Work on the Student Union addition continues as the building's design wins an international design award.

The design of the Student Union addition has received a 2009 American Architecture Award from the Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Metropolitan Arts Press.

“I’m thrilled that the Student Union addition received an American Architecture Award. It’s a great honor for the college,” said John McEnrue, director of facilities design and construction.

A group of German architects recently selected 64 projects as the best new United States building and designs. The awards program – established in the 1990s – honors and recognizes outstanding new achievements and innovation for new architecture designed and built in the United States by national and international architecture firms practicing in the states.

“This award is highly sought after and will most certainly draw further attention to our campus from both here, in the United States, and from Europe,” said McEnrue.

“The award celebrates the new structure’s unique design, its symbolic relationship to the Shawangunk Mountains and, most importantly, its purpose.”

Sample of installed glass.

Project manager Garry Nack (Facilities Design and Construction) said the steel frame of the building is up and construction workers are preparing the frame for the installation of glass. The exterior framing is nearly 75 percent complete. The installation of glass is to begin this week. The entire structure should be enclosed by mid-January.

The project includes approximately 12,000 square feet of additional space and approximately 12,000 square feet of renovated space to provide students with new places to gather and hold meetings. Work on the interior renovations has been taking place throughout the process, which officially began in December 2008. The addition is set to be open in mid-2010.

Visitors to the "The Hudson River to Niagara Falls: 19th-Century American Landscape Paintings from the New-York Historical Society" exhibition at the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art.

Those looking for something to do over the Thanksgiving weekend won’t have to look any further than the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art.

The museum will be closed on Thursday, but will reopen and maintain regular hours (11 a.m.-5 p.m.) on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. A free gallery tour will take place on Sunday, Nov. 29.

Visitors are encouraged to visit the current exhibitions: “Inscription” and “The Hudson River – A Great American Treasure,” which close on Nov. 29, and “Panorama of the Hudson River,” which closes on Dec. 13, but will reopen in February. The flagship exhibition of the Dorsky Museum’s Art and the River project, “The Hudson River to Niagara Falls: 19th-Century American Landscape Paintings from the New-York Historical Society,” will conclude its successful run on Dec. 13.

Jaimie Pattipeilohy ’09 (Communication and Media) is capturing the experience of studying abroad at New Paltz with her video journals.

Pattipeilohy, a student from Haarlem, Netherlands, and several other international exchange students from different countries are participating in the new video documentary project. The students are recording their educational and cultural experiences while studying at New Paltz and the short documentaries they produce will be shown to potential international exchange students.

“It is the start of many new projects in the future between Noord University and New Paltz,” said Pattipeilohy.

Patricia Sullivan, chair of Communication and Media, agrees with Pattipeilohy that the project is the start of many collaborations.

“We’ve established a significant partnership with Noord University,” she said. “Technology made it possible for students to work together via the Internet and then come together for intense working sessions to finalize the project.”

Pattipeilohy’s work will be part of a larger project, ‘gnr8,’ that will consist of two three-minute videos that will reflect campus life and the educational experience at New Paltz. She said the videos highlight the similarities, the differences and the once-in-a-lifetime experience for international students. The final films will be available for prospective international study abroad students, their families and friends, as well as faculty members.

“The opportunities – including partnerships and networking around the world – that projects like these open up to students and faculties alike in both nations are awesome,” said Pattiepeilohy. “And the people that you meet are energetic, creative, and like-minded. It is a really positive thing to be involved in.”

Public Affairs Intern

On the Esopus, Meadow Groves, ca. 1857-58, oil on canvas by William Hart (1823-1894). Image submitted

The college is hosting “Revisiting the Hudson: 19th Century Landscape Painting in Context,” a daylong symposium on Saturday, Nov. 7, focusing on the art featured in the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art’s “The Hudson River to Niagara Falls: 19th Century American Landscape Painting from the New-York Historical Society” exhibition.

Kerry Dean Carso (Art History) organized the symposium, which will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Lecture Center, room 102.

The lectures will cover a wide range of topics relating to the Hudson River School of Art, including discussions of notable artists Thomas Cole and Frederic Church; landscape painting in the Shawangunks; and architecture found along the Hudson River. Lecturers include art history scholars and professionals from colleges, historical sites and museums from the East Coast.

In addition to the lectures, guided tours of the museum’s successful exhibition, which is on display through Dec. 13, will be available between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.

The event, like the “Hudson River to Niagara Falls” show, is part of the Samuel Dorsky Museum’s “Art &The River” project – a six-month series of exhibitions, lectures and events celebrating the Hudson River’s Quadricentennial.

