particularly at massive stars exploding at the ends of their lives (supernovae) and at pairs of stars colliding to make black holes surrounded by disks of leftover material (accretion disks).

“These environments are very hot and very dense, and may have enough neutrons to make the heaviest elements,” Surman said.

Her work is supported by grants from the Office of Science, U.S. Department of Energy.

— by Erin DeMuth Judd

Melinda Goldner, professor of sociology (With Timothy M. Hale, Center for Connected Health, Partners HealthCare and Harvard Medical School; Shelia R. Cotten, Michigan State University; Michael J. Stern, NORC at the University of Chicago and the College of Charleston; Patricia Drentea, University of AlabamaBirmingham) Google’s not just a noun any more, it’s a verb. As in, Google it, if you want to know something.

It’s a transformation indicative of a surge in Internet usage. A surge that made Melinda Goldner wonder if people search for health information online before going to traditional sources—like books—and if this behavior differs by gender and location. Using national survey data, she focused on women in rural areas.

Goldner expected rural women, like women in general, to be more likely than men to search for health information online. Instead, she

found that the importance of gender and place varies with the type of activity.

Women, for instance, were less likely to communicate with doctors online.

Rural residents were also significantly less likely to use the Internet to find doctors, or diet or exercise material. Gender and place did not appear related to how often medications were purchased online, either. And broadband access was a better predictor than place (rural location) of how likely people were to search for any health information.

More research is needed, Goldner said, but her work is consistent with other studies highlighting the importance of expanding high-speed availability in rural places, where health risks are greater and access to care lower.

Improving access and tailoring the Internet to specific populations might help ameliorate rural health disadvantages, she continued. “One study found that low-income, rural women, who are at risk of obesity, expressed interest in a website devoted to diet and exercise when it was adapted to their needs, such as budgeting and local resources.”

— by Erin DeMuth Judd Winter 2014 UNION COLLEGE

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bookshelf

JOHN E. HINRICHS ’50

M. JOHN LUBETKIN ’60

ROBERT E. MAY ’65

My Journey as a WWII Marine

Custer and the 1873 Yellowstone Survey: A Documentary History

Slavery, Race, and Conquest in the Tropics: Lincoln, Douglas, and the Future of Latin America

Xlibris Corporation

In My Journey as a WWII Marine the author shares his experiences in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II. Serving in leadership roles as a 1st and then 2nd lieutenant, John Hinrichs starts his story with enlistment on the East Coast and duty in California and Pearl Harbor, then writes about his participation in the critical battle of Iwo Jima. (He was there when the flag was raised.)

After the war, he earned a degree in electrical engineering from Union and spent 33 years with General Electric.

26 | UNION COLLEGE Winter 2014

University of Oklahoma Press

Told through documents selected and interpreted by historian M. John Lubetkin, this book relates the story of the 1873 Yellowstone Survey.

Northern Pacific desperately needed to complete its engineering work and resume construction of its transcontinental railroad, and the U.S. Army was determined to punish the Sioux for their opposition to the project. The survey expedition included “embedded” newspaper correspondents and 1,600 infantry and cavalry, the latter led by George Armstrong Custer. Encompassing the saga of transcontinental railroading, cultural conflict on the northern plains, and an array of important Indian and Anglo-American characters, Custer and the 1873 Yellowstone Survey will fascinate Custer fans and anyone interested in the history of the American West.

Cambridge University Press

This book challenges the way historians interpret the causes of the American Civil War. Using Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas’ famed rivalry as a prism, Robert E. May shows that when Lincoln and fellow Republicans opposed slavery in the West, they did so partly from evidence that slaveholders, with Douglas’s assistance, planned to bring Cuba, Mexico, and Central America into the Union as slave states.

A skeptic about “Manifest Destiny,” Lincoln opposed the war with Mexico, condemned Americans invading Latin America, and warned that Douglas’s “popular sovereignty” doctrine would unleash U.S. slaveholders throughout Latin America. The book internationalizes America’s showdown over slavery, shedding new light on the LincolnDouglas rivalry and Lincoln’s Civil War scheme to resettle freed slaves in the tropics.

RAYMOND ANGELO BELLIOTTI ’70

Jesus the Radical: The Parables and Modern Morality Lexington Books

Jesus the Radical connects the lessons of six parables with contemporary philosophical issues structured around morality and the art of leading a good human life. The author hopes to “demonstrate how deeply opposed is Jesus’ moral message to the dominant moral understandings of our time. Although our conventional morality is generally profoundly influenced by Judeo-Christianity, several of Jesus’ revolutionary insights have been marginalized. By imagining how our world would appear if those insights were highlighted, we can perceive more clearly the people we are and the people we might become.”

Raymond Angelo Belliotti is a distinguished teaching professor of philosophy at SUNY Fredonia.

RICHARD TRIUMPHO ’74

JOANNE LAUFER MILO ’76

MICHAEL MCGUIRE ’02

Only His Organs Remain: The Life of New York Pipe Organ Builder Robert S. Rowland

The Savvy Diabetic: A Survival Guide

A Harrowing Education (Way of the Redeemer series)

3DogArtPress

BookBaby

The Savvy Diabetic is designed to help diabetics and their loved ones cope successfully, and with a sense of humor, while dealing with hospitals, doctors, emergency rooms, travel, and just plain living with diabetes. The author, a Type 1 diabetic for over 48 years, shares her personal experiences and the lessons she’s learned while living with the condition and all the challenges it brings. She hopes her insights will help diabetics and their families and friends to live well, survive the medical system, have access to more support tools, and smile through everything. Visit thesavvydiabetic.com for more information.

Andrew Masterson has quietly spent his 15 years in the tiny town of Skenny. But his world is quickly changed by a series of life-altering events in the span of one fateful week. Andrew will question all he has known about his family, life and the Great Provider’s teachings and protections. After the sudden emergence of remarkable ability, Andrew is forced into a journey that will take him far from Skenny.

Shepherded by a seemingly menacing guide, he will meet the Great Provider and make his way through the dark, ominous wood known as The Harrowing. At the end of this journey lies the Tainted Isle and the unknown fate that awaits Andrew there.

Sunnyside Press

Richard Triumpho, who knew Robert S. Rowland (1898-1995), punctuates this biography with stories of his own experiences with Rowland.

He was on hand, for instance, when Rowland’s final organ was installed in the Old Palatine Church in Nelliston, N.Y. He also visited the organ-maker during his retirement. Learn about Rowland’s upbringing in St. Johnsville, N.Y. and his apprenticeship with Paul C. Buhl (an organ-builder in nearby Utica), while following the evolution of Rowland’s career during the middle of the 20th century.

Bookshelf features new books written or edited by or about alumni and other members of the Union community. To be included in Bookshelf, send the book and the publisher’s press release to: Office of Communications Union College Schenectady, NY 12308 or send publisher’s press release and a high-resolution book cover image to magazine@union.edu.

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the classes and profiles

U alumni clubs

Garnet Guard Alumni who have celebrated their 50th ReUnion.

GARNET GUARD CLASS CORRESPONDENT

s The Union College Club of Cape Cod gathered for a summer social in September at the Hyannis (Mass.) Yacht Club.

Bob Howe ’58 135 Chevy Chase Dr. Wayzata, Minn. 55391 howex001@umn.edu

1945 s Alumni enjoy a Red Sox game Aug. 29, 2013.

s Alumnae enjoy a welcome event in New York City Sept. 12, 2013.

s

s

Aaron Raphael ’00 and his daughter, Fraya, joined other Union alumni at Honey Pot Hill Orchards in Stow, Mass., for a day of fun and apple-picking in late September.

Chris Vietor ’01 and his son, Nathan, had fun applepicking at Honey Pot Hill Orchards in Stow, Mass. with Zoralys Molina ’13 and Samantha and Sidney Castrucci in late September.

s The Alumni Club of New York City hosted a Union football viewing in early November.

UPCOMING ALUMNI CLUB EVENTS JAN. 25 Mayor’s Cup (Union vs. RPI) Albany, N.Y.

FEB. 3-6 Presidential Receptions Various cities in Fla.

FEB. 28 Union men’s hockey vs. Yale New Haven, Conn.

MARCH 6 Sweeney Todd, N.Y. Philharmonic New York City

For more, visit www.union.edu/alumni

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MARCH 22 ECAC men’s hockey championship Lake Placid, N.Y.

MARCH 26 Presidential Reception Cary, N.C. (Research Triangle)

Jonathan Bloom ’88 writes, “My father, Dr. William ‘Herman’ Bloom ’45, died Sept. 19, 2013. He is survived by me and my siblings, Deborah, Jeffrey and Sharon, and 10 grandchildren. Dad was also an alumnus of Green Mountain (Jr.) College, where he studied before being accepted into Union College’s Navy V-12 program. He finished Union early at age 18 and was only 22 when he graduated medical school.

With grandchildren Sarah and Leah and I by his side, he was on hand for his 65th ReUnion three years ago. Dad became a leader in the medical community as a president of the Suffolk County Medical Society and Suffolk Academy of Medicine. A devoted father and husband for 49 years, he was noted for his generosity and spirit. After retiring from surgery and medicine in his mid-seventies, Dad began writing for local papers in Long Island and published a few small books, including a personal memoir titled After All It’s Only Brain Surgery (Noble House 2000). A man of many talents with a gift for true friendship, he was heartened by the many lives

he saved. Athletic, musical and artistic, he loved to write and encouraged others to enlarge their talents as well.”

1946 The Hepatitis B Foundation’s research institute is changing its name to the Baruch S. Blumberg Institute to honor the scientific legacy of its co-founder, Dr. Blumberg.

Dr. Blumberg, who won the Nobel Prize for his discovery of the hepatitis B virus in 1976, passed away in 2011. Read more at www.bizjournals. com/philadelphia

1947 Daniel Andersen writes, “I teach two Bible study classes, belong to two book clubs, and enjoy organic gardening and senior citizen study group.”

1950 Wilfried A. Hofmann writes, “Attending Union in 1950/51 as a 19-year-old German so-called HELP student (Higher Education for Lasting Peace) was instrumental for my subsequent life. It led me to Harvard Law School, and from there, straight into the German Foreign Service. Without this background I would not have married an American lady, Elizabeth Ann Griffeth from Cambridge, Mass., nor would I have an American son, an investment banker with Jefferies, an American company. That is why receiving the Union College magazine is an enormous pleasure for me indeed, every single time.”

Dr. William H. Bloom ’45, who passed away Sept. 19, 2013, with his son Jonathon Bloom ’88 and grandchildren Sarah and Leah at a recent ReUnion.

U INTRODUCING

a new regional club structure Each year, members of the Union community have a multitude of events to enjoy across the country, from group outings to local attractions, to lectures by Union professors and social gatherings at restaurants. There’s always so much going on, and we want to make sure we’re doing the best we can to keep you informed.

Our new regional club structure will enhance the way we communicate with the Union community. The continental U.S. has been divided into 10 regions, which will promote and enhance opportunities to attend events and stay connected to anyone residing in each area. A club webpage is dedicated to providing you easy to access information, and an interactive map that will let you find region-specific news and gatherings.

Please visit www.union.edu/alumni/clubs to find out what’s happening around U!

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Ken Haefner '55 prepares for a flight on his 80th birthday

1951 BRINGING APOLLO 13 HOME April 11, 1970: Apollo 13 hurtles into space.

April 13, 1970: An oxygen tank onboard explodes, and NASA asks Donald Harvey ’52 to help bring the astronauts home.

“That explosion caused loss of critical systems in the service module—the propulsion system, fuel cells, guidance system,” said Harvey, who worked for TRW. “It was rendered useless, so they decided to use the lunar excursion module as a lifeboat to provide the propulsion to return to Earth. As the lead engineer on the lunar module descent engine, I provided technical assistance to NASA regarding what the LMDE could and could not do.”

The situation was dire. Power, water and carbon dioxide buildup were serious concerns, and engineers had to quickly write and test entirely new procedures.

Harvey relied on test data and thermal modeling to evaluate the integrity of the LMDE under various rocketfiring scenarios. The LMDE rockets ultimately fired three times to bring Apollo 13 back.

“I felt a great deal of pressure, but I had the support of a great engineering staff,” said Harvey, who was assigned to the Manned Space Craft Center in Houston for the Apollo 11 through 17 missions. “I was told when I checked in that I couldn’t leave until the crisis was over. I thought, ‘Who would think of leaving until the astronauts are safe on Earth?’”

In an incredible feat of human ingenuity, Apollo 13 splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on April 17, about 87 hours after the explosion.

Harvey has only one word to describe how he felt at that moment: “Awesome!”

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Eugene Benman writes, “Walter Dages, William Sollecito, James Cecil and me—classmates in engineering ‘took the measure’ of Union’s campus. Union ‘measured’ us all semester, now it was our turn. Summer on campus was another world. That course was most exacting, but outdoors and fun. The tools for surveying have changed dramatically… that was so long ago.”

1952 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Dr. Arthur Stockman 7124 Switchgrass Trail Bradenton, Fla. 34202-4177 (941) 907-8064 astockman@jcaho.org Ron Jennett attended “Reunion 2013” celebrating 600 years since the founding of St. Andrews University in Scotland in 1413 AD, along with classmate-friends from his exchange student year of 1950-51. The weekend of June 28-30, 2013 was filled with dinners, parties, laughter and good memories. The following two weeks were spent touring Scotland and England, notably the Western Isles (Outer Hebrides) of Scotland and Stratford-UponAvon in England.

1954

Z

1953

CLASS CORRESPONDENT

CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Garrett Murphy 7 Maxwell Street Albany, N.Y. 12208-1607 gmurphy6@nycap.rr.com (518) 438-7319

Avrom J. Gold P.O. Box 559 Whitehouse Station, N.J. 08889

Garrett Murphy writes, “Twenty-three members of the Class of 1953 attended at least some of their 60th ReUnion activities the weekend of May 31- June 2, 2013. In attendance were Joe Barone; George Baxter and Eleanor; Hugh Clearwater; Joe Czaban and Barbara; Dick Dolan and Marie; El Harp and Elsie; Ed Hicks and Doris; Bill Holzapfel and Frances; Earl Jennison and June, and daughter Liz; Jack Larkin; Dave Lent and Susanna; Charlie Little and Dottie; Garry Murphy and Catherine; Bob Murray and Peachy; Dick Nemeth and Helen; Frank Pepe; Hu Plummer; Dick Rapacz and Mary, and son David; Joe Schuh; Bill Snyder; Warren Tillapaugh and Rochelle; Rhein Vogel and Gloria; and Del Wemple and Mary. After a fine dinner at the Stockade Inn, a new slate of officers was installed. They are: Ed Hicks, president; Dave Lent, vice president; and Rhein Vogel and Joe Barone, council representatives. I was asked to continue as correspondent. I had one interesting experience preparing for the ReUnion. I discovered that a professor who taught three sections of freshman English to the Class of ’53 has continued to be a supporter of the College. He is Vincent DeBaun, who himself graduated from Union in 1947 and was my first college teacher. I had the pleasure of speaking to Professor DeBaun on the phone and inviting him to join us. He was unable to do so but sent his best wishes to the class.”

ReUnion ’14 May 30–June 1

Captain Ross L. Saddlemire, former chief pilot, south east division, American Airlines, base manager (JKF/LGA), Caribbean and international, received the Department of Transportation Award, Wright Brothers “Master Pilot” Award for 50-plus years of service to aviation Sept. 23, 2013. Other recent winners include Neil Armstrong, Eugene Ceran and Chuck Yeager. Ross retired from the Air Force with the rank of Lt./Col., having served as deputy group commander and squadron commander. He is employed by Headquarters Federal Aviation Administration with primary surveillance over 10 airline training programs.

1955 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Ken Haefner 1346 Waverly Pl. Schenectady, N.Y. 12308 haefnerkb@juno.com Ken Haefner was profiled in the Albany Times Union in July. The story, which started with Ken (a licensed pilot) enjoying a flight to celebrate his 80th birthday, focused on his career with General Electric and his Air Force Service. It also highlighted his membership in United Flying Octogenarians, and discussed what a lifetime of flying has meant to Ken. Ray Thimineur writes, “This year my wife Ginny and I celebrated our 55th wedding anniversary. I retired from GE in 1993 with 37 years of service. I then embarked on a second career with my own consulting business, which I

Bob Howe ’58, of Wayzata, Minn., shows off his church’s new billboard, and his Dutchmen pride.

Donald J. May ’59 (left) and Dal Trader ’59 in Westminster, Md.

did for 11 years. We’ve done extensive foreign travel with 25 trips to Europe, six trips to Australia and two to New Zealand. Our favorite country is Australia, where our trips covered a 15-month period and we drove 12,000 miles.

The highlight of our travel was an around-the-world trip for our 50th wedding anniversary covering nine weeks. All travel was independent, no tours. Now that our travel bug is finally over, I can concentrate on my antique glass collection, specializing in Victorian era salt/pepper shakers. This winter we will return to Hilton Head, S.C., where we do a lot of biking and photography of birds and animals.”

