There will not be a July 6 News Pulse. The next full issue of News Pulse will go online on July 20.
Check back over the next few weeks for special updates on the Student Union project, State University of New York Chancellor Nancy Zimpher’s visit to campus and more.
State University of New York Chancellor Nancy Zimpher (seen here with College President Steven Poskanzer) visited the campus on June 15. Throughout the day, Zimpher, who took office on June 1, met with administrators, faculty and students. New Paltz was her eleventh stop on a tour of all 64 SUNY institutions and her first visit to a comprehensive four-year campus. Check back in the next week for a News Pulse article about Zimpher's visit.
Francis Augustus Silva(1835-1886)/New York Harbor, N.Y./1880/Oil on canvas, 12 x 20 in./Collection of the New-York Historical Society
In honor of the Hudson River’s 400th anniversary, the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art embarks on two major Art and the River events this summer: the annual Hudson Valley Artists show and an exhibition of landscape paintings.
The Art and the River Project was made possible with a $143,449 federal grant from Congressman Maurice Hinchey ‘68, ‘70g and the support of the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
Itty Neuhaus (Art – Foundation) installs a piece connecting art and the environment for the 2009 Hudson Valley Artists show, “Ecotones and Transition Zones,” on display in the Alice and Horace Chandler Gallery and North Galley at the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art through September 8.
This year’s Hudson Valley Artists show is focused on environmental and ecological themes. The works of approximately 20 emerging area artists and artist teams will be on display in the Alice and Horace Chandler Gallery and North Gallery through Sept. 6. For the show, titled “Ecotones and Transition Zones,” museum curator Brian Wallace selected artwork, information, presentations, activities and other projects that connect global issues such as sustainability, ecological awareness and bioethics to our immediate surroundings.
There are a variety of events associated with “Ecotones and Transition Zones,” including a Habitat for Artists and ecoartspace benefit concert with Dar Williams and Nick Panasevich on Wednesday, June 24.
Meanwhile, the Art and the River Project’s flagship exhibition, “The Hudson River to Niagara Falls: 19th Century American Landscape Paintings from the New-York Historical Society,” opens on July 11.
Featured in the show, which runs through Dec. 13, are 45 landscape paintings by Hudson River School artists. The paintings were selected from the permanent collection of the New-York Historical Society and the show is curated by Linda Ferber, New-York Historical Society museum director.
Another Arts and the River Project show opening this summer is “Panorama of the Hudson River: Greg Miller.” The Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art will also host an Art Along the Hudson – Third Saturday in New Paltz event on July 18.
The Hudson River-themed events continue into the fall. Two more shows – “The Hudson River: A Great American Treasure” by Greg Miller and “Riverbank” by visiting artists Philippine Hoegen and Carolien Stikker – open in September. An educational symposium, “Revisiting the Hudson: Nineteenth Century Landscape Painting in Context,” organized by Kerry Dean Carso (Art History), takes place in November.
Members of the college’s solar car team seen here are (l-r) Christopher St. John, Breandon St. John, Benjamin Rounds, Joshua Fino, Timothy Parker, Robert Nickison (an adopted team member from Texas), and Courtney Lia. Photo submitted
After three years of development, the college’s solar car club successfully completed its first attempt at competition.
Led by faculty adviser Mike Otis (Electrical Engineering) and sponsored by The Solar Energy Consortium, the SUNY Hawk team placed sixth out of the 11 teams competing at the Formula Sun Grand Prix at the Motorsport Ranch in Cresson, Texas, June 1-5.
“As an alumni member and as someone who is committed to solar power as the primary energy source of the future, I am very proud of the extraordinary success that the SUNY New Paltz solar car team achieved at such a high-level competition,” said Congressman Maurice Hinchey ‘68, ‘70g (D-NY). “The SUNY New Paltz solar car team once again put the Hudson Valley on the map when it comes to solar energy research and development.”
The teams designed and built solar cars that they raced around the track from morning to night. The final rankings were determined by the car’s lap count around the track, not speed, in a given time frame of 30 hours over three days.
The students attending the race were Joshua Fino ‘09 (Electrical Engineering), Samantha Hartig ‘09 (Visual Arts), Courtney Lia ‘11 (Electrical Engineering), Tim Parker ‘09 (Electrical Engineering), Ben Rounds ‘11 (Electrical Engineering), Breandon St. John ‘09 (Electrical Engineering) and Christopher St. John ‘09 (Computer Engineering). The solar car team is made up of 15 to 20 students from different majors on campus.
“I’m very proud of the SUNY New Paltz solar car’s success,” said Dan Jelski, dean of the School of Science and Engineering. “Our team did a great job. Our car was low budget and not as high-tech as some others, but we more than made up for it with teamwork, ingenuity and great engineering.”