The symposium is free and open to the public and was made possible through the generous support of The Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area.

LISTENING TO LOCAL NEEDS: Adrienne Halloran ’11g (Communication Disorders), front, and Samantha Link ’11g (Communication Disorders) transcribe a narrative sample using the Systematic Analysis of Language Transcripts (SALT) software program.

Listening to the needs of the local community, Leah Fabiano-Smith (Communication Disorders) and her students have created a speech-development testing program for bilingual children that will also help advance research in their field.

Fabiano-Smith said there is no speech-language testing facility in the area for bilingual children, so she created a program that would fill the gap. Since August, Fabiano-Smith visits the Agri-Business Child Development Center in New Paltz once a week to perform free speech evaluations.

“It’s a win-win program,” said Fabiano-Smith. “They get the free service and we get the data.”

She has also turned the program into a learning experience for her students. Two New Paltz students – an undergraduate and a graduate – accompany Fabiano-Smith to the school, which serves children, from birth to 5 years old, of migrant workers. The team tests two children each week in both English and Spanish using such programs as Microsoft Access, laptops and digital recorders. The college students participating this semester are bilingual, but it is not a requirement.

Fabiano-Smith said having her students experience this type of setting is ideal because it provides them with the real-life research clinic experience. She said students will learn what it is like to work in a setting where there can be distractions or situations they have to address while gathering data.

If a child exhibits signs that there is an audiological or speech development issue, he/she is brought to the college for a full audiological exam or recommended to a speech language pathologist.

“We’re helping families make connections with professionals in the area,” Fabiano-Smith said.

The data and digital recordings collected during the visits are also helping to advance research in the area of speech-language development in bilingual children. The project is one of four projects Fabiano-Smith is working on to study what normal speech development looks like in bilingual children, specifically those whose first language is Spanish.

While the clinical positions are primarily for Communication Disorders students, there are other research experiences open to students of all majors. In total, Fabiano-Smith has 10 students working for her in paid positions or as volunteers on transcribing, translating and data entry.

Fabiano-Smith said that all information about the subjects is confidential. While trust-building is very important, so, too, is the well-being of the child’s language development.

In that vein, Fabiano-Smith tells the parents that their child’s participation in the project will not only benefit them, but also help many bilingual children.

“We have a unique ability to make a large impact on the community that we are part of,” said Patterson. “By making a commitment to Make a Difference Day, we as a college can continue to make a difference in the local region.”

Having faculty, staff and students engaged in the program is vital in this effort, he added. All members of the campus community are encouraged to participate by donating goods or their time, or both.

The college’s involvement in the program begins on Friday, Oct. 23. Donations will be accepted in the Student Union, room 100. College employees received a shopping list of needed goods with their paychecks on Oct. 14. The donations will benefit such local non-profit organizations as Family of New Paltz and The Queen’s Galley.

On Saturday, representatives from the college will volunteer from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. at more than 11 off-campus service sites, including Village View for Seniors and the New Paltz Fire Department.

The entire event will conclude with a reflection dinner on Saturday beginning at 7:30 p.m. in the Student Union, room 100. The dinner is an addition to the program that Patterson hopes will help spread the spirit of service across campus.

“Through the experience of sharing and processing the day’s events, we hope that students, faculty and staff will be inspired to continue giving back to their communities,” he said.

For more details on the full program, visit www.newpaltz.edu/sub/madd.html.

The mandatory program involves extensive inspections of all rooms and spaces in every building on campus.

This is a preliminary inspection conducted by the New York State Office of Fire Prevention and Control. Re-inspections will occur in December and January and will focus on all of the issues identified in the preliminary inspection. A final inspection will occur in January and February to address any issues that have not been corrected.

Scott Schulte, assistant director of environmental health and safety – fire safety division, asks the campus community to be on the lookout for any potential fire hazards and to contact his department.

Potential fire hazards include:

• Prohibited items: extension cords, multi-prong adapters, incense, candles, space heaters, surge protectors, tapestries and wall hangings;

• Propped doors;

• Blocked fire extinguishers, fire alarm pull stations, exits, fire alarm panels and electrical panels;

• Fire Doors not properly closed;

• Vehicles parked in fire lanes or in front of fire hydrants;

• Desks, chairs, tables and other furniture in hallways;

• Exit signs not in working order and illuminated;

• Smoking within 50 feet of any building entrance on campus;

• Properly inspected fire extinguishers;

• Items stored within 18 inches of a sprinkler head or within 24 inches of any ceiling;

• Waste accumulation;

• Obstructed room doorways.