1958

1956 CLASS CORRESPONDENTS

Dr. Alan Greene 241 Perkins St. H401 Boston, Mass. 02130 Martin Stein 1107 Pipestem Place Potomac, Md. 20854 judithkstein@verizon.net Ernest Gardow, Ph.D., P.E., of Simsbury, Conn., has been posthumously awarded the NCEES Examination Service Award for his dedicated service to the development and improvement of NCEES licensing exams. Ernest’s widow, Margery, accepted the

honor on his behalf at the 92nd NCEES annual meeting, held Aug. 21–24, 2013, in San Antonio, Texas. Ernest, who passed away June 30, 2012, was a leader and prolific contributor to engineering licensure exam development for almost 40 years, first for the state of Connecticut and then NCEES. Richard Propp continues to work on a healthcare system that includes all Americans.

He shows and discusses “The Healthcare Movie” for small and large audiences.

1957 CLASS CORRESPONDENTS

James R. Fisher 172 Patriot’s Crook Martinsville, Va. 24112 fisherstwo@gmail.com Paul Mohr 140 E Duce of Clubs Ste A Show Low, Ariz. 85901 dadtired@frontiernet.net John I. Van Voris, an attorney with GrayRobinson, P.A. in Tampa, Fla., was named to the 2014 Best Lawyers in America list of outstanding attorneys.

Best Lawyers conducts more than 3.9 million detailed evaluations in which thousands of leading lawyers confidentially evaluate their colleagues. John practices corporate law.

CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Richard T. Steinbrenner 9 Hunters Trail Warren, N.J. 07059-7105 r.steinbrenner@att.net

1959

Z

ReUnion ’14 May 30–June 1

CLASS CORRESPONDENT

William D. “Dal” Trader 5361 Santa Catalina Avenue Garden Grove, Calif. 92845 daltrader@earthlink.net dalt@wbct.us William “Dal” Trader writes, “I visited Donald J. May on June 28, 2013 at his assisted living home in Westminster, Md. Donald is doing very well and he is the main organizer of the home’s several social events, including bingo. He welcomes any communications from former college mates—his phone number is (410) 635-2930.”

Jerrold Fleisher writes, “I live in North Jersey and run a legal research service for attorneys and also am an adjunct professor at two schools in Rockland County, N.Y., teaching business law and paralegal courses. My wife, Anne, (Skidmore ’62) is retired and loves it but is always busy. We have six grandsons from age 5 to 16, who are great and keep us on our toes.

We recently took a river cruise in Russia, from Moscow to St. Winter 2014 UNION COLLEGE

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1966

work as a civilian until he retired. Bob is survived by his wife Elaine, son Bruce and two grandchildren.”

CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Antonio F. Vianna 7152 Tanager Drive Carlsbad, Calif. 92011-5033 simpatico1@juno.com

1963 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

William “Dal” Trader ’59 was in Annapolis, Md. June 27, 2013 when his granddaughter, Jessica Trader Miller, was inducted into the U.S. Naval Academy. She is a member of the academy’s plebe Class of 2017, and her grandfather got to swear her into the Navy.

Petersburg, which was interesting and enjoyable.”

George Scott lives near Gaylord Hotel/Convention Center and National Harbor Development, Fort Washington, Md. He writes, “I am working on a book about combat experiences of my father, based on letters he sent to his family members from France in World War I, and after the armistice from Luxemburg, Germany and Paris. I would like to hear from Union classmates and other Union acquaintances. (301) 567-1796 or GScott520@comcast.net” Gustave L. Davis writes, “I finished the Westport Kiwanis mini-triathlon Sunday, Sept.

15, 2013 (1:17:11), keeping my winning streak intact as the

sixth consecutive winner of the 70-74 and 75-90 age groups. I have had the advantage of being the only competitor in these age groups, actually forcing the organizers to extend the five-year grouping to 65-andover six years ago. At my age success is ‘being there’ and finishing, and then returning the following year. This was actually my 12th triathlon, as I have competed in sprint races, a bit longer, some years ago. I am still at it as a competitive race walker with some success in local, regional and national level races. Being there … I had the pleasure of meeting a great triathlete, Florence Chretien ’96, a member of the USA national team who won the women’s race and came in third overall (39:23). She was there with her husband Mat ’96 and her younger son. He recognized the ‘U’ on my hat.”

1960 CLASS CORRESPONDENTS

Charles Roden kiw702@aol.com John H. Nickles 1303 River Road West Coxsackie, N.Y. 12192

Lew Corvene ’61 visited Vienna, Austria in September 2013.

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John Lubetkin writes, “The University of Oklahoma Press has just published my

From left to right, Jim Anderson ’60, Betsey Anderson, Dick Kranzmann ’60, Clare Kranzmann, Peggy Evans and Tony Evans ’61 enjoy their annual get-together.

non-fiction: Custer and the 1873 Yellowstone Survey. If the writing is turgid, at least there are a lot of good pictures, many in color. By far the best part of the book for me was the extensive research that I had to do in Montana and western North Dakota, drop-dead gorgeous country out there. I’m also completing a novel about the same era, Custer’s Gold. It’s about stolen gold, building the second transcontinental railroad, Custer, and plenty of sex with the hero/protagonist a (real) Union graduate, Class of 1868. My goal on this next book is simple: pre-posthumous publication.”

Jim Anderson writes, “Those Kaps and their wives are still at it! KA on CC - XI (“eleven,” as in Superbowl numbering) took place in September. The Andersons, Kranzmanns, & Evans were joined on other occasions by Bob Montbach ’63 and by Peter Levesque ’61 .

Their annual get-together overlapped the end-ofseason cocktail party of the Cape & Islands Union Alums.

In fact, the Kap group (myself, Betsey Anderson, Dick Kranzmann, Clare Kranzmann, Peggy Evans, Tony Evans ’61) represented 35 percent of the cocktail party attendees!”

1961 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Bill Condon 1365 Van Antwerp Road, Apt. I-91 Niskayuna, N.Y. 12309 bcond041@nycap.rr.com (518) 382-1096 Lew Corvene writes, “I am retired from a management/ confidential position with the State of New York. I live on the Gulf Coast of Florida and am active in my community, having been a past president of a local organization promoting recycling. In addition, I am involved with the Pasco County Board of Elections and have been a poll worker for several years. My wife, Jean, and I travel extensively.”

1962 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Ollie R. Bunch 441 Stub Hollow Road New Hartford, Conn. 06057-2513 Theodore Retajczyk writes, “I received notice that my friend Robert M. Heimlich died of a heart attack this July 18 in Columbia, Mo. After graduation he did graduate work at Brown University and then joined the Air Force, where he was involved in the top secret laser program at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, and where he continued to

George Ball 6929 Country Line Road Wayland, N.Y. 14572-9553 gball@frontiernet.net Daniel R. Schwarz writes, “The new paperback edition is about to appear with a new preface, bringing up-to-date my Endtimes: Crises and Turmoil at the New York Times (Excelsior, Suny Press, 2012).” As Frederic J. Whiton Professor of English and Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellow, he is still teaching at Cornell and still loves to teach. A collection of essays was published in his honor titled, Reading Texts, Reading Lives: Essays in the Tradition of Humanistic Cultural Criticism in Honor of Daniel R. Schwarz (eds. Helen Maxson and Dan Morris, co-published by University of Delaware Press and Rowman and Littlefield, 2012).

This past August, Neil Kleinman was appointed to the City of Pasadena’s Transportation Advisory Commission. The city’s traffic isn’t bad by Los Angeles standards, but there are safety issues with speeding on residential streets and cyclists on busy streets. The carbon footprint of resident drivers is very low, but there are concerns about commuters to the city.

1964

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ReUnion ’14 May 30–June 1

CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Anton Warde 36 Two Lights Rd. Cape Elizabeth, Maine 04107 wardea@union.edu

Karen, Chris ’92 and George Williams ’65 at Chris’ graduation.

Robert May ’65

1965

Stephen E. Ehlers writes, “After 40 years of practicing law as a federal litigator with Art Gellert ’63, I have fully retired to spend time sailing, fishing and enjoying our second home on Schroon Lake with my wife, Karen.

My new ‘job’ as director and editor of the lake association’s newsletter keeps me busy and happy.”

CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Jon Lechevet, Ph.D. 206 Cross Road Edmeston, N.Y. 13335-2610 jnlechevet@verizon.net George and Karen Williams ’79 Ph.D. may not remember the score of the home Union football game on Sept. 28, 1963. (For the record, St. Lawrence won the squeaker, 21-19.) But they recall their first date as they watched the game 50 years ago when George was a senior at Union and Karen a junior at Russell Sage. They were on campus for Homecoming Weekend last fall to commemorate their first date. (This time Union won, 35-6, over WPI.) The couple retired about 10 years ago, George as professor of computer science emeritus, and Karen as visiting associate professor in biology.

They split the year between their homes in Aptos, near Santa Cruz, Calif. and Scotia, N.Y. Their son, Christopher ’92, is a graduate of Albany Law School and a principal in personal financial services at Ernst and Young’s Stamford, Conn. office. He and his wife, Becky, live in Baldwin Place, Westchester County, with their two children, Kate, 13 and Jack, 11.

Robert May writes, “My daughter, Heather, has just started teaching at Hobart, which has rekindled my Union spirit quite a bit. I now have a new Union sweatshirt and cap. I can’t let her get away with her statement. Also, my new book about Lincoln and Douglas has just been released by Cambridge University Press: Slavery, Race, and Conquest in the Tropics: Lincoln, Douglas, and the Future of Latin America.”

Robert Hoffman writes, “My eldest son, Ari, an architect working as COO of GobieH2O, and his practicing-attorney wife, Micah, who live in Point Loma, San Diego, just had their first child, a daughter, Eden May. Eden is named after my 94-year-old mom, who is still vibrant and living 15 minutes from us. I just received copies of a newly published book on pituitary disease, in which I wrote a (my 5th) chapter.”

William J. Johnson III writes, “We are enjoying that great retirement benefit of grandparenting, as our only child, Jennifer ’95, blessed us with our second grandchild, Siena Catherine. Along with her brother, Nicholas William, two very precious and sweet little ones. As the commercial goes, “more is better!” And the road to Virginia has become a little more traveled.”

Wesley L. Knapp, Ph.D., writes, “I have fond memories of Union College classes under the sponsorship of the National Science Foundation Fellowship program, in which I spent three summers. I taught physics at HVCC and then at Scotia-Glenville for 31 years. I worked with Pat Allen later in a summer graduate program for math, science and technology teachers and read with some interest that he is retiring. I should probably do the same, as this is my 53rd year in education. I am superintendent of schools in Middleburg, Penn., where I have served five years, after leaving the Southwest Supervisory Union in Bennington, Vt., where I served as superintendent of that six-district union. Previous to that I was superintendent of the Aleutians East Borough School District in Sand Point, Alaska, a district that covered 15,000 square miles and required that I fly to each of the district schools. I have attended 18 different colleges and universities in my career, but Union College remains the top school of them all in my opinion.”

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1967 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Joseph Smaldino 720 Cameron St. Sycamore, Ill. 60178

Frank Darmiento ’67 writes, “Here’s an old photo that Dick Poccia ’67 dug up. It’s our Union College jazz quintet playing at a local TV station, WMHT-TV in Schenectady, in 1966. Personnel are me on trombone, Dick on tenor sax, Cliff Safane ’69 on piano, Mike Penna ’67 on bass, Ron Powell ’68 (class valedictorian) on drums.”

Peter Kissinger writes, “I’ve been continuing to make progress improving the precision of drug therapy with automated robotic blood sampling and mass spectrometry to optimize dose in individuals. It has been a great pleasure to take a break from science and electronically reconnect with fraternity brother Miles Jennings, whom I’ve not seen in 47 years.”

Charles Fischer writes, “After 43 years in the financial services industry, I retired from Deutsche Bank as a managing director and senior trust officer in their Palm Beach office at the end of 2012. Am now helping raise funds as a volunteer for the Cancer Alliance of Help and Hope in Palm Beach County, a charity my wife Jean and I started in 2003. I have also been traveling to see our five grandchildren in Tennessee and Minnesota (but not during the winter!). I’ve become a Floridian. I have reconnected with fraternity brother Art Frigo ’64.”

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F.X. Matt Brewing Co., of which Nick Matt is chairman and CEO, was featured in the Central New York Business Journal in July 2013. The story focused on the Utica, N.Y. company’s history and success during its 125 years of brewing. F.X. Matt makes the popular Saranac beers and does contract brewing for the likes of Brooklyn Lager and Boston Beer Co. Commercial creator and voice actor Jeffrey Hedquist can be heard as the voice on national TV commercials for Boston Market and PremierCare. Also, Jeffrey was a finalist on AMC’s Showvville, which visited eight small towns in America and held auditions, picking four finalists in each town to compete in a performance. Each episode featured the town, the performers and the competition. The show featuring Fairfield, Iowa aired nationally June 27. Check out a photo of Jeffrey Hedquist from the show at http://blogs.amctv. com/movie-blog/ 2013/06/ poll-whos-your-favorite-actin-showville-episode-6/ Link Resources recently welcomed Andrew Kadak as senior nuclear consultant.

Andrew has an international reputation in the nuclear energy field as well as the broader power generation arena, with deep experience in the development of advanced reactors, improved technology-neutral licensing standards for advanced reactors/small modular reactors, operations, management, and decommissioning issues of existing nuclear

power plants, and even space nuclear power systems.

His previous positions have included principal and director of Nuclear Services at Exponent Inc., and professor in the Nuclear Engineering Department of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

In October, David G. Brock presented “Corporate Counsel Grievances and Conflicts: How to Avoid Them,” a complimentary Continuing Legal Education seminar for members of the Niagara Frontier Corporate Counsel Association and SUNY Buffalo Law Alumni Association. David is a partner in the litigation practice group of Jaeckle Fleischmann & Mugel, LLP. He has practiced principally in the defense of tort and insurance-related litigation, including broad experience in municipal liability, legal ethics and malpractice, as well as product liability and premises liability litigation. David serves as chair of the Eighth Judicial District Attorney Grievance Committee.

1968 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

John Dresser Etna, N.H. dresserdmd@myfairpoint.net

1969

Z

ReUnion ’14 May 30–June 1

CLASS CORRESPONDENTS

Ray Pike Salisbury, Mass. rnwpike@comcast.net George Cushing Delanson, N.Y. gcushing@nycap.rr.com Dr. Don Bentrovato writes, “I have retired as senior partner in my urology practice of 35 years, and am now clinical associate professor, Dept. of Surgery., Div. of Urology.

Albany Medical College. I work

16 hours a week, involved in teaching and mentoring premed and medical students, as well as resident staff. I also see some patients, working as a triage to my full-time working colleagues. I am still married to my pin-mate and wife, Stacey, with two children, Danielle Warrell and Chris Bentrovato. We have three granddaughters, Lily, 8; Audrey, 6; and Georgia, 3, from Danielle and our son-in-law, Dr. Brendan Warrell, DVM, living in Rochester, N.Y. Chris is not yet married, and is a PGA assistant golf pro, currently at our local Schenectady golf course. Stacey and I are looking forward to our upcoming 45th ReUnion in 2014. We are still living in Niskayuna, unable to downsize yet, with the family still in need of a larger house…

Welcome to retirement! Please make plans to come back to Union. Things have changed if you have not been back recently. A lot of good things have transpired, including a Renaissance of Schenectady!

Glen Rapoport is in charge of ReUnion plans, and a group of alums is helping to formulate a great time for all. Feel free to contact Glen, myself, or the Alumni Office (ask for Rhonda).”

Kenneth Goldman writes, “The U.S. Patent and Trade Office recently issued a patent to me, for a revolutionary new pill dispenser (the Dependable Dose™) designed to improve medication compliance for those patients discharged from the hospital. The dispenser is inexpensive, disposable and not only effectively reminds the patient when to take pills, but also acts as a compliance monitor; all in an effort to decrease the epidemic of unnecessary hospital readmissions and its attendant $15 billion annual cost.”

John C. Glidden Jr. is living with wife, Brooke, and son John III in Closter, N.J. He writes, “We are pleased to note that the sixth member of the family in two generations has graduated from Union.

In June, Amy Glidden ’13 graduated magna cum laude.

She is preceded by Elizabeth Glidden ’01, Emily Glidden ’00, Gordon Glidden ’78, Jim Glidden ’72 and me. I am looking forward to seeing all at ReUnion next spring!”

1970 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Frank Donnini 239 Rushlake Ct. Newport News, Va. 23602-6348 fpdonnini@aol.com Frank Donnini writes, “Fellow 1970 classmates, hard to believe, but our 45th ReUnion is not that far away. Time to start thinking about participating or supporting.

ReUnions are enjoyable and well worth the time and effort.

We’ve all reached milestones in our professional and personal lives and accomplished items worthy of note.

Let’s hear about them. Please take a few moments and send me or the Alumni Office your inputs for inclusion in the Class Notes column.