Otis attributes the success of the car’s performance – which included completing 218 laps in one day – to the teamwork and dedication his students displayed. The students worked hard every day they were in Texas, putting in between 12 and 14 hours a day to make sure their car was ready for the competition.
“We spent the most time on the track than any other team, except the winner,” said St. John.
“It has been a pleasure to sponsor and support the SUNY New Paltz Engineering school and their Solar Car development team,” said Vincent Cozzolino ‘83, president and CEO of The Solar Energy Consortium. “The students are simply incredible in their technical abilities and personal drive to succeed.”
The team also received support from Lee Cabe from Newburgh. The SUNY Hawk team was sponsored by the college, Ulster County BOCES, The Solar Energy Consortium and P&Gs in New Paltz.
Dawn McCaw (center), assistant director of the Career Resource Center, works with a group of students in the center’s new conference room, which comes complete with Internet connection and a projection screen. Later this summer, a digital signage system will be installed outside the center to advertise programs, events and resources. The center has collaborated with Instructional Media Services on both projects.
The Career Resource Center staff has seen a sharp increase in student drop-in visits since moving to the Humanities Building in January.
Tonda Highley, associate dean of student advising and director of the Career Resource Center, attributes the more than 57 percent increase to the new visibility of the center on the academic side of campus. Highley said students pass the new center in Humanities room 105 every day and they are more apt to stop in to speak with a counselor, use the center’s computers or practice their interviewing techniques.
“We are so enthusiastic about being among the students and faculty,” said Highley.
Visits to the new offices have not been limited to students. According to Highley, faculty members often stop in to request information for students or develop fieldwork opportunities for their classes. Also, the center is now included as a “hot spot” on the Admission Department’s campus tours.
“We all feel such a positive sense when we come in here,” Highley said of her staff’s new space with its green walls, windowed walls and increased space.
The center’s move from the seventh floor of the Haggerty Administration Building (which is now home to the Center for Research, Regional Education and Outreach) coincided with a shift in the center’s mission. While helping students obtain internships and secure employment after graduation has always been a part of the staff’s work, these elements are now the driving force of their efforts.
The Doug Sheppard Classic Annual Scholarship Golf Tournament was held at the Wiltwyck Golf Club on June 15. Proceeds from the event go toward a scholarship endowment for SUNY New Paltz students.
This is the third article in a series of monthly Campus Safety articles with University Police Officer Johnny Coxum.
Officer Johnny Coxum said having University Police officers patrolling the campus on mountain bikes, in addition to patrol cars and on foot, promotes the department’s visibility and mobility – two elements that are key in campus safety.
Coxum is one of five officers trained to serve on bike patrol. The department uses the system during the warm weather months. It is also an effective tool at large-scale campus events, such as commencement, the faculty/staff barbecue at the end of the spring semester and fall convocation. Coxum said it is easier for officers to maneuver around such events on two wheels.
In addition to promoting safety, Coxum said officers who ride the bikes during their shifts are healthier because of the exercise. The bike patrol, which has been in effect for more than 20 years, is also an economically sound and environmentally friendly program.
For the seventh year in a row, the college’s student chapter of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), the Management Association (MA), has been awarded the Superior Merit Award. The national recognition is awarded to promote outstanding activities and projects by the organization’s student chapters, as well as to recognize an exceptional year of providing opportunities for development and growth to its student chapter members.
The New Paltz MA was one of 96 student chapters throughout the nation to earn the Superior Merit Award designation. The award places the college in the top 21 percent of student chapters nationwide. The Management Association was also one of four State University of New York chapters to receive the award.
The 2008-2009 board members were Alexandra Curiale ‘10 (Management), Cassy Folken ‘09 (Management), Joelle Hopf ‘09 (Art History), Marisel Lewis ‘09 (Management), Shaina Miller ‘09 (Management), Nicole Miraglia ‘11 (Business Administration), Stacey Smiel ‘09 (Management) and Kim Stahl ‘09 (Management). Kristin Backhaus (Business) is adviser to the group.
Gregory Bray (Communication and Media) received a bronze Telly Award for his documentary, “A Horse Connection.” Bray wrote, produced and directed the film, which focuses on a therapeutic horse riding program for persons with special needs. Students and alumni from the Communication and Media Department assisted in the project over the two-year production period. Bray previously received a CINE Golden Eagle Award for the piece.
Tom Meyer (Secondary Education) and Jackie Denu (Secondary Education) have been awarded a Technology Grant for their project “Hudson Valley Writing Project – Technology Liaisons Network Mini-Grant” with the National Writing Project.
Kristine Harris (History, Asian Studies) presented a paper, “Re-makes/Re-models: The Red Detachment of Women between Stage and Screen,” on April 17 at the Chinese Opera Films after 1949: Music, Performance, and Cinematic Arts symposium at the University of Chicago.
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