If any of the above listed situations or hazards exist, contact Schulte at schultes@newpaltz.edu or x3310.

“This is our community,” said Schulte. “The responsibility lies with all of us to identify and report any fire code violations, so that we can live, work and interact in the safest environment possible.”

Front cover of WaterWrites. Image submitted

Laurence Carr (English) has set sail with an anthology that tells the story of the Hudson River through the creative works of Hudson Valley writers.

Sixty writers are featured in “WaterWrites,” which was published by Codhill Press of New Paltz on Oct. 21. There are well over 12 writers from the college who contributed to the 136-page book.

Carr added that “WaterWrites” is a SUNY New Paltz book. In addition to the more than 12 writers from the college, the 136-page book was designed by Laura Kniffen (Design Services) and the cover photograph was taken by Morgan Gwenwald (Library). Joann Deiudicibus (English), Penny Freel (English) and Rachel Rigolino (English) assisted Carr with the editing of the manuscript.

Inside, the works of professional and amateur writers from the area span the literary and environmental plain. There are essays, short stories, poetry and more. All works share a common theme: the Hudson River. Carr said there was an amazing amount of submissions from high school students, college students, graduates, professional and amateur writers. “The submissions cover the spectrum of every Hudson Valley person,” he said.

“I am so happy to have a very active profile of Hudson Valley writers to celebrate the region and prose and poetry,” said Carr.

The idea came to Carr at a meeting discussing events for the Hudson River Quadricentennial. Carr thought it would be a good idea to have a literary component to the historic celebration. Carr, who had previously edited Riverine, an anthology of works from Hudson Valley writers, decided to get to work.

“This is a people’s book, not an academic publication,” he said. “It also combines the community and university and makes us one entity.”

There will be readings held up and down the river. A launch party is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 24, at Inquiring Minds Bookstore in New Paltz.

Tobias Wolff. Photo submitted

First-year students in the English Department’s Composition Program will have a chance to speak with the author of this year’s required book reading when Tobias Wolff visits campus in April 2010.

As the fourth guest in the Distinguished Speaker Series, Wolff will discuss his 2003 novel, “Old School,” at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 1, 2010, in McKenna Theatre.

Pauline Uchmanowicz (English), director of the Composition Program, said the composition faculty is delighted that Wolff has been chosen as Distinguished Speaker for spring 2010.

“Tobias Wolff’s visit to our campus will offer students in the Composition Program a rare opportunity to make a connection between literary page and living author. It may even encourage some to undertake a writer’s life,” said Uchmanowicz.

Wolff is best known for his memoirs and short stories. Notable works include “This Boy’s Life” and “In Pharaoh’s Army: Memories of the Lost War;” the short novel “The Barracks Thief;” and four collections of short stories – “In the Garden of the North American Martyrs,” “Back in the World,” “The Night in Question” and, most recently, “Our Story Begins: New and Selected Stories.”

Tickets for the event will go on sale in early 2010.

ARTISTIC FELLOW: Jamie Bennett (Metal) was recently named to The American Craft Council's 2009 College of Fellows. Bennett is seen here with works from his 2008 show, "“Edge of the Sublime: Enamels by Jamie Bennett,” which was on display at museums -- including the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art -- across the country.

Following in the footsteps of his predecessors, Jamie Bennett (Metal) has been named to The American Craft Council’s 2009 College of Fellows.

The late Kurt Matzdorf (Metalsmithing, Emeritus) and Robert Eberdorf (Metalsmithing, Emeritus) were members of the College of Fellows.

The designation is among the prestigious Aileen Osborn Webb Awards, which honor those who have demonstrated outstanding artistic achievement, leadership and service in the craft field for more than 25 years. Since 1975, the Craft Council has bestowed the title of fellow to 261 artists nominated and elected by their peers.

“I believe this connection speaks well for the college, as this kind of legacy with the council’s fellows program is unique to New Paltz,” said Bennett.

Bennett is a 1974 alumnus of the Master of Fine Arts program at New Paltz. Today he is co-director of New Paltz’s Master of Fine Arts Program in Metal, which is ranked #1 in the nation by the 2009 U.S. News & World Report list of America’s best graduate schools. Bennett’s work is on display in more than 20 permanent collections around the world.

He will be honored at an Oct. 16 luncheon during the organization’s leadership conference, “Creating a New Craft Culture,” in Minneapolis. Bennett, along with the other newly elected fellows and the gold medalists, will be featured in the December 2009/January 2010 issue of American Craft magazine.

“It is very gratifying to be acknowledged by your peers as a significant contributor to the field and to join so many noteworthy artists in the College of Fellows,” said Bennett.