For myself, I’m in my third ‘career’ working for the U.S. Air Force in the intelligence field. I served 23 years as an active duty officer in a career that began in 1970 with AFROTC commissioning at Union College. Then I spent 15-plus years with SAIC as an Air Force defense contractor; now at the four-year point as an Air Force civilian. Transitioning into full or part-time retirement within the next couple of years or so looks better all the time. Travelwise, my wife, Zell, and I took a river cruise in Holland and

Belgium in 2011. When we got married in Indiana in 1971, the honeymoon was a brief trip to nearby Holland, Michigan. For our 40th anniversary, we decided to visit the real Holland; great trip. A son, who lives in England, “surprised” us in Amsterdam before we began the cruise. He and I arranged the get together, but Zell had no idea and was completely surprised.”

1971 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Henry Fein, M.D. 1106 Cedrus Way Rockville, Md. 20854 hgfein@aol.com

Former Glens Falls, N.Y. Mayor Edward Bartholomew was recently named president of the Economic Development Corp. of Warren County.

He is a graduate of Albany Law School and is economic/ community development director for Glens Falls.

1972 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Frederick A. Levy LCSW 732 Thimble Shoals Blvd.

Suite 702 Newport News, Va. 23606-4256 glida1@verizon.net Kate White was featured in the Glens Falls Post-Star in July.

The story focused on her publishing career, she’s former editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan and a successful fiction writer, and her recent talk at the Lake George Club. Kate was keynote speaker at the Hyde Collection’s summer luncheon and lecture.

1973 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

George C. Schwab 1710 Broadway, Apt. B Schenectady, N.Y. 12306 (518) 372-6507

Kevin Donnelly ’74, Peter Tavino ’74, Caren (Fox) Linden ’74, Chris Kelly ’74, Bill Breg ’74 and Jim Brennan ’74 gathered at the home of Bob Fox ’74 and Caren in St. John’s in August.

Robert Bernhardt, conductor and artist-in-residence at Lee University, recently led one of Lee’s Encore classes focusing on the opera. The class, “Opera … Don’t Be Afraid,” catered to students with little to no operatic or musical experience. Encore is a program that offers residents 60 years of age and older the opportunity to take university courses. Robert joined Lee’s School of Music in the fall of 2011 as an artist-in-residence and conductor of the Lee Symphony Orchestra. He has directed and conducted numerous symphonies, operas, musicals and ballets throughout the country. He made his Carnegie Hall debut in 1978 and has recorded for the Vanguard, First Edition, Carlton Classics and RPO record labels.

The Board of Directors of Pure Bioscience Inc. recently appointed Henry R. Lambert to serve as chief executive officer. Henry has over 35 years of food industry experience, having worked at such companies as Heublein Inc., RJ Reynolds, Nabisco Inc., and Pinnacle Foods.

1974

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ReUnion ’14 May 30–June 1

CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Gerald A. Dwyer geraldadwyer@gmail.com Charles Rothman writes, “My two science fiction novels, Staroamer’s Fate and its sequel, Syron’s Fate, have recently been republished by Fantastic Books. They are available from Amazon.com. I’ve also had short stories published in ‘Best of Penumbra’ and the ‘Third Flatiron Anthology.’”

Judi Rabinowitz Argaman writes, “Besides being a lecturer in early education at the Kibbutz College of Education, am also involved with the Association for the Commemoration of Bat-Chen Shahak. I work with Arab and Jewish women groups in order to build bridges and get to know each other in hopes of reducing tension in our region. Participants are all educators.”

Peter Torpey (who is blind) and his wife, Nancy, (both retired physicists) host and produce a weekly radio show/podcast called “Eyes On Success” (www.EyesOn Success.net).

The show covers a wide variety of topics of interest to the visually impaired and was awarded the IAAIS “program of the year award” in the consumer information category.

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Timothy Meigher ’75

Sandy and Mark Dobday ’75

1975

Time together included fond reminiscing, tours of the campus and surrounding city environs, and of course, an update on Schenectady City Politics. Both Dick and I have supported the Byron A. Nichols Endowed Fellowship for Faculty Development, a fund which promotes faculty development of programs and skills that enhance the quality of intellectual, social and personal interactions among members of the faculty and the student body. The goals of this fellowship, of course, are in furtherance of the kinds of interaction that Byron fostered for so many years.”

Dr. David Neifeld writes, “Just celebrated my 33rd wedding anniversary. I am also a grandfather now. Chaya Rose was born July 19, 2012. She is the love of our life! Beautiful little wonderful baby! My son and daughter-in-law will celebrate their 5th anniversary in November. I am looking forward to my upcoming 40th ReUnion in 2015!”

Timothy Meigher writes, “Involved with Union through the men’s hockey program as a member of the friends group—the Garnet Blades— where I serve as board president. It’s a joy for me and my family to be associated with the school and this great program in this capacity. My wife, Jessica, and I attend many home and away games with our 9-year-old son Connor, who has already spent many of his winters on campus watching Union games and has become friends with many of the fine student-athletes who have passed through the program. Connor plays hockey—we are hockey parents— he insists he’s Union 2026!”

Theron Russell writes, “Dick Lamm and I enjoyed a twoday reunion in Schenectady this summer with retired Professor Emeritus Byron Nichols and his wife, Lynda.

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Mark Dobday writes, “In 2012, Sandy and I celebrated our 30th anniversary at the Prince of Wales Hotel in Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta, Canada, and in Glacier Park before visiting family in Polson, Mont. In May 2013, we visited our son Tim in Rome. Tim, who’s an architecture student at the Rhode Island School of Design, spent six months in Italy with RISD’s European Honors Program. Sandy and I also went to Venice and Florence.”

1976 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Leslie Steinecker-McHugh 17 Virginia Place Patchogue, N.Y. 11772 lesmch2@aol.com

Donald Leach ’76 visited the Sheldon Jackson Museum in Alaska. Rev. Sheldon Jackson was a member of the Class of 1855.

Donald Leach writes, “My wife and I were in Alaska this summer, and while in Sitka, we visited the Sheldon Jackson Museum. The Rev. Dr. Sheldon Jackson was a Presbyterian missionary, the first General Agent of Education in Alaska and most importantly, a Union College grad (Class of 1855). Those Union grads are everywhere.

As one of the organizers of the Alaska Society of Natural History and Ethnology, Jackson saved quite a bit of historic, cultural and natural history objects, many of which are in the museum. I recommend a visit to all who are up that way! Interestingly, the museum was built to resemble a Northwest Coast Indian community house, and has eight sides—not quite the 16 we became accustomed to at the Nott Memorial!”

Arkieva, designer and supplier of a full suite of advanced planning and scheduling software tools, recently appointed Ken Fordyce solutions director, semiconductor and analytics.

Ken joins Arkieva after a 36-year-career with IBM.

Lauren Coryea ’15 (left) and Chetna Prasad ’15 ran into a fellow alumnus, Michael Alexander ’77, during their term abroad in Greece.

1977 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Tony Romanazzi 73 Bay St. Glens Falls, N.Y. 12801 romanquatro@gmail.com Stephen Blonsky writes, “I am a nephrologist at the Marshfield Clinic in Wausau, Wis. My oldest son has graduated with a doctorate in pharmacy from the University of Iowa and will be working for CVS. My oldest daughter received her M.D. and started an internal medicine residency at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Marshfield, Wis. My second daughter is a second-year medical student at the Medical College of Wisconsin. My twin boys are college juniors.

One is a physics/math major at the University of Wisconsin in Madison and the other is an architecture and French major at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.

He will be doing his third year studies in Paris, France.”

In September, Michael Alexander came across Chetna Prasad ’15 and Lauren Coryea ’15, who were on a term abroad in Greece and visiting the island of Santorini. He pointed at their Union clothing and asked if they were from the Union College in Schenectady,

Judge Charlie Greene ’78 and certified mediator Frank Allocca ’73 were at the Broward Bar Association convention in Ft. Lauderdale recently.

N.Y. They had a nice conversation and also snapped a picture of their Union moment.

1978 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Jeff Laniewski Jlaniew1@maine.rr.com

GZA GeoEnvironmental, Inc., a leading environmental and geotechnical consulting firm, recently announced that Steven Roland, P.E., joined the company as a senior consultant in the Fairfield, N.J. office.

Steven has had a 34-year career with extensive environmental engineering and remediation experience. Most recently, he led the environmental practice group at a national engineering firm, responsible for large remediation projects in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, including one of the largest Superfund sites in New Jersey.

Bob Howard writes, “In addition to my professorship (of political science at Georgia State University), I have just been appointed the executive director of the Southern Political Science Association.”

Michael Gray writes, “To celebrate our 35th reunion Peter Aronson, Larry Fein, Harris Halpert, Steve Lapidus,

Front, from left to right, are Joel Sherman and Michael Rotondi. Back, from left to right, are Steve Lapidus, Rich Stauber, Michael Gray, Larry Fein, Harris Halpert and Peter Aronson.

myself, Michael Rotondi, Joel Sherman and Rich Stauber got together for a weekend this July in NYC. We put the word out through social media about a Saturday night get together and had an amazing turnout! Joe Ades, Greg Cohen ’77, Sue Finkelstein, Fern Flomenhaft, Cindy Glucksman, Nora Gold, Beth Helmers, Bruce Jacobson, Amy Juchatz, Brad Kessler, Jeff Levine, Michael Marks, Yvonne Lavender Marks ’77, Mitch Mindlin ’77, Gary Price and Lenny Wald ’77 joined us and we spent the evening catching up, laughing and reminiscing about Union!”

1979

Z

ReUnion ’14 May 30–June 1

Eric J. Goldring writes, “While continuing my law practice specializing in yacht and construction law, I have developed a second business: Goldring Travel. In that role, I have been named a top 25 travel agent by Travel Agent Magazine, was just awarded a Silver Magellan Award by Travel Weekly for the Goldring Travel website, and am the top agent worldwide for Seabourn Cruise Line. This seemingly incongruous combination, combined with my B.S. in biology, has allowed me to create food and wine cruises around the world. The cruises

are paired with such events as private tours and tastings at Chateau Margaux in Bordeaux, a sustainable seafood lecture with food and wine parings at the New England Aquarium, and this year, a sustainable caviar experience with wine pairings in Uruguay.”

Keith Edwards enjoys time with his son, Brandon, fishing the lakes of Pa. and the streams near Lake George, N.Y. He is president of Biocoat, Inc., a manufacturer of unique reagents for the medical device industry. He writes, “I use my organic chemistry education every day, with thanks to Professors Martin and Sowa.”

Larry Rehr writes, “As I drove out of the gates of Union for the last time in June of 1979, I promised myself that I would contribute an update to the alumni magazine at least once every 35 years. Here is my latest news, standby until 2049 for the next one. I make my home in Weston, Conn. with my wife of 25 years, Debbie. My daughter, Samantha, is a junior at the University of Michigan and majors in acting. My son, Stefan, is a sophomore at Emerson College and majors in marketing and communications. I am a captain with Delta Air Lines and fly Boeing 767-400s from JFK to various

Keith Edwards ’79

destinations in Europe.

Prior to merging with Delta, I worked for Northwest Airlines, flying Boeing 747s and Airbus 300s from our Detroit base to destinations throughout Asia and Europe.

Previous to airline flying, I was an aircraft commander with the U.S. Air Force Reserves, flying strategic cargo flights to worldwide destinations, as far off as northern Greenland and southern Africa and many points in between.

Debbie and I just returned from an exciting and rewarding trip down the Mekong River, visiting Cambodia and Vietnam. Another recent trip was with my daughter Sam, to Florence, Italy, during which I had the great pleasure of showing her many of the places that I remember so fondly from my Union term abroad with the late, brilliant Professor Hans Freund. Besides frequent travel, we enjoy sailing trips and skiing vacations, although it’s been a while since I skied West Mountain on a Wednesday evening!”

1980 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Richard Budd Stefan Zavodnika 25 971 01 Prievidza, Slovak Republic buddwick@hotmail.com

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John Bonventre ’79, Steve Wasserman, Michael Mulpeter, Keith Miller, Bill Barnett ’81, Jim Burger ’81, Jim Boomgarden, Frank Murphy ’81 and Peter Charkalis.

September in Schroon Lake, N.Y. Nancy Fiddes Rudolph, Joan Moumbleaux ’81, Maria, Shelly Stroud Loveland and Kelly Dennin celebrated 33 years of friendship.

1981

The National Law Journal recently selected David Stern as one of 100 lawyers in the nation to have the biggest impact on the legal world.

David, executive director of Equal Justice Works, a leading organization in creating public interest law opportunities, has 30 years of experience in public interest law. A graduate of Georgetown Law, he serves as co-chair of the pro bono task force subcommittee on fellowships for the Legal Services Corporation.

CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Sigma Chi brothers from the Classes of 1980 and 1981 gathered for the 7th Annual “Z-Mon Memorial Golf Tournament,” held at the Hanah Mountain Resort in the Catskills, N.Y.

Michael Rappa was recently featured at www.informationweek.com. The story, a Q&A, focused on his career at North Carolina State University, where he’s executive director of the Institute for Advanced Analytics and distinguished university professor in the Department of Computer Science.

The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle recently printed a story about Keith Miller’s Canal Lamp Inn in Pittsford, N.Y. The historic brick home, built along the Erie Canal in 1887, is now a bed and breakfast. It was originally owned by brothers who operated a large malt house and flour mill behind the home. The story focused on the home’s history.

Day & Zimmermann, a provider of construction and engineering, staffing, and defense solutions for leading corporations and governments around the world, recently named Doug Napodano vice president of projects. In this role, Doug will be responsible for overseeing D&Z’s open shop projects. Prior to joining D&Z, he served as vice president of operations with PIC Group. His previous experience includes stints with the Shaw Group, Air Control Science, Babcock Power and Alstom Power.

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Thomas Buiocchi writes, “My wife Linda (Rumbold) and I took our twin 16-year old girls to Union in July. It was our first time back in 23 years, and boy did the campus look fantastic!”

Sigma Chi brothers from the Classes of 1980 and 1981 gathered for the 7th Annual “Z-Mon Memorial Golf Tournament,” held at the Hanah Mountain Resort in the Catskills, N.Y. It was originally started to raise money for their beloved, ailing fraternity cook, Don “Z-Mon” Frazier.

Since Z-Mon’s passing in 2008, the event has supported numerous local and other charities. This year, $5,500 was raised and distributed among the City Mission of Schenectady, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Schenectady, Big Brothers/Big Sisters of the Capital Region, SAFE Inc. of Schenectady, and the UNC Linebarger Cancer Center.

Participants included Anthony Klockenbrink ’81, Doug Crawford, Paul Romas, Carl Seiden, Scott Troxell, Mike Squier, Mark Kennedy, Pete VanValkinburgh, K.R. Marshall, Chris Walsh, Rob Fishmann ’81, Steve McCarthy, Kevin Eberly, Mike Hogan, Jeff Getty ’81, Vern Wetmore ’81, Rick Mirabito, Paul Stolbof, Billy Fay, Dave O’Conner ’81 and Tom Talbott. Past participants and contributors include

Alan Saler 17040 Magnolia Boulevard Encino, Calif. 91316 alan@alansaler.com Barry Rosenberg writes, “Congratulations to Dan Lacoff and his daughter Allison ’08 for competing in the NYC Marathon this year. Congrats to David Schwartz ’80 and his beautiful wife, Ellen, for hosting many Union parties this summer. Rumor mill has it that Nanette Coryn has been dating my old Camp Greylock friend Ricky Sobel, a legendary athlete. My son, Jack Rosenberg, an accomplished golfer, is in 11th grade and will consider Union as one of his college picks. My daughter Jennifer, 14, recently won the Long Island Golf Ass’n 18-andunder championship, placed 10th in the NYS High School Championship at Delhi, N.Y. and won the Glen Oaks Ladies Club Championship in Old Westbury, N.Y. Both kids placed 2nd in the MGA Brother Sister Championship in October, where they actually didn’t fight. I, on the other hand, am struggling with a rising handicap, a receding hairline and desperately trying to keep my business afloat!”

1982 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Thomas Reynolds 3440 Powells Crossing Ct. Woodbridge, Va. 22193

Thanks to the hospitality of Maria Kansas Devine, an annual Union women’s weekend took place during

1983 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Cory Lewkowicz 74 Taylor St. Needham, Mass. 02494 lewkowicz@aol.com Peter Weishar is dean of Florida State University’s College of Visual Arts, Theatre and Dance. Previously, he was dean of the Savannah College of Art and Design, School of Film, Digital Media and Performing Arts.

FNH USA, LLC recently announced that John Goliber joined its executive team as chief technology officer. He is responsible for setting the strategic direction of the company’s product management function, including product and market analyses, and implementation and oversight of sustainable product development and delivery activities. Previously, John was the director of engineering at Kimber Manufacturing, Inc. David Blakelock represented Union College at the inauguration of President Hiram E.

tions, rulings and other regulatory actions affecting these securities. I have been a partner at Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP in Boston, Mass. since 2001, and I lead the tax practice of my firm’s public finance department.”

David Blakelock ’83 represented Union College at the inauguration of President Hiram E. Chodosh at Claremont McKenna College Oct. 5, 2013

Chodosh at Claremont McKenna College Oct. 5, 2013.

David is an active member of Union’s President’s Council and speaks regularly to students interested in innovation and entrepreneurship. He is a partner, BSN Group, and a lecturer at Bentley University.

David and his wife Margaret are members of the President’s Leadership Council at Claremont McKenna College, where their daughter Catherine is a senior.

1984

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ReUnion ’14 May 30–June 1

CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Kathleen Kozera Rowe 33 Fairway Ave. Delmar, N.Y. 12054-3332 Paul D. Ginsberg writes, “I continue as co-head of the global M&A practice at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, the New Yorkbased, international law firm at which I have practiced since 1987. I am fortunate to have a very active and interesting practice that takes me all around the globe. My wife and I, and our three children, live in Manhattan. We are excited that our oldest daughter will enter the Class of 2018 at Yale University in the fall of 2014.

Our younger daughter and son attend Horace Mann

The following alumni all work at MakerBot, a global leader in the desktop 3D printing industry. From left to right they are: Jenny (Sconyers) Lawton ’85, president; Portia Zwicker ’03, technical writer; Joe Muñiz ’12, support agent; Kevin Skeuse ’13, quality engineer; and David Sayles ’10, software engineer.

School. I’m still hopeful that one of them will find their way to Union College.”

1985 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Jon Mathewson PO Box 1262 Middletown Springs, Vt. 05757-1262

MakerBot, a global leader in the desktop 3D printing industry, recently promoted Jennifer Lawton to president.

Jenny previously held the title of chief strategy officer. She has been with MakerBot since 2011 and has been responsible for the overall strategy and growth of the company, including strategic partnerships, product development, and retail.

Scott Collins, a lawyer with the firm Helsell Fetterman, was recently selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America 2014 edition. Scott, who attended the University of Washington School of Law, was recognized for commercial litigation.

1986 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Phil Bean pbean@haverford.edu

William J. Keniry is a member of the New York Bar Foundation Board of Directors. He is a partner of Tabner, Ryan and Keniry. He previously chaired the State Bar Association’s trial lawyers section. He was chairman of the Supreme Court, Appellate Division Third Judicial Department Committee on Professional Standards.

Joann Sternheimer recently became the managing partner of Deily, Mooney & Glastetter LLP in Albany, N.Y. Joann joined the law firm in 2000 as an associate attorney, and became a partner in 2005. She received her law degree from Rutgers Law School in 1993.

Antonio D. Martini writes, “I was recently elected president of the National Association of Bond Lawyers, for a one-year term beginning in September 2014. The association has approximately 3,000 members.

It organizes seminars and other educational resources for these individuals and other participants in the public finance market on the law, relating to state and municipal bonds. It also offers advice and commentary at the federal, state and local levels with respect to legislation, regula-

1987 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Paul Malatesta 148 Washington Avenue Chatham, N.J. 07928 paul.malatesta@gmail.com

Commander Bruce Szymanski retired from active duty with the U.S. Navy on Nov. 1 after 26 years of distinguished service. Bruce was commissioned as an ensign in the United States Navy on June 13, 1987. He was designated a Naval Aviator in 1990 and reported to the “Garudas” for his first fleet tour in 1992.

He served as line division officer and assistant operations officer while completing multiple Western Pacific deployments onboard the USS Kitty Hawk, and while augmenting Combined Air Operations Center Five in Vicenza, Italy as a crisis operations planner supporting operations in former Yugoslavia in 1995.

Timothy Cawley was recently named president and CEO of Orange and Rockland Utilities Inc. He was previously the senior vice president of central operations at Consolidated Edison, the parent company of O&R. Timothy earned a master’s in business administration from New York University.

1988 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Dana Rosen Isbitts 480 Alexandra Circle Weston, Fla. 33326 danaisbitts@gmail.com Winter 2014 UNION COLLEGE

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David DeFilippo earned his doctorate with distinction from the University of Pennsylvania in August 2013.

David’s research was focused on executive coaching.

David is the chief learning officer for BNY Mellon.

1989

companies to accelerate their product development, focusing on cloud, mobile and data analytics, recently hired Ken Berlack as its marketing manager. Ken heads Motifworks’ lead generation, branding and overall communications initiatives.

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ReUnion ’14 May 30–June 1

1991

CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Stephanie Spencer Wiggs 1722 Pine Street Livermore, Calif. 94551 swfcorg@aol.com

Massey Knakal Realty Services recently announced that Debra Cohen joined the firm as a director of sales, focusing on South Nassau and the Rockaways. She comes to Massey Knakal with over 20 years of experience in sales, marketing, public relations, and business management.

In 1997, Debra founded Home Remedies of NY, Inc., a Homeowner Referral Network business that pre-screens and refers home improvement contractors. She launched her business locally and grew it nationwide, grossing more than $4 million in sales.

Michael Uccellini was recently profiled in the New York Real Estate Journal. The piece focused on his education, a master’s in business administration from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Lally School of Management & Technology, and his career.

Michael is president and CEO of the United Group of Companies Inc. in Troy, N.Y.

1990 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Mary Jo Burke 532 Whitcover Circle Charlottesville, Va. 22901 mjcburke@earthlink.net

Motifworks, a technology services firm that works with 40 | UNION COLLEGE Winter 2014

CLASS CORRESPONDENT

FIGHTING FOR EVERYONE’S GENES

I

magine a world where some big corporation owns the rights to your DNA. Sound unlikely? It is now, but until recently, Myriad Genetics had patents on two genes. The company gained control of BRCA1 and BRCA2 in the mid-1990s.

“We could no longer test our own patients for inherited breast and ovarian cancer risk,” Ellen Matloff ’91 told bcaction.org in June. Matloff is director of the Cancer Genetic Counseling Program at Yale Cancer Center.

“All samples nationwide had to be sent to Myriad—an unprecedented genetic monopoly had been born.”

This pushed the cost of testing from $1,600 to $4,000.

Women who carry BRCA mutations have a lifetime risk of developing cancer that’s 85 percent (breast) and 60 percent (ovarian) greater than women who don’t. And many of them, Matloff said, couldn’t afford this price.

It wasn’t a reality she could live with. When the U.S. Supreme Court accepted the case, Association of Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, April 15, 2013, she was there.

“I agreed to be a plaintiff, against advice from all of my most trusted advisors, because I could simply not say no,” Matloff said in an e-mail. “Someone had to put their neck out, and I realized it would have to be me.”

The court ruled unanimously against Myriad June 13, 2013, supporting the plaintiffs’ argument that genes are natural and therefore not patentable. BRCA testing, now offered by many companies, costs about $2,000 and is expected to continue falling.

“We all have DNA, so this impacts each of us,” Matloff said. “Soon, truly personalized medicine will be an option.

People could opt for testing at age 20 that will guide when they have their first colonoscopy, mammogram or echocardiogram. If each gene were patented and cost $4,000 a pop, this would never happen—we have about 30,000 genes.”

Learn more at www.bcaction.org (search “Ellen Matloff”).

Karen Valyou Zador 313 Stonehurst Parkway St. Augustine, Fla. 32092 karenzador@gmail.com Michele Powers recently became director of communications and marketing at Champlain Valley Physicians’ Hospital Medical Center in Plattsburgh, N.Y. She spent the last eight years at the Plattsburgh/North Country Chamber of Commerce as director of tourism and then vice president of marketing.

1992 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Stephanie Fray Apartment 7 D 10 West End Avenue New York, N.Y. 10023-7828 sfray1@gmail.com Anne E. Zaccheo is director at Nephrology Associates of Syracuse, PC. Previously, she was director of provider operations at Excellus BlueCross BlueShield.

Grant Thornton LLP named Craig Casey one of its new leaders in its New York practice, which includes the firm’s offices in midtown and lower Manhattan, Long Island, Albany and Edison, N.J. Craig will serve as forensic and valuation services practice leader. A certified public accountant in New York and a member of the AICPA, he is also certified in financial forensics.

Invisible Continent, and started my own publishing company, called the Hydroelectric Press.

I am thrilled to announce that Professor Jordan Smith’s book-length sequence of poems, Clare’s Empire, after the life and work of John Clare, will be the inaugural title for this new venture.”

Julia Burke, Taylor Burke ’94, Eric Weinberger ’94 and Alex Kreisler Weinberger ’94 attend an Arizona Cardinals game on NFL Network in October.

1993 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Jill Bernstein 170 E. 83rd St., #3K New York, N.Y. 10028 jilldbernstein@yahoo.com

Roetzel recently announced that Lisa H. Lipman has joined the law firm’s business services group as a partner in the Naples, Fla. office. Lisa was previously employed in the Naples office of Gray Robinson, P.A. She focuses her practice on estate planning, trust and estate administration, probate litigation and guardianship matters. Active in the community, Lisa serves as president of the Board of Directors of the Naples International Film Festival and on the Executive Board of the Collier County Women’s Bar Association.

1994

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ReUnion ’14 May 30–June 1

CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Kristi Campbell & Kurt Venator 7322 Cornell Avenue St. Louis, Mo. 63130 kvenator@purina.com Kristi cell (314) 304-2323 Kurt cell (314) 982-2671 Michael Allen Potter writes, “I recently released my first collection of essays, The Last

Kristen (Morse) Newmark and Jason Newmark ’96 are living in East Longmeadow, Mass. with their two beautiful daughters, Abby and Reese.

Abby is 7 and Reese is 18-months. Jason is the vice president of diagnostic services at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, Mass. and Kristen is working part-time from home as a college counselor for Campus Bound (founded by fellow alum Gregg Cohen ’91) in Lexington, Mass. Kristen and Jason just celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary.

the Hilltown6 pottery tour, published in July on www.gazettenet.com.

Michael, who crafts functional pottery in Westhampton, Mass., is a founding member Hilltown6. He studied clay at Penland School of Crafts in Bakersville, N.C., and was an apprentice at Stonepool Pottery in Worthington.

1995

Sara Amann Garrand 367 Schauber Road Ballston Lake, N.Y. 12019 sgarrand1@nycap.rr.com

CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Caroline Paine Pannhorst 32 Nottingham Way North Clifton Park, N.Y. 12065 cpannhorst@msn.com Sandra (Druzba) Thomas writes, “Thrilled to get together twice to celebrate our big birthday year with fellow ‘95 grads Karen (Colwell) Grandinetti and Soume (Daulat) Foshee. I recently moved back to New Jersey for a job change with ADP focusing on their international business.”

1996 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Betsy Phelps Seplowitz 104 Tompion Way Ballston Spa, N.Y. 12020 bseplowitz@yahoo.com Michael McCarthy was included in an article about

Elissa Bradford ’98 with her family

1997 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

1998 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Ryan T. Smith, MBA ’00 284 Sussex Circle Jupiter, Fla. 33458 rsmith@thebenjaminschool.org Elissa Bradford writes, “I am working as an independent contractor, service coordinator, for Georgia’s Early Intervention program. My husband and I brought together three children each to make one large, happy family almost two years ago.

We are enjoying a quiet life here in Saint Marys, Ga., and are very proud of our six children and all of their accomplishments.”

Ruthie Strosberg Simon is the director of placement and alumni affairs at Yeshivat

Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School, an open orthodox rabbinical school in Riverdale, N.Y. She is entering her 10th year with YCT. Ruthie is married to Joel, an Albany native, and they have two children—Hattie, age 7, and Avery age 5. The Simons live in Riverdale. Ruthie writes, “Imagine my surprise to reconnect with Ron Zuckerman ’99, whose son Ethan is in kindergarten with my son!”

Dr. Steven Pinheiro writes, “Have been the ob-gyn third year clerkship director at Albany Medical College for the last five years and recently published my first novel, a medical murder mystery, Lost Generations, under my pen name Steven Noble. It is available in book form at the Book House at Stuyvesant Plaza and online for Kindle at Amazon.com.”

1999

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ReUnion ’14 May 30–June 1

CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Kellie Forrestall 360 First St. Lowell, Mass. 01850 forrestkj@hotmail.com Mark Will writes, “My wife, Beth, and I are still teaching at St. Clement’s School in Toronto. Our favourite (Canadian spelling) times are spent playing with Charlotte, who turned 2 in May.”

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2007

in gift planning and trustee relations. Before RISD, she was director of leadership gifts at the Wheeler School, and director of annual giving at Worcester Academy.

CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Nick Salvatoriello nick.salvatoriello@gmail.com

2001 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Charlotte (Mark Will ’99)

2000 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

DOUBLE STUF OREO? MAYBE NOT

W

hat may be one of the tastiest experiments ever conducted happened like this: Dan Anderson ’02 walked into his classroom, held up packages of Oreos, and asked his math students what they’d like to know about America’s favorite cookie.

Getting past the obvious thing anyone would want to know (“Can we eat those?”), they were pretty interested in whether the Double Stuf Oreo really has twice as much tasty filling as the original.

So students (who incidentally consumed all cookies by experiment’s end), first determined the average weight of an Oreo. They then found the average weight of just the chocolate wafers. Subtracting this wafer weight from the average weight of original and Double Stuf cookies, they got their hungrily sought after answer.

Double the “stuf”? Close, but no cigar.

“They found that Double Stuf has approximately 1.8 times the stuf-ing of original Oreos,” said Anderson, who teaches math and computer programming at Queensbury High School (N.Y.). “They were excited to learn this, and enjoyed using their math skills to measure real-life situations in new ways.”

That excitement didn’t ebb after the results were tallied, either. Anderson and his students received a lot of attention for their sweet deduction.

“I was very surprised—totally shocked at the viral nature of the coverage,” Anderson said. “I’ve interviewed in video with Fox News, CNN and WNYT, and talked via phone or email with Huffington Post, Good Morning America/Yahoo, Daily Mail.uk, New York Daily News, Reuters and Harper’s Magazine.”

To learn more about the kids (and teacher) with the Oreo cookies, read Anderson’s blog: http://blog.recursiveprocess.com

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Erika Newell 546 Pacific St. #2 Brooklyn, N.Y. 11217 erika_newell@hotmail.com

Boyd Collar Nolen & Tuggle, LLC promoted Brooke M. French to senior associate.

Brooke, who joined the firm in 2011 as an associate, is a member of the State Bar of Georgia’s Family Law Section and is trained as a guardian ad litem, representing children at the center of contested custody battles.

Mathew P. Barry is a shareholder of McNamee, Lochner, Titus & Williams, P.C. in Albany, N.Y. He practices in the firm’s litigation and commercial lending groups, and is focused on commercial litigation and real property disputes for businesses and individuals.

Mathew is a graduate of Albany Law School.

Molly H. Garrison recently became director of development and external affairs for WSBE Rhode Island PBS. In this role, she stewards a comprehensive strategic fund raising plan, with an emphasis on major and planned gifts. Most recently in community relations and the chief of staff in the office of the president at Rhode Island School of Design, Molly served at RISD since 2009

Erin (Aloan) Grogan 143 Streeter Hill Road West Chesterfield, N.H. 03466 erinlgrogan@gmail.com

2002 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Gina L. Campanella campanella.gina@gmail.com Daniel Flint writes, “Well, it was another great summer.

My 7-year-old daughter started 1st grade, while my son started pre-k.”

2003 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Katrina (Tentor) Lallier 50A Locust Street Danvers, Mass. 01923 katrina@alumni.union.edu Portia Zwicker recently accepted a position at MakerBot Industries located in Brooklyn, N.Y. She writes, “In May 2013 I started working at MakerBot as a technical writer. MakerBot has five Union alumni!”

Greg Schwanbeck is featured in the new book, American Teacher: Heroes in the Classroom by Katrina Fried.

American Teacher spotlights one of the most unsung yet critically important professions in the world. Over the course of two years, the author has interviewed and written the stories of passionate, innovative, and decorated teachers from kindergarten through 12th grade, selected from public and public charter schools

From left, Class of 2004 alumnae Kirsten (Johnson) Langdon, Nicole (Carluccio) Burns, Jaclyn (Bloom) Moheban and Rachel Marin gathered at Nicole’s home in October. Rachel writes, “Kristen had to leave the party early, so we used a scarecrow as a stand-in for her.”

across America. The result is a collection of narratives that takes us into the classrooms of 50 extraordinary educators.

Greg is a physics teacher at Westwood High School in Westwood, Mass. Learn more about him at http://schwan blog.wordpress.com/ and about the book at http://www. welcomebooks.com/american teacher/index.html Matthew V. Blackwell was recently promoted from director of operations to vice president of Aurora Products, based in Orange, Conn. In his new position, Matthew is primarily responsible for day-to-day operations of the company, including facilitating the coordination between different departments, spearheading equipment purchases and maintaining camaraderie among the company’s 200-plus employees. Prior to working at Aurora, Matthew worked for ACNielsen BASES as a junior research analyst.

2004

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CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Rachel Marin rachel.marin@gmail.com (973) 670-7692

Class of 2004 alumnae Kirsten (Johnson) Langdon,

Jaclyn (Bloom) Moheban and Rachel Marin gathered at the home of Nicole (Carluccio) Burns and Steve Burns ’01 in Rivervale, N.J. in October.

They celebrated the first birthday of the Burns’s son, Joseph Lindsay.

Kate Otis writes, “I’ve been working as regional communications manager for BlueShield of Northeastern New York and was recently chosen as one of the Albany Business Review’s ‘Forty Under 40.’

I serve on the Seton Health Foundation Board and my husband Eli Rabinowitz ’03 and I assist a variety of charitable organizations with their fundraising events.”

2005 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Andrea Doenges andrea.doenges@gmail.com Dr. Sarah-Jo Stimpson recently joined the Division of Emergency Medicine at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center. She comes to Connecticut Children’s as a former resident of the Medical Center’s University of Connecticut Pediatrics Residency Program. Sarah-Jo completed a research fellowship at the National Institutes of Health and

Timothy Nonna ’06 was commissioned into the United States Air Force at Maxwell AFB. Tim’s good friend and fraternity brother Lt. Andrew G. Moyer ’06, USN administered the oath of office.

earned her medical degree from the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

Georgina Serroukas and Matthew Smith are happy to announce their engagement.

They met in 2004 while she attended Union, and worked at the Van Dyck Restaurant together. They just bought a house this summer in Highland, N.Y. and are planning a wedding for fall 2014.

2006 On Aug. 6, 2013, Lt. Timothy Nonna was commissioned into the United States Air Force at Maxwell AFB, Ala. Travelling to Alabama to administer the oath of office was Tim’s good friend, classmate, and fraternity brother Lt. Andrew G. Moyer, USN Lt. Nonna spent the past five years working as both an engineer at Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory in Niskayuna, N.Y. and as an assistant rowing coach for the Union College Crew team.

He decided to take a break from those activities to serve our country. He will spend the next year at Laughlin AFB, Texas for pilot training.

The New York Times recently chronicled the experiences of Nancy Borowick, who got married shortly after her husband proposed, to make sure both her parents would be there. Nancy’s mother has breast cancer, her father has pancreatic cancer. She and Kyle Grimm ’08 were married Oct. 5, 2013. Visit www. nytimes.com to read more.

Since graduation from Union, Mitch Pearson has been working as a financial planner with Equinox Financial Partners at AXA Advisors.

Growing each and every year, Mitch will now be recognized as a top wealth manager in the New York area within the January 6, 2014 edition of New York magazine.

Mitch Pearson and Melissa Gold are happy to announce their engagement. The wedding ceremony will take place in July 2014 on a vineyard on eastern Long Island.

One of the groomsmen will be Matt Waddell and other Union alums will be in attendance to help celebrate.

2008 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Dana Cohen 250 E. 63rd Street, Apt. 1001 New York, N.Y. 10065 dana.lynn.cohen@gmail.com Josh DeBartolo was featured in the Albany Times Union in October 2013. The story focused on his work with Schoharie Recovery Inc., helping the Schoharie Valley (N.Y.) recover in the wake of Tropical Storm Irene; his marriage to Alison Bryant; and his recent move to Peru to work at a center for malnourished children.

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and are planning a wedding for summer 2014 in Rhode Island.

Katherine Cissel ’09 and Lisa Crescenzo ’10 recently curated Duets: Art in Conversation

2009

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Jamie Schellens and Katrina Neiley became engaged on July 5, 2013 while vacationing in Port Clyde, Maine. They are preparing to relocate to Dallas, Texas, and are planning a September 2014 wedding in Rome, N.Y.

CLASS CORRESPONDENTS

Gabe Kramer 123 North Arden Blvd.

Los Angeles, Cali. 90004 kramerg3@gmail.com Carl Winkler 2232 S. Gayoso St. New Orleans, La. 70125 carl.s.winkler@gmail.com Abigail Adsit was featured on WNYT in August. The story focused on her career as a horse trainer at Saratoga Race Course and elsewhere. For more visit http://wnyt.com/ article/stories/S3121763.shtml Katherine Cissel and Lisa Crescenzo ’10 curated Duets: Art in Conversation, an exhibition of some 50 paintings, drawings, prints and sculpture from the 18th century to the present, at the Hirschl & Adler Galleries in New York City. Both are employed there as assistants.

Bradley H. Goldberg graduated from SUNY Downstate Medical Center in May 2013.

He is doing a residency in internal medicine at North Shore University Hospital, LIJ. Lindsay Salandra is the publicist for HOT 97, the #1 hip hop station in New York City, since 2012. After college, she stayed close to Union, working at Ellis Hospital until 2011.

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Over the past few years she has travelled around America, including stops in San Diego, Nashville, Chicago, San Francisco, Cleveland, and Vegas, as well as visiting fellow Dutchmen in Boston and Philly.

2010 CLASS CORRESPONDENT

Ewo Harrell Orlando, Fla. (407) 506-3713 ewo.harrell@gmail.com

2011 Sam Barstow and Jake Anderson were featured in the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle recently. The story focused on their growing business, Forsake Shoes.

Their all-weather, casual performance kicks are being sold in select independent and specialty stores in Boston and by several national retailers online.

Kelly Pearson and Nick Oren are happy to announce their engagement. They met their freshman year but didn’t start dating until 2009, while on their term abroad to Prague.

They are living in Connecticut

Alyse Dunn recently accepted a position at Chadwick Martin Bailey, located in Boston, Mass., as associate researcher.

Alyse also received a master of arts in global marketing communications and advertising from Emerson College on May 15, 2012.

SUCCEEDING ON THE HILL

P

ete Haviland-Eduah ’10 is putting his Union education to good use.

“I was a history and Africana studies interdisciplinary major, and it’s been a service to my career so far,” he said.

“History is a great blueprint to look at when trying to shape the present and future. Working in the public sector, it’s absolutely necessary to understand history because it defines who we are as people and where we go as a society.”

Haviland-Eduah is deputy press secretary for Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.). His daily responsibilities include maintaining her official Senate website and YouTube page; helping to run press conferences; writing press releases; working with reporters; and compiling news clips.

“One of my favorite aspects of working on The Hill is having access to people from all over the country— all over the world—who want to make a difference,” Haviland-Eduah said. “Without question, that’s what’s rewarding about working on behalf of New Yorkers.

“One of Senator Gillibrand’s qualities that drew me to her office is her commitment to service and working on behalf of where she is from. It means a lot to me and is a true honor.”

Haviland-Eduah is from Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and he too hopes to be a public servant.

“In what capacity I’m not sure,” he told The Hill newspaper this past summer, “but I would love to run for office and represent the people of upstate New York.”

Haviland-Eduah spoke to The Hill after it named him to its 50 Most Beautiful People list, recognizing men and women of all ages working in the legislative or executive branches of government on Capitol Hill.

“It’s been fun,” the former Student Forum president said. “I’ve seen people around the Senate who have been featured before; it just seems like a pretty unique honor.”

Six months after surviving the Boston Marathon Bombing, Lauren Vulcano continues to heal both emotionally and physically. She’s had two surgeries since June and hopes her most recent procedure will be her last.

During her second eardrum and cartilage transplant, surgeons found that the bomb shrapnel had not only perforated her right eardrum, but also shattered a bone in her middle ear. She writes, “Even though I won’t get my hearing back, I have a lot to be thankful for. This whole experience has really shown me that there is so much goodness in the world and that each day is an opportunity for greatness.” Lauren continues to work toward a master’s in school counseling and school social work, and also serves on the One Fund Community Council.

2012 Adam Zinman was featured in September by the Albany Times Union. The piece focused on Zinman’s diverse academic experience at Union, and how that helped him land his first job as a control systems programmer at Atlas Copco in Voorheesville, N.Y. An engineering major, he designed an artificial mosquito and fly for a senior project. This was initially what captured the attention of Atlas Copco.

A short story by Julia Friedman called “Swapping” was published online and in print for Mused (http://www. bellaonline.com/review/ issues/spring2012/f002.html).

Julia is in her third semester at NYU, working on a master’s in journalism with a concentration in magazine writing.

During her studies, she’s worked for Lucky magazine and New York magazine, both in the editorial departments, and she’s now at Us Weekly, also in editorial.

2013

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Ryan Forgaard signed a one-year contract with Drakkars of the French Elite Hockey League in June 2013.

The defenseman played 110 career games at Union and had nine career assists. He helped the Dutchmen reach the NCAA Frozen Four as a junior in 2011-12.

Rhianna Kurio was recently selected during the 2013 Canadian Women’s Hockey League entry draft. Rhianna, who recorded nine points (5-4-9) in 34 games during her senior season with Union, was drafted in the twelfth round by Team Alberta.

Emma Rambo was recently selected during the 2013 Canadian Women’s Hockey League entry draft. Emma, who played in all 68 games for Union over the past two seasons, was drafted by the Boston Blades in the final round.

Jeremy Welsh was recently featured at newsobserver. com, in a Q&A about his first pro hockey season. He spent most of the season with the Charlotte Checkers (AHL), playing five games for the

JUST FOR MED STUDENTS

A

s far as they know, in-Training is the only online magazine dedicated exclusively to medical students.

Launched at in-Training.org in June 2012 by Ajay Major ’12 and Aleena Paul ’12, both second-year medical students at Albany Medical College, the peer-edited magazine has published more than 163 articles written by medical students at 40 institutions around the world. It was also recognized in the respected Scientific American Incubator blog, curated by renowned science journalist Bora Zivkovic. in-Training has become a popular forum for medical students to share their experiences—doubts, worries, successes, dreams, passions. But its contributors also address serious health care issues.

“We’ve published an enormous breadth of content,” Paul said, “including essays by students for and against abortion, the role of research in medical education, op-eds about the need for more LBGT education in medical school, and the use of social media by hospitals in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombings.”

Major and Paul are thrilled that in-Training has been embraced so quickly.

“Medical schools often exist as disparate islands,” Major said. “That isolation, both geographic and ideological, has historically made communication among medical students difficult and unproductive. We’re hoping to transcend that and provide a connective platform.”

“We believe that when medical students have an outlet, when they can reflect on the happiness and sadness they experience in the wards, and when their voices can be heard, they will become better physicians and stronger patient advocates,” Paul added.

For more, visit www.in-Training.org

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Notes from Afar

1963

2011

Richard Ebstein writes, “After graduating Union, I completed

by Ph.D. at Yale in biology and also married Bonnie Fendelman from St. Louis (also Yale Ph.D.). From Yale we ended up in Israel and stayed for the past 45 years. We’ve been married close to 50 years and have 3 children and 5 grandchildren. Close to retirement as a professor at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, I took a five-year contract at the National University in Singapore as a professor in the psychology department, and am continuing my research interests in human social genetics. Very much enjoying Singapore.”

Rebecca Wentworth is product development fellow at Global Cycle Solutions, an incubated MIT start-up in Arusha, Tanzania. Previously, she directed several consulting projects for Niger Delta Wetlands Centre in Nigeria.

She is excited to continue the Union legacy of interdisci­ plinary work between engineering and the liberal arts by working toward socioeconomic change in the international development field using her technical skills.

1974 William Waters writes, “With nearly 21 years of residence in Ecuador, I continue at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito and have shifted to a research professor position as director of the Institute for Research in Health and Nutrition. I am also emeritus professor at FLACSO, the Latin American Faculty for Social Sciences. My focus in both institutions is health and development.”

1981 Michele (Wolgel) Coven writes, “I have been living in Israel since 1987. I live in Ma’ale Adumim, a city of 40,000 people. I became a grandmother four years ago.

I am in touch with Karen (Bader) Ickovics ’82, who also 46 | UNION COLLEGE Winter 2014

Robin Raff Taylor ’89 with her three children, Allyson, Erin, and Derek, and husband, Lux, on a recent trip to Victoria Falls, Zambia.

lives in Israel. I run a law practice out of my home, having also taken the bar exam in Israel 10 years ago. I welcome any Unionites who are in this neck of the world.”

1989 Robin (Raff) Taylor works for the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya as the resident legal advisor. She served as an assistant United States attorney before arriving at post. Robin recently spent time with former classmates Ashley (Oliver) Barrett, Christine (Mechler) Volanth, Jennifer (Izzo) Morrison, and Kat (Green) Curtin. Jen’s eldest recently started at Dartmouth; Kat has a new baby daughter; Christine keeps busy raising six children; and Ashley has two tall and athletic boys.

1998 Hanno Froese writes, “News from my personal life: My wife, Petra Findeisen, and I had a baby girl, Hannah Saphira, in October 2012.

News from my professional life: Starting this January, I accepted the general manager and plant manager position for the Hilti Kunststofftechnik GmbH. The Hilti Kunststofftechnik in Nersingen, near Neu-Ulm in Germany, is the competence center for plastic technology within the Hilti Group. Production is focusing on fasteners, such as plastic anchors for the worldwide demand, as well as tool components made of plastic for Hilti products.”

2009 Tom Perry is conducting graduate research in physics at CERN, in Geneva, Switzerland, through the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He was at CERN when the facility celebrated Peter W. Higgs and François Englert winning the Nobel Prize in Physics in October. Tom was part of the CERN who had its picture printed in The New York Times (http://www.nytimes. com/2013/10/09/ science/ englert-and-higgs-winnobel-physics-prize.html).

Alumni at the wedding of Emily French ’07 and Ryan Breakey ’04

Alumni trustee position open The Trustee Nominating & Awards Committee of the Alumni Council will select up to three candidates to run in an election during spring 2014 for the position of alumni trustee. The elected individual will serve a fouryear term through June 2018.

Any alumnus/a under the age of 67 may run as a petition candidate. Petition candidates will automatically appear on the election ballot, if duly certified. Information regarding candidacy requirements is available at www. union.edu/alumnicouncil or from the Alumni Office at: Union College 807 Union St. Schenectady, N.Y. 12308 1-888-THE-IDOL, ext. 6157 All election material must be received by Feb. 1, 2014.

2001

2003

Kimberly (Maron) Lawrence and Brad Lawrence are happy to announce their marriage on July 6, 2013 in Hartford, Conn. They reside in West Hartford, Conn. Rob Pease ’71, Nolan Farris ’97, Mary (Connair) Farris, Allison (Trowbridge) Scheckner, Rob Maron ’03, Bill Maron ’05, Koji Yasuda ’05 and Katie Bellucci ’08 helped celebrate the special day.

Gregory Schwanbeck and Keba (Foster) Schwanbeck ’04 are happy to announce their marriage on July 27, 2013 at New England Aquarium, Boston. They reside in Norwood, Mass. Alumni in attendance included Michelle Arcuri, Nicole (Encarnacao) Bartels, Nell (Cooke) Donato, Dan Donato, Hong (Song) Erickson, Steve Erickson, Kemoy Foster ’01, Jonathan

Alumni attend the wedding of Kimberly (Maron) Lawrence ’01 and Brad Lawrence

Jackson ’04, Cara (O’Neal) Jackson ’04, Benny Jackson, Evan Kramer, Mike Pryzgoda ’04, Chad Robertson ’01, Suan Tan ’04 and Chris Wai ’04.

2004 Kara Cotich married Peter Gray (Lafayette College) at the Red Barn at Outlook Farm in Maine on May 18, 2013. The bridal party included Casey Mushkin, Marti (Schulman) Freund, Kinzey Fritz, Michelle (Lividini) Loiacono and Laura (Maslauskas) Murphy. Alumni in attendance included Annie Berkowitz, George Freund ’03, Edward (Trey) Murphy, David Gray ’70, Steve Bauer ’70, Nate Cohen ’71 and Luke Sabella ’70.

Emily French ’07 married Ryan Breakey on Aug. 31, 2013 in North Andover, Mass. In attendance were Emily Bryson ’08, Nina Sheff ’06, Caitlin Milbury ’07, Lucy Osborne ’08, Reed MacNaughton, John

Switchenko ’07, Matt Gerien, Aimee Talleur ’05, Josh Coyle ’08, Amanda Riitanno ’08, Jenna Ondash ’07, Dani Dyas ’07, Gretchen Olney ’07, Lauren Hutchinson Coyle ’08, best man Drew Rothschild and Dan Cocozza.

Dan Mehleisen and Kaity Elias were married on June 8, 2013 at Crissey Farm Berkshire Banquet House in Great Barrington, Mass. The ceremony was performed by Andrew Street. Alumni in attendance included William Mehleisen ’97 (Dan’s brother and best man), Sarah Tidman ’05 (bridesmaid), Aimee Bajorek Uluski ’05, Ann Umlauf ’03, Candice Fiorini, Josh Fiorini, Steph Mole, Jim Griglun, Angelique Kelley Viamari ’07, Jeff Viamari ’06, Jack Cole, Nick Hanley, Alicia Gifford Arcuri ’06, Frank Arcuri ’05, Andrea Posada Chadwick ’05, Adam Chadwick ’05, Priya Rametra,

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Alumni at the wedding of Gregory Schwanbeck ’03 and Keba (Foster) Schwanbeck ’04

Alumni at the wedding of Kara Cotich ’04 and Peter Gray

Alumni attend the wedding of William Forest FitzSimons ’08 and Rebecca Broadwin ’08

Alumni at the wedding of Brett Rosenzweig ’08 and Michael Weiss

Alumni at the wedding of Dan Mehleisen ’04 and Kaity Elias ’04

Alumni at the wedding of Grant Van Der Beken ’05 and Molly Ziolkowski

Alumni at the wedding of Jessica Meola ’08 and Mike Perillo

Alumni at the wedding of Ashley Banta ’08 and Michael Gallagher ’08

Alumni at the wedding of Russell Spiegel ’07 and Anne Marie (Wyks) Spiegel

Alumni attend the wedding of Nancy Borowick ’07 and Kyle Grimm ’08

Matthew Ward ’08 and Bridget Duffy ’08 with their wedding party

Cliff Eisenhut, Rob Yenchman, Andy Street, Dave Masi, Adam Chused ’06, Shanna O’Brien Sanders ’03, Glenn Sanders, Brian Kerr ’05 and Lew Acquarulo ’94.

of Southern New Hampshire University. The couple resides in Scottsdale, Ariz.

St. Mary of the Lake Church, Lake Winola, was the setting Aug. 10, 2013 for the wedding of Dr. Rachael Kathleen Peters and attorney William Patrick Conaboy. The ceremony was officiated by Monsignor Joseph Quinn and the Rev. Bernard McIlhenney.

A reception was held at the Scranton Canoe Club, Lake Winola. The bride is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental

2005 Grant Van Der Beken and Molly Ziolkowski were married on Lake Winnipesaukee at Mills Falls Resort in Meredith, N.H.

48 | UNION COLLEGE Winter 2014

June 21, 2013. Alumni in attendance included Jonathan Stepro (groomsman), Kyle Schack ’01, Elliot Seguin (groomsman), Aaron Lazar, Brendan McGuire (groomsman), Drew Rand (groomsman) and Kyle Matis. Grant is a regional sales manager for the Hartford, where he has worked for the last eight years.

Molly is a national enrollment manager with Guardian Insurance and is a graduate

2007 Russell Spiegel and Anne Marie (Wyks) Spiegel (Vassar 2007) are happy to announce their marriage on July 6, 2013 in Estate at Florentine Gardens, River Vale, N.J. They reside in Westwood, N.J. Matt Carlson

served as best man and Jimmy Shand, Mike Epstein and Alex Carrese ’08 served as groomsmen. Other alumni in attendance included Alex Dacey, Owen Cope, Erin Campbell, Win Schellens, Jordan Siletti ’09, Guy Lometti, Dagmara Podwyszynska, Erik Wagner, Pete Farmer, Paul Tracy ’09 and Jeremy Spiegel ’99.

Medicine. The bridegroom is a graduate of Wilkes University School of Pharmacy and Seton Hall Law School. The couple, residing in Philadelphia, took a wedding trip to San Francisco and Napa, Calif.

Nancy Elizabeth Borowick and Kyle Gilbert Grimm ’08 were married Oct. 5, 2013 at the Liberty View Farm in Highland, N.Y. Anne E. Thompson, a United States

district judge for the District of New Jersey, for whom the groom was a law clerk, officiated with Rabbi Shir Yaakov Feit assisting. Kyle is an associate at the New York, N.Y. law firm Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft. Nancy is a freelance photographer based in New York whose work has appeared in newspapers and magazines.

Her work was exhibited in March 2012 at Gallery 13 in Asbury Park, N.J. Alumni in attendance included Erin McLaughlin, Elyse O’Brien Oveson, Oriana Eyllon Montani, Bridget Austin Frymire, Jessica Trotter, Sara Weiner, Ali Rea-Baum ’06, Karyn Amira, Blair Smith, Andy Jacobson ’08, Lawrence Zhou ’08, Robert O’Keefe ’08, Ken Kaufmann ’08, Edward Speno ’08, Patrick Kiernan ’08, James Montani ’06, Rigoberto Smith ’08, Brian Oveson, Brandon Rosen ’08, Chad

Rebhun ’08, Dan Felder, Steve Frymire and David Warmflash ’64. Former Union Director of Greek Affairs Tim Dunn and Terry Weiner, the Chauncey H. Winters Professor of Comparative Social Analysis Emeritus, also attended.

2008 William Forest FitzSimons married Rebecca Broadwin of Concord, Mass. June 22, 2013 at the historic Pierce House in Lincoln, Mass. After Union, William attended Army officer training before earning a master’s degree in history at Tufts University, while Rebecca volunteered for nine months in Uganda before earning a bachelor’s degree in nursing at Northeastern University in Boston. In 2012, William deployed to Afghanistan with the New York Army National Guard, where he was promoted to the rank of captain Winter 2014 UNION COLLEGE

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Alexandra Dubodel ’09 and Konstantin Avdashchenko ’10

and awarded a Bronze Star.

During this time, Rebecca was employed as a registered nurse at Hahnemann University Hospital in Philadelphia. The couple has recently relocated to Evanston, Ill., where William is beginning a Ph.D. program at Northwestern University studying East African history, and Rebecca works as a nurse in the pediatric ICU of the University of Chicago Comer Children’s Hospital.

Brett Rosenzweig and Michael Weiss (Cornell ’06) were married on June 22, 2013 at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden in Brooklyn, N.Y. Alumni in attendance were Keri Messa, Dana Cohen, Emily Bryson, Elizabeth Henry ’07, Cristin Tenety, Amanda Riitano, Jennifer Turecamo, Ryan Deck ’09, Chelsea Cobb, Lisa Saguirian, Lucy Osborne, Meredith Katz, Stephen Madaj ’09, Jennifer Saad, Lindsay Quereau ’07, Elizabeth Walden ’06, Rebecca Kriskey ’10, Sabrina Kanner ’80, Mark Feldman ’85 and Alison Feldman ’14. The couple honeymooned in Singapore and the Maldives before returning to their home in New York City.

Jessica Meola and Mike Perillo are happy to announce their marriage on Aug. 17, 2013 in Tarrytown House Estate in 50 | UNION COLLEGE Winter 2014

Tarrytown, N.Y. They reside in New York, N.Y. Alumni attending the wedding included Jessica’s mother Carol Behrendt Meola ’76 and father Peter J. Meola ’77, her brother Jeff Meola ’06, grandfather Gary Behrendt ’45, uncle Tom Behrendt ’75 and aunt Lisa Kaston ’75. Other alumni included Jessica Rudin, Amanda Silvestri, Jenny Riskin, Lara Levine, Erin Lawson, Meredith Brown, Alex Sparks, Christina Couri, Mia Rothweiler, Mike MaGuire, Liz O’Connor, Marc Magee ’07, Mark Rautiola ’07, Christopher Carr ’06, Pat Wilson ’09, Patty Stadulis Hagan ’92, Jon Sargent ’77, Donna Sockell ’77, Gary Borgese ’77, Alan Schifman ’76, Cathy Rimsky ’76, Lee Rimsky ’76, Karen Sokoloff ’76, Ronna Feldman Coppola ’76, Naomi Robbins ’76, Mark Gross ’75 and Sam Coppola ’74.

Ashley Banta and Michael Gallagher got married on April 20, 2013 at Saltwater Farm Vineyard in Stonington, Conn. The bridal party included Kim Berlowitz ’09 and Giancarlo Annese. Other alumni in attendance included Richard Leahy, Charlie Wood, John Traver, Danielle Wineberg, Emily Follansbee, Marielle Kaufman, Ali Hinkaty, Pauline Schwenk, Carol O’Hea, Laura Eyman,

Eli Joseph Tenner (Tenner ’84)

Ian Charles Bernstein (Bernstein ’93)

Jack Richard (Schmertzler ’97)

Lyla Margaret Mosall (Mosall ’99)

1984

1998

Cindy Tenner is delighted to announce the adoption of a baby boy, Eli Joseph. Eli was born March 28, 2013 in Los Angeles, Calif., with mommy present, and weighed 7 pounds.

Cindy writes, “Words cannot express my joy! Eli was so worth the wait. We’re having more and more fun every day.

He’s already met many alums and can’t wait to visit Union.”

Pete (Pike) Mody (G ’01) and Amanda (Payton) Mody ’01 are proud to announce the birth of a baby boy, Grant Mathew.

He was born on Dec. 1, 2012 in Troy, N.Y. and weighed 8 pounds, 7 ounces. He joins his older brother, Peter IV. They write, “We were thrilled to welcome Grant Mathew into the world. His big brother has been very excited and very thoughtful.”

Alumni at the wedding of Jessica Latino ’09 and Albert Vanderlaan ’07

Hilary Kasprzak, Amanda Roosevelt and Mary Volcko.

Ashley and Mike live in Boston, Mass.

Matthew Ward and Bridget Duffy recently celebrated their one-year anniversary.

They were married Oct. 20, 2012 in Albany, N.Y. Attendants included Samuel Gurdus, Bradley Horth ’09, Kelly Owings and Caitlin Cuozzo. Other alums in attendance were Charles Pinckney and Allie Cuozzo ’10. Matthew received his master’s degree from Northeastern University in sports leadership and serves as the athletic director at Miss Halls School in Pittsfield, Mass. Bridget obtained her master’s degree at George Washington University’s physician assistant program.

She is employed as a physician assistant in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield.

2009 Alexandra Dubodel and Konstantin Avdashchenko ’10 were married on Sept. 27, 2013 on the LES in New York, N.Y. The ceremony was conducted by Nola Rudolph and the wedding party featured a number of Union alumni, including Michelle

Maffia, Demarcus Hamm ’10, Joshua Hernandez ’10 and Julien Boutloupe (Union Graduate College ’10). Alumni in attendance included Eric Truslow ’10, Jim Walker ’10, Allegra Lanzara, Dan Wardwell ’06, Isaac Rogers ’10 and Stephen Sanchez ’10. The couple resides in Manhattan and will be honeymooning in Thailand and Japan.

Jessica Latino and Albert Vanderlaan ’07 were married Sept. 14, 2013 at the Hampshire Country Club in Mamaroneck, N.Y. Alums in attendance included Matthew Beenen, Dustin Lawlor ’07, Meredith Brandon, Alana Santaro ’07, Jordan Cinelli ’08, Shannon Packer, Meghan Morrissey, Adam Reeve ’07, Shayna Toubman, Katie Werner, Sara McGowan, John Robens, Brian Oveson ’07, Elyse Oveson ’07, Jared Byrne ’08, Sarah Mueller, Alex Butts ’08, David Conelias ’08, Brad Karelitz ’08, Alex Weintraub ’08, Lisa Weintraub ’08, Dan Archibald ’05, Dean Pasquerella ’08, Cara Gallivan, Maggie Adalian Lawlor ’05, Jenn Gabrielski ’08, David Stokes-Greene ’08 and Brian Selchick ’06.

Alumni attend the wedding of Lizzy LaBonte ’10 and R. Alec Rosen ’10

2010 Lizzy LaBonte and R. Alec Rosen were wed on June 23, 2013 in the bride’s hometown of Marblehead, Mass. Twentyseven alumni were in attendance. Class members of 2010 included Griffin Chocheles, Eric Wigand, Kerry Hanson, Nancy Wilk, Josh Weiss, Greg Mitchell, Mike Fitzpatrick, Melissa Carey, Meredith Crawford, Kristen Pechtol, Cristina Liquori, Katie Smidt, Alexandra Vacin, Greg Jaffe, Lori Cassorla, Dan Bloomstone and Briana

Cincotta. Class members of 2009 included Rosie MartelFoley, Brandon McCardle, Andrew Scaplen and Jessica Stein. Also attending were Joe Martel ’08 and Class members of 2011 Emily Karam, Duncan Cleary, Sarah O’Connor, John Anderson and Rob Connelly.

1993 Jill Bernstein is pleased to announce the birth of her son, Ian Charles Bernstein, Feb. 26, 2013.

1997 Lee Schmertzler and Christine Moynihan are proud to announce the birth of a baby boy, Jack Richard. He was born on July 13, 2013 in Boston, Mass. and weighed 8 pounds, 9 ounces.

1999 Heather (Germann) Mosall and Michael Mosall ’00 are thrilled to announce the birth of a baby girl, Lyla Margaret.

She was born on June 14, 2013 and weighed 7 pounds, 12 ounces. They write, “We are so happy to welcome Lyla into our hearts. Big sisters, Audrey and Emerson (twins, age 6) and big brother Henry (18 months) completely adore their new baby sister. Lyla is Winter 2014 UNION COLLEGE

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1930s

Brynn Kathryn Babic (Babic ’03)

Emmett Mark Linder (Linder ’05)

Audrey Elizabeth (Annese ’05)

Mary Annese and her husband Robin Stevenson ’06 are proud to announce the birth of a baby girl, Audrey Elizabeth.

She was born on April 23, 2013 in New York City, and weighed 6 pounds, 1 ounce.

All are happy and healthy.

Alexandra Marie Nazarenko (Nazarenko ’06)

Connor Andrew Leavitt (Leavitt ’06)

the perfect mix of sweet and sassy. We are loving life as a family of six.”

help but feel extremely blessed to have this little miracle in our lives.”

2003

Sean Clifford and Brandy Clifford are proud to announce the birth of a baby boy, Colton Pierce. He was born May 20, 2013 in Cumming, Ga., and weighed 8 pounds, 9 ounces.

Colton is welcomed by his parents, sister Madeline, and brother Caden.

Kelly (Ennis) Babic and Brad Babic announce the birth of their daughter, Brynn Kathryn Babic, on Aug. 18, 2013. She was 7 pounds, 5 ounces and 20.5 inches.

2005 Laura (Butterfield) Linder and Mitch Linder ’04 are proud to announce the birth of a baby boy, Emmett Mark. He was born on April 2, 2013 at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, N.Y., and weighed 7 pounds, 2 ounces. They write, “We have been absolutely smitten since little Emmett joined our family.

Bridget (2) is enjoying being a big sister and helping Mommy and Daddy whenever she can. Despite many sleepless nights, Emmett melts our hearts. We can’t 52 | UNION COLLEGE Winter 2014

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in memoriam

arrivals

2006 Matthew Nazarenko and Tara Nazarenko (MBA ’11) are proud to announce the birth of a baby girl, Alexandra Marie. She was born on December 3, 2012 in Saratoga Springs N.Y. This past summer the family relocated to the Chicago area.

Dan Leavitt writes, “My wife, Rachel (Beckman) Leavitt, and I welcomed our son, Connor Andrew Leavitt, to our family Sept. 17, 2013 at 12:56 a.m.”

Brandy and Sean Clifford ’05 with new baby Colton, daughter Madeline and son Caden

Dr. Seymour A. Horwitz ’35, of Queensbury, N.Y., who served in the Pacific Theater Army Air Corps, penned the book One Doctor’s War, graduated from Albany Medical School, was board certified in internal medicine and had a private practice until retirement in 1988, July 18, 2013. An assistant professor at Albany Medical Center for many years, he was 99.

William Hodges ’39, of Atlanta, Ga., who spent 42 years with General Electric and held a variety of jobs, including electrical designer and senior design engineer, and who was involved with amateur radio and was an active member of church choirs in Philadelphia and Atlanta, May 15, 2013.

William, whose brother David Hodges ’50 also graduated from Union, was 96.

R.E. Lamberson ’39, of Deltona, Fla., Jan. 10, 2013.

W. Tillar Shugg ’39, of Spring Hill, Fla., Sept. 10, 2013. He was 96.

1940s Edward A. Pintavalle ’40, of Seattle, Wash. and formerly Niskayuna, N.Y., who served as a dentist with the 41st Infantry Division during World War II and earned dental degrees at the University of Illinois before practicing in Schenectady for 42 years, June 12, 2013. Edward, who loved traveling, was 94.

Larry Schwartz ’41, of Boynton Beach, Fla., July 13, 2013. He was 90.

Leland L. Beik ’41, of State College, Penn., who served with the Army Air Corps during World War II and with

the reserves (retiring as colonel) until 1980, earned a Ph.D. from Columbia University and taught in the School of Business Administration at Penn State University for 30 years, July 29, 2013. He was 93.

Warren E. Perkins ’42, of Albuquerque, N.M., a U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force veteran who served during World War II and the Korean Conflict, and who was an electronics engineer who retired from National Cash Register Co., Aug. 20, 2013.

Warren was also a ham radio operator for 75 years.

James S. Gilmore ’43, of Los Alamos, N.M., who worked at Los Alamos National Laboratory, analyzing products from U.S. government nuclear weapons tests and fallout from Russian, French and Chinese tests, Aug. 20, 2013. A committed cubmaster for Pack 22 and scoutmaster for Troop 193 who founded the Escalante Orchid Society, he was 92.

James E. Smith II ’44, of Brunswick, Maine, Dec. 24, 2012. He was 90.

Dr. William H. Bloom ’45, of Bay Shore, N.Y., a veteran of World War II and the Korean War who studied at the University of Buffalo Medical School before practicing neurology and neurosurgery in Suffolk County for 40 years, Sept. 19, 2013. The author of several books and the recipient of an honorary doctor of science degree from Green Mountain College, he endowed the William H. Bloom and Jonathan R. Bloom (1988) Poetry Prize at Union. He was 87.

Spencer C. Gowrie ’45, of Branford, Conn., who served in the Army at the Battle of the Bulge during World War II, ran his own insurance

agency and captained the Thimble Island Ferry for many years, Aug. 4, 2013. A past commodore of several sailing clubs, he was 90.

Dr. Donald M. Foster ’47, of Bakersfield, Calif., a member of the Navy-V12 program who served in the U.S. Navy and graduated from Rochester Medical School before practicing diagnostic radiology until 1994, Aug. 12, 2013. Donald, who enjoyed classical music and nature, was 87.

Dr. James A. Robertson ’47, of Ashbury Village and formerly of Potomac, Md., Feb. 6, 2012.

George W. Fellendorf ’47, of Keene, N.H., who served in World War II with the U.S. Navy and was president of an engineering company before becoming executive director of the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf, after which time he consulted extensively for the deaf for many organizations, Sept. 12, 2013. A leader of several nonprofit entities with a doctor of education from Teacher’s College-Columbia University, he was 88.

Leo R. Boyd ’48, of Campbell, Calif., who served with the 369th Army Division and took part in the Army Specialized Training Program, earned a master’s degree in physics from the University of Iowa, worked at G.E.’s Knolls Laboratories, and held 14 patents, July 18, 2013. Leo, who was active in the Democratic party, was 90.

Charles W. Reeb ’49, of Pittsfield, Mass., March 14, 2013.

David C. Comstock ’49, of La Jolla, Calif., July 10, 2013.

He was 88.

MILTON SCHWEBEL ’34

M

ilton Schwebel ’34, 99, a retired psychologist, author and academic, died Oct. 3, 2013 just five months after the last of his regular trips to campus.

He was a retired psychology professor and dean at Rutgers University. He previously taught at New York University. An Army veteran of World War II, he earned a social science degree from Albany State Teachers College, and a Ph.D. from Columbia University.

He authored books on a range of topics including psychology, education, peace and civil rights.

Among the titles, Who Can Be Educated?; America’s School Systems: Now Separate and Unequal; Behavioral Science and Human Survival and Children and the Threat of Nuclear War. A lifelong and ardent activist for peace, justice and civil rights, he was the founding editor of Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology published by the American Psychological Association.

A native of Troy, N.Y. he entered Union at 16. He worked as a clerk in his father’s store, the Troy Light Company, the first of many jobs that also included theater usher, substitute teacher, camp counselor, orphanage houseparent, newspaper reporter, radio news announcer, and career counselor and labor market

analyst in the National Youth Administration.

He lived in Tucson, Ariz., and made annual trips back East to visit family and friends. He swam regularly and volunteered as an agent for the Annual Fund. He recently remarked that calling on alumni of his era gave him an excuse to talk. “I have 99 years’ worth of memories,” he said.

On his visit to Union last May, he held forth on a variety of topics: the changing paradigm of higher education, the history of the peace movement, Eliphalet Nott’s famous anti-dueling sermon at the funeral of Alexander Hamilton, and the work of developmental psychologist Jean Piaget, in whom Schwebel found inspiration.

Bernice Davison Schwebel, his wife of 67 years, passed away in 2007.

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in memoriam

1950s Charles H. Lewis ’50, of Naples, Fla. and Essex, N.Y., who served with the 20th Air Force in the Pacific Theater and graduated from Albany Law School, and practiced law in Plattsburgh, N.Y. with several firms before being elected as Clinton County surrogate and county judge, July 21, 2013. Charles, who served as assistant attorney general of New York State from 1960-1973 and served with many civic organizations, was 86.

Robert P. Brisson ’50, of Peabody, Mass., who served as a U.S. Army cryptanalyst and was awarded the Victory Ribbon before earning a juris doctor degree from Columbia University, July 7, 2013.

Robert, who practiced law in Pleasantville, N.Y. until 2009 and was village justice from 1979-1995, was 85.

David L. Gumport ’50, of Catskill, N.Y. and formerly of Greenville, a veteran of World War II who graduated from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and Albany Law School, and practiced law in Greenville for 34 years, Dec. 12, 2012. Past master of the James A. Austin Lodge 557 F. & A.M., he was 89.

Frank A. Pietropaoli ’51, of Wildwood Crest, N.J., who served in the U.S. Army Counter-Intelligence Corps before earning a degree in librarianship from the Catholic University of America School of Librarianship, Aug. 13, 2013. Frank, who spent his career with the Smithsonian Institution Libraries and was in charge of the libraries at the National Museums of Natural History, History and Technology, and Air and Space, was 84.

54 | UNION COLLEGE Winter 2014

FREDERICK V. BRONNER ’46

F

rederick V. Bronner ’46 (V-12), who spent his career in publishing sales and marketing, died Aug. 23, 2013 in Jupiter, Fla. He was 88.

A member of the Navy V-12 program, he entered Union in 1942, served two years in the Navy aboard the U.S.S. Amphitrite, and returned to campus to graduate in 1947.

He was a member of Alpha Delta Phi fraternity, the executive board of The Idol, Hale Club, Glee Club and Choir, Garnet yearbook and Concordiensis.

His father, Frederick L. Bronner ’23, taught history at Union until he retired in 1966. The younger Bronner grew up on campus, first at 17 South Lane, later in an apartment in North College.

His sister, Elizabeth, earned a Union degree in 1962.

Leon G. Caldwell ’51, of West Chester, Penn., a U.S. Army Air Corps veteran who held management positions at General Electric and Honeywell in the U.S., France, Germany and Canada, Sept. 17, 2013. He was 89.

Harry E. Reis ’51, of Wappingers Falls, N.Y., who served with the U.S. Army during the Korean War and was vice president of Marshall & Sterling Insurance, and who was a member of the Fishkill VFW and several other community organizations, Feb. 19, 2013. He was 83.

Herbert F. Roome ’52, of Wilton, Conn., who served in the European Theatre during World War II and in the Army Reserve, and who was an

After graduation, he entered the publishing industry in Manhattan and spent most of his business career with Time magazine where he became director of sales development. After an early retirement, he joined his wife in running 7/12 Productions Ltd., a firm that specialized in marketing and sales promotion projects for consumer magazines.

As an alumnus, he was active in the Alumni Council. He was director of the Union Association of Alpha Delta Phi. He was also active in V-12 ReUnions.

He was predeceased by his wife of 47 years, Judith Starr Bronner. Survivors include a son, Geoffrey of West Lebanon, N.H.; and a sister, Louise Trafalet of Chicago.

adjunct professor at American University in Washington D.C., July 30, 2013. Herbert, who spent his career in the computer/communications field and retired from McGraw-Hill in 1990, was 88.

and worked as an electrical engineer with Western Electric until his retirement in 1999, Aug. 18, 2013. William, who loved music, golf, and building things, was 83.

Federal Highway Administration in several states and retired in 1994 after 38 total years of government service, July 6, 2013. Albon, loved skiing and fly fishing, was 80.

Robert A. Clendinning ’53, of Cumming, Ga., an Eagle Scout who earned a Ph.D. in chemistry from Renesselaer Polytechnic Institute and spent 30 years with Union Carbide Corp. in New Jersey before transferring to Georgia with Amoco Performance Products, Aug. 24, 2013.

Robert, who enjoyed traveling and watching the Atlanta Braves, was 81.

Ethelbert Nevin II ’58, of Blue Hill, Maine, a U.S. Army veteran and textbook salesman with American Book Co. and W.W. Norton & Co. who sailed his sloop, Curlew, from San Francisco to Blue Hill, Sept. 23, 2013. A past commodore of the Kollegewidgwok Yacht Club in Blue Hill, he was 80.

Joseph D. Martin ’53, of Wasilla, Ark., June 30, 2013.

Avrum Tennenbaum ’54, of West Palm Beach, Fla., May 21, 2013. He was 78.

Edward “Don” McSweeney ’55, of Dunedin, Fla., a U.S. Army veteran who served at the Pentagon and later earned an M.B.A. from New York University, and spent 35 years working in finance at IBM, June 29, 2013. An avid traveler who pursued his interest in archeology at each destination and became a certified financial planner in retirement, he was 80.

George Burton Harrold ’52, of Manlius, N.Y., an electrical engineer who worked at GE and was an adjunct professor at Syracuse University, an avid outdoorsman and an Adirondack 46-er many times over, Aug. 26, 2013. Survivors include his son, George Hilary Harrold ’81; and daughter in law, Janet Nachbar Harrold ’82. He was 83.

Kenneth R. Briggs ’56, of Poughkeepsie, N.Y., who held a master’s degree and professional diploma in psychological counseling from Columbia University, and worked for more than 25 years as team leader and psychological chief of services with Family Counseling Service, N.Y. State Education Department, Hudson River Psychiatric Center, and Wassaic Development Center, July 12, 2013.

He was 80.

William Arthur Haas ’53, of Turlock, Calif., who served with the U.S. Army, earned an M.B.A. from Rutgers College

Albon L. Cook Jr. ’58, of East Hampton, Conn., who served in the U.S. Navy before spending 28 years with the

Thomas H. Dinnel ’59, of Summit, N.Y., an army veteran who was employed by the State of New York for over 30 years and held a master's of public administration from UAlbany, July 18, 2013. He was active in the community and served with numerous groups in the Cobleskill, N.Y. area, as well as in Naples, Fla., where he wintered with his wife (Sarah) of 57 years. He was 78.

1960s John R. Moore ’60, of Albany, N.Y. and formerly of Colonie, N.Y., who served in Vietnam with the Army Security Agency and was awarded the Purple Heart before working as a reporter with the Schenectady Gazette and later as a freelance writer, Sept. 14, 2013. John, who eventually retired from the insurance business, was 75.

Robert R. Lawrence ’61, of Camillus, N.Y., who served in the U.S. Navy before retiring from the O.R. Lawrence Company in 2007, Sept. 27, 2013. Robert, who enjoyed camping, canoeing and woodworking, was 74.

^ ARNOLD I. BURNS ’50

A

rnold I. Burns ’50, a prominent attorney, Justice Department official and trustee emeritus who served as chairman of the College’s Board of Trustees from 1982 to 1986, died Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2013.

He was 83.

“The loss of Arnie Burns is a great loss for Union,” said President Stephen C. Ainlay after funeral services in New York City. “It has been my pleasure to get to know him. In every way, he was a truly loyal son of Union whose leadership set the stage for the success we enjoy today.”

As a student, he was active in the Pre-Law Society, International Relations Club, Garnet, Alpha Phi Omega and Kappa Nu. As an alumnus, he was an admissions interviewer, class agent, national chairman of two Annual Funds, Alumni Council member, chairman of the Terrace Council and chairman of the Campaign for Union.

He received the Gold Medal of the Alumni Council in 1980, and the Founders Medal for outstanding service in 1986.

During his tenure on the board, the College completed two major campaigns, developed a revised curriculum known as GenEd, and

Richard Goertz Jr. ’62, of Glenville, N.Y., who served the U.S. Navy as a radio mechanic during the Korean War and was an engineer in large steam turbines at General Electric before retiring in 1994, June 9, 2013. He was 80.

did extensive renovations of the College Center (later Reamer Campus Center) and Alumni Gymnasium.

After graduating with honors from Union with a degree in political science, he earned a law degree from Cornell University School of Law in 1953, and then spent four years with the Army Judge Advocate General. He formed a law firm—Burns Summit Rovins & Feldesman— and spent 25 years practicing corporate and securities law before joining the Justice Department.

He was named associate attorney general in 1985, and a year later was promoted to deputy attorney general by President Ronald Reagan. He resigned in protest in 1988 as Attorney General Edwin Meese III was being criticized for his handling of the Iran-

Contra scandal. Meese resigned several months later.

After his time with the Justice Department, he joined Proskauer Rose Goetz & Mendelsohn, staying there for about 10 years before moving to an investment firm and establishing a consulting firm.

Active in a number of charities, he was national chairman of Boys and Girls Clubs of America, and chairman of the International Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

A well-known raconteur, he published a memoir, Prepare to Be Lucky, and two books of jokes.

He and his wife, Felice, donated the Herman and Rose Burns Print Collection from which many prints are on display in a current Mandeville Gallery exhibition. He and his family also donated the funds to create the Burns Arts Atrium, the main gallery in the Arts Building.

Survivors include his wife of 62 years; and two children, Linda ’75 and Douglas ’79.

To read his obituary in the New York Times, visit: http://www.nytimes.com/ 2013/10/02/us/politics/ arnold-burns-who-leftjustice-dept-in-protestdies-at-83.html?_r=0

David A. Lawrence ’62, of Liverpool, N.Y., who retired from Marsh & McLennan after 25 years and was an avid golfer and aspiring master woodworker, Aug. 9, 2013. He was 74.

Robert M. Heimlich ’62, of Columbia, Mo., who joined the Air Force and was involved in the top-secret laser program at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, where he continued to work as

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in memoriam

a civilian until his retirement, July 19, 2013. He was 73.

Harry W. Sauer ’62, of Newnan, Ga., who served in the Air National Guard in Michigan and worked for Commonwealth Associates (later Worley Parsons), from which he retired as power sector director in September 2012, July 26, 2013. Harry, who loved traveling the world, was 72.

Edward G. Bourne ’63, of Bonita Springs, Fla. and Cornwall, Conn., who served in the U.S. Marine Corps before joining the Navy, where he became an aviator who piloted S2F anti-submarine aircraft, Aug. 18, 2013.

Edward, who enjoyed the outdoors, was 78.

Dr. Franklin T. Seidlich ’64, of Harrisburg, Penn., a graduate of Albany Medical College who earned a fellowship in the American College OB/ GYN, and who remained in private practice until retiring in June 2007, June 16, 2013. A member of many professional organizations, including the American Congress of Obstetricians & Gynecologists, he was 70.

Brian M. Walsh ’64, of Bainbridge Island, Wash., Sept. 11, 2013. He was 71.

William A. Bernhard ’64, of Honeoye Falls, N.Y., a professor of biochemistry and physics at University of Rochester for more than 40 years, and past president of the Radiation Research Society, May 9, 2012.

He was also a dedicated tri-athlete who completed the Alpe d’Huez Triathlon in France and took a three-week trek in Bhutan with his wife during the last year of his life.

He was 70.

Ross G. MacKinnon ’65, of Burnt Hills, N.Y., who taught 56 | UNION COLLEGE Winter 2014

chemistry for 30 years at Scotia-Glenville High School, where he also coached baseball, basketball and softball, Oct. 10, 2013. Ross, who volunteered with Habitat for Humanity and enjoyed driving his 1965 vintage Austin Healey roadster, was 70.

1970s Gordon N. Shayler Jr. ’71, of Sterling, Mass., who was a systems analyst for Digital Equipment Corp. and Hewlett Packard and held an M.B.A. from Clark University, Sept. 26, 2013. Gordon, who enjoyed reading, kayaking and golfing, was 63.

Dr. Lloyd F. Mayer ’73, of North Salem, N.Y., professor and co-director of the Immunology Institute at Mount Sinai Medical Center who operated an internationally renowned laboratory and whose research contributed to the development of highly effective drugs for inflammatory bowel disease, Sept. 5, 2013. Lloyd, who graduated from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and won many awards for his work, was 61.

Howard W. Calkin ’76, of Davis, Calif., a former plant physiologist at the University of California-Davis, who became a software engineer for Hewlett-Packard and began chanting as a Nichiren Buddhist in 1981, July 11, 2013. A long-time member of Soka Gakkai International who enjoyed taiko drumming, fencing and rock climbing, he was 59.

1980s William Peter Hallgren ’81, of Brooklyn, N.Y., who received an M.F.A for Brooklyn College,

^

KENNETH A. NOURSE

K

enneth A. Nourse, who as dean of admissions from 1979 to 1991 admitted a generation of Union students, died Nov. 10, 2013, in Middlebury, Vt. He was 85.

Beyond Union, he was a nationally-known figure who helped to professionalize the field of college admissions and financial aid.

“Ken wanted every student to get a personal interview,” recalled Ann Brown, director of admissions, who was hired by Nourse in 1986. “Even as a dean, he conducted many of those interviews himself.”

In his words, “every visit to Union should be a memorable experience.”

Nourse worked nearly 30 years in college admissions. Besides Union, he worked at Middlebury College, Clarkson University, Rochester Institute of Technology and Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

In retirement, he was co-founder and president of Fitzwilliam Associates, an admissions consulting firm. He was author of the 2001 book, How to Write Your College Application Essay.

He also served as the president of the New England Association of College Admissions Counselors (NEACAC).

He received New York’s ACAC Distinguished Service Award.

He received the Meritorious Service Award from Union’s Alumni Council in 1989.

A native of Worcester, Mass., he served two years after high school in the U.S. Navy, and went on to Middlebury College, graduating with a degree in English in 1952.

He was elected an alumni trustee of Middlebury College in 1970, joined the staff as director of public affairs in 1974, started the Alumni College at Middlebury in 1976, and later served as the school's director of alumni relations.

He was awarded the Middlebury College Alumni Plaque Award in 1992.

He served the Middlebury community in a number of capacities. He was active with Elderly Services, Addison County Home Health and Hospice, and the Town Hall Theater.

He was on the board and served as president of the Porter Medical Center.

Together with his son, David, he co-chaired the 1996 United Way of Addison County annual fund drive. He was on the zoning board and worked as a lister for the town of Middlebury. He was an avid golfer, sports enthusiast and proud member of Red Sox Nation.

Survivors include his wife, Patricia Hamilton Todd; two sons, Daniel and David; and a brother, Bartley. He first wife, Joyce Rohde, died in 2001.

MANFRED JONAS

M

anfred Jonas, a well-known scholar and prolific writer who covered U.S. diplomatic and 20thcentury political history, constitutional history and American studies, died August 25, 2013. He was 86.

Fred, the John Bigelow Professor of History Emeritus, joined the College in 1963 and retired in 1996.

“Fred Jonas was one the first historians at Union College to gain recognition for his research and writing as well as his teaching,” said Mark W. Walker, John Bigelow Professor of History and Chair of the Department. “In particular, his book, Isolationism in America, 1935-1941, was very influential and brought distinction to the History Department and the College. Fred served for many years as department chair, and was a wonderful person and colleague, friendly, supportive and warm.”

A book he co-authored, Roosevelt and Churchill: Their Secret Wartime Correspondence was a History Book Club selection and a Book of the Month Club alternate. His other books include The

taught most recently at the High School of Art and Design in Manhattan and was an adjunct professor at Long Island University, Medgar Evers College and Saint Francis College, June 3, 2013.

William, the author of a

United States and Germany: A Diplomatic History; American Foreign Relations in the Twentieth Century; New Opportunities in the New Nation; The Development of New York After the Revolution; and the nine-volume The Politics and Strategy of World War II, of which he was general editor. He also authored a portion of the Union College Worthy on statesman Robert Porter Patterson, Class of 1912. He published more than 140 reviews of books, articles and conference papers. He was also responsible for writing a number of entries for the Encyclopedia of Union College History.

Born in Manneim, Germany on April 9, 1927 to vintner Walter Jonas and his wife Toni (nee Dannheisser), he came to the United States as a

forthcoming book of poetry titled “Where Three Roads Meet,” was 54.

Eugene G. Sawa ’82, of Pittsfield, Mass., who earned a master’s degree from Northeastern University in

refugee from Nazi Germany.

A graduate of Stuyvesant High School in New York City, he served as a radar technician in the Navy during World War II. He earned a bachelor’s degree from City College of New York, and master’s and Ph.D. degrees from Harvard University.

Before joining Union, he was visiting professor of North American history at the Free University in Berlin, Germany. He was the Dr. Otto Salgo Visiting Professor of American Studies at Eotvos Lorand University in Budapest, and a research fellow at the Charles Warren Center for Studies in American History at Harvard. A Fulbright-Hays Fellow, he lectured at the University of Saarland in 1973.

On his retirement from Union, he recalled arriving in the 60s in the midst of a serious effort to upgrade the College academically. Those changes included increasing in the size of the faculty, enhancing support for research and the admission of women. “The upgrading process made it a great place to be,” he said. “It’s definitely a better place than when I came here.”

Among his many service commitments at Union, he chaired both the department and division. He was the first Washington Irving Professor

of Modern Literary and Historical Studies (19811986) before becoming the fifth John Bigelow Professor of History (1986-1996).

He wrote a number of entries for the Encyclopedia of Union College History, including a five-page account of the History Department. He was an extra—a professor in the gym dance scene—for the campus filming of The Way We Were. He was a volunteer for Proctor’s Theater for a number of years.

Fred, who had a lifelong passion for acting, met his wife, Nancy, during a production at CCNY. He was a regular performer in regional theater, and last year played a role in a production in Laguna Woods, Calif.

Fred and Nancy were married for 61 years. They split their time between their home at 33 Front St. in Schenectady’s Stockade neighborhood and their retirement home in Laguna Woods, Calif.

Survivors also include four children, Andrew of Boston, Kathryn Kasanoff of Westport, Conn., Emily Siegel of North Salem, N.Y., and Matthew of Encino, Calif.; and eight grandchildren.

Boston, was an avid collector of vinyl records, was passionate about music and enjoyed working at Sears, July 25, 2013. He was 52.

1990s Edward E. Lakata ’90, of Johnstown, N.Y., who was a design engineer with Opto Generic Devices, a member of the Johnstown Fraternal

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SVEN “RICK” PETERSON

S

ven “Rick” Peterson, professor emeritus of philosophy and administration and management, died Monday, Aug. 5. He was 91.

Born in Getinge, Sweden, Sven was raised in Ohio. He lived in Ballston Spa, N.Y. at the time of his death.

He received his bachelor’s of science degree from Harvard University, where he majored in mathematics. After serving as flight instructor with the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II, he earned his master’s and Ph.D. from Columbia University.

He joined Union’s Philosophy Department as an instructor in 1952, was promoted to assistant professor in 1954, associate professor in 1958 and full professor in 1963. He retired in 1983. At Union, he was the author of numerous articles in scholarly journals and a frequent contributor to College publications.

Order of Eagles, and also played for local bands, most recently Skyler’s Dream Team, June 25, 3013. He was 55.

Gerard G. Sullivan ’92, of Chicago, Ill., Sept. 25, 2013. He was 43.

Christopher W. “Furz” Harrison ’98, of West Hartford, Conn., who worked in facilities management with Newmark Grubb Knight Frank and was assigned in 2008 to The Hartford, Aug. 14, 2013.

Christopher, an avid golfer, fisherman and Hartford Whalers fan, was 37.

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An expert on the logic of conditionals, Sven taught courses in logic, calculus and James Joyce’s Ulysses.

“A Santa Claus figure in appearance and spirit, he was a white-bearded jovial soul with a sharp, dry sense of humor,” recalled his former colleague, Robert Baker, the William D. Williams Professor of Philosophy.

Prior to joining the College, Sven taught biology and chemistry at a private school, then mathematics for three years at the University of New Hampshire.

Along with his wife, Patricia, Sven was active in the local arts community for many years. Patricia died in 2011.

Sven was also predeceased by a daughter, Kersti, and a brother, Arthur. Survivors include a brother, Arnold, of Wadsworth, Ohio, and many nieces and nephews.

Friends of Union College William Zarzycki, of Rotterdam, N.Y., who served in the U.S. Navy, spent 40 years with Union College as a carpenterlocksmith, and was a member of the Tin Can Sailors, July 27, 2013. He was 81.

CHRISTOPHER SCHMID

C

hristopher Schmid, of Clifton Park, N.Y., former coach and longtime supporter of Union Athletics, died Tuesday, July 30 after a battle with cancer. He was 79.

Christopher coached at Union from 1962 to 1970.

His basketball teams won 10 or more games on four occasions, at a time when the typical season consisted of 15 games. It was Christopher who recruited Jim Tedisco ’72 to Union, convincing him to turn down a scholarship to Syracuse to play for the Dutchmen. Tedisco set more than a dozen records at Union and graduated as the College’s all-time leading scorer (he’s now fourth).

After Tedisco’s sophomore season, Christopher left Union to sell real estate. He eventually became president of Realty USA, one of the region’s largest brokerages. He sold the company in 2000.

Christopher was inducted individually into the Union Athletics Hall of Fame in 2009. He was also inducted in 2010 as a

member of the coaching staff on the 1966 men’s lacrosse team, which was honored as a Team of Distinction. Over his 50-year association with the College, Christopher was a true mentor to countless student-athletes and friend of Union Athletics.

“His greatest success was not monetary,” Tedisco, a New York state assemblyman, told the Business Review. “It was the impact he had on the lives of young people like me. He taught us what character was all about.”

Christopher founded and organized the Fighting Dutchmen Gridiron Club, was instrumental in establishing the Sig Makofsky Basketball Tournament, and helped fund new bleachers for Frank Bailey Field, among many other contributions.

He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Beryl; a sister, Gerda Carmichael; two children, Andre Schmid of Clifton Park and Heidi Gaudiano of California; and five grandchildren. He was predeceased by two children.

Building Our Third Century PLANNED GIFTS A bequest distribution was received from the estate of Charles P. Buckley Jr., Class of 1926. This gift is restricted to the Charles Buckley ’26 Endowed Fund.

A bequest distribution was received from the estate Burton R. Payne Jr., Class of 1941 . The proceeds restricted to the Peter I. Wold Center for Science and Engineering.

An unrestricted trust distribution was received from the estate of Robert R. Langer, Class of 1968, and will be used at the discretion of the trustees.

A trust distribution was received from the estate of Naomi Chambers, to be added to the Walter R.G. and Naomi Baker Scholarship in support of students studying engineering, science or mathematics.

Mrs. Chambers was the widow of Walter R.G. Baker, Class of 1916.

An unrestricted trust distribution was received from Edwin Knight, Class of 1945, and his widow, Lou Etta, and will be used at the discretion of the trustees.

A distribution was received from the estate of Edward J. Gramse, Class of 1943. Along with earlier distributions, these funds will support the Peter I. Wold Center for Science and Engineering.

A bequest was received from the estate of Ellis W. Trombley, Class of 1934. This gift, along with earlier distributions will, be added to the Peter I. Wold Center for Science and Engineering.

In support of the Union College Annual Fund, a trust distribution was received from the estate of Robert L. Slobod, Class of 1935.

A bequest distribution was received from the estate Calvin G. Schmidt, registrar emeritus, and member of the Class of 1951 . This gift, along with earlier distributions, will be added to the Calvin G.

CHANGE THE FUTURE Help Union change the future by including a few words in your will.

TO LEARN MORE, PLEASE CONTACT:

Jacqueline Cavalier, Director of Gift Planning (518) 388-6156, or toll free (888) 843-4365, ext. 6156 cavaliej@union.edu

Schmidt ’51 Endowed Student Employment Fund.

A bequest distribution was received from the estate of the Honorable Charles H. Lewis, Class of 1950. Judge Lewis was a retired N.Y.S. surrogate and county judge.

The proceeds from this gift are restricted to the Thomas E. Armstrong Endowed Scholarship.

A trust distribution was received from the estate of Florence L. Judkins, to be added to the Ernest L. & Florence L. Judkins Scholarship to support an annual scholarship.

• William H. Bloom, Class of 1945. Proceeds will be used at the discretion of the trustees.

• Frederick V. Bronner, Class of 1946. Proceeds have established the Bronner Family Endowed Scholarship.

A charitable gift annuity was established by Richard A. Genthner, Class of 1952. The proceeds from this gift will ultimately be added to the Annual Scholarship Fund.

An unrestricted distribution was received from the estate of Charles F. Koch, Class of 1953. This, along with a prior distribution, will be used at the discretion of the trustees.

CHARITABLE GIFT ANNUITIES Charitable gift annuities distributions were received from the estates of:

In addition to being one of the simplest tools with which to distribute your estate, your will can also be a creative and effective way to continue your legacy beyond your lifetime.

Bequests, both large and small, have been crucial to Union’s success since its founding. Estate designations have endowed professorships and scholarships, allowing the school to attract the very best faculty and students, and have provided for countless academic, research and service programs.

Including Union College in your estate plans is as simple as adding a few words to your will. Those few words can shape this College for generations to come.

Winter 2014 UNION COLLEGE

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old union

A football tragedy reforms the game

A

century before the recent conversations about the consequences of head injury in contact sports, the tragic death in 1905 of Union’s sophomore halfback stunned the College and helped to catalyze a movement for reforms in collegiate football.

Harold Ransom Moore was by all accounts well-liked and respected. “Blue” was the hardworking son of William and Frances Sayer Moore of Ogdensburg in St. Lawrence County. He graduated with highest honors from Ogdensburg Free Academy where he set a number of marks in football and track. He was named an alternate for an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. After summer jobs as a surveyor, he entered Union in 1904 as a civil engineering major. He joined the Democratic Party Club and Phi Delta Theta fraternity.

He ran track and played football. Moore was the ideal college athlete, according to Denis P. Brennan, lecturer in history at Union. “He was the proto‘Frank Merriwell’—naturally talented academically, spiritually and athletically,” he said.

On Nov. 25, 1905, Union’s football squad was at Columbia University’s Ohio Field for what would have been an unremarkable 11-0 loss to New York University to end a 3-6 season.

What is more remembered than the score or the season record is captured in A Memoir of Union College Life 1903 to 1907 by Moore’s teammate, Hugh G. Davis ’07: “From the start, [the game] was rougher than anything I had ever seen. Early in the game, Harold Moore, Union left

60 | UNION COLLEGE Winter 2014

Harold “Blue” Moore, Class of 1908

halfback, was carrying the ball around our right end. I followed behind to prevent a tackle from the rear, and saw an NYU man break through the right side of our line and hit Moore hard with his body, throwing him backward, almost clear to the ground. Moore apparently hit on the base of his neck and was struck unconscious. He didn’t respond to first aid, and when he was taken to the hospital, his face was purple and he was then probably dead. The game continued and, for whatever reason human nature can provide, became a pure knockdown drag-out affair.”

Moore’s funeral was highly attended by crowds from Ogdensburg, Union and NYU. He was glowingly eulogized

by Concordiensis, whose reporter wrote, “His qualities were such as to endear him to all; his nature so lovable that he must make friends of all with whom he came into contact.”

A month after Moore’s death, Union President Andrew

Van Vranken Raymond Jr. told alumni, “his death will not have been in vain if it results in the reform of athletics.” The Feb. 1906 issue of Union University Quarterly said, “His death caused a sensible shock throughout the eastern college world, and started the movements, now well under way, for the thorough reform of football.”

Football at the turn of the century had no forward pass, and teams relied on mass formations to advance the ball.

Hard collisions and the injuries they caused made the game something of a spectacle that resembled war. It was considered good strategy, and not against the rules, to try to disable the opponents’ best players. Accounts of football deaths in 1905 vary widely and range as high as the mid-teens.

Brennan reports that the extent of injuries and deaths was probably overstated.

But with a popular perception of football as a brutal sport, calls for reform and abolition

were building even before Moore’s death. Columbia, whose president called football “brutal and abominable” and an “academic nuisance,” dropped their program when its season ended just days before the Union-NYU game.

While Moore’s death by itself did not lead to reforms, it is clear that it helped to catalyze a reform movement already under way. On Dec. 5, 1905, less than two weeks after the tragedy, representatives of 13 schools considered a resolution to abolish football under the current rules. The proposal failed, with Union’s representative voting in the minority. Later that month, however, a second conference of 62 delegates adopted rules changes including allowing the forward pass, the discouragement of mass momentum plays, and increasing downs from five to 10 yards. The second conference created the Inter Collegiate Athletic Association which in 1910 changed its name to the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the NCAA. The reforms apparently had little effect; reported fatalities ranged from 10 to 15 over the next three seasons. A serious reduction in catastrophic injuries came years later with the introduction of effective headgear.

Sources:

GIVE MORE BY GIVING LESS Q: How can you increase the impact of your gift without decreasing the size of your wallet?

A: Union’s Recurring Gift program.

Many donors find that they can join the Terrace Council or increase their support for Union by giving less, more often.

GET TING STARTED IS EASY!

Why make a recurring gift?

Convenience: Choose an amount that fits easily into your budget. It is automatically deducted on our secure website from your credit/debit card, checking or savings account.

Efficiency: Recurring gifts mean less paperwork and postage, reducing expenses.

Control: While we hope you’re with Union for the long haul, you decide the length of your recurring gift—putting you in complete control.

Step I: Visit our secure website: www.union.edu/give Step II: Click on: schedule a recurring gift Step III: View instructions to set up your donor account and make your gift QUESTIONS? Contact the Annual Fund office at (518) 388-6175 or theannualfund@union.edu

Denis P. Brennan, “Reforming an ‘Academic Nuisance’: Harold Moore and the Creation of the NCAA,” (a paper delivered June 5, 2008 at the 29th Conference on New York State History).

Wayne Somers, ed., The Encyclopedia of Union College History, (Union College, 2003) p. 289-290.

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MAY 3 0 T O JUNE 1, 2014

RECO N N E C T & R E M EM BER

Save the Date for

ReUnion

Visit www.union.edu/reunion for more information.

WEEKEND HIGHLIGHTS

• Professor William “Bill” Thomas • 10 years of Minerva Programs remembrance • Alumni golf outing

• Event under the tent

• The alumni parade

• ReUnion gala dinner

• 50th class medallion ceremony • Convocation

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• Fireworks

• Alumni athletic events

• Family picnic & kids carnival

• Class receptions

• Kids ReUnion

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• Generation U celebration

• Lobster clambake

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