Doors
Opening for Class of 2003
By Lisa James Goldsberry
Many in the Class of 2003 have distinguished themselves through
winning Chancellor’s Awards for Student Excellence, as well as
for outstanding achievement in the classroom, on the playing field,
and in the community.
 Emil Bove |
Emil Bove, a Seneca Falls native, graduated with a 4.0 GPA in a double major of publicpolicy and economics. Already excelling in his chosen field, he was one of only 20 students in the country chosen to present a paper at the Fifth
Annual Undergraduate Research Conference
at Rice University in January. He is one of the recipients of the Chancellor’s
Awards for Student Excellence and has also won two President’s
Undergraduate Leadership Awards, one for outstanding senior and another
for athletic leadership. Bove, a captain of the UAlbany men’s
champion lacrosse team, was named the America East Conference Male Scholar
Athlete of the Year and a Second Team Verizon Academic All American.
Bove began working at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Securities
Regulation Division in Manhattan as a paralegal after graduation.
“I will remember all the doors that were opened for me because
of my working relationships with the faculty, athletic department staff,
and administration,” Bove said. “For such a big school,
UAlbany is full of opportunities to work with people who are truly interested
in your development and who can lead you in any direction you want to
go.”
 Shauna Fisher |
Shauna Fisher, a political
science major from Loudonville, has been recognized as an outstanding
undergraduate researcher. She co-presented a paper at the American Political
Science Association annual conference and she recently co-wrote an article
that has been accepted for publication in Policy Studies Journal. Fisher
has applied to Ph.D. programs in political science at the universities
of Michigan and Washington, as well as Northwestern University. She
has also applied to the jurisprudence and social policy program at the
University of California, Berkeley.
 Michael Genkin |
Michael Genkin, a philosophy
and sociology major from Albany, has been an active member of the UAlbany
student body. He is a tutor for Academic Support Services, a Don’t
Walk Alone escort service volunteer, and a member of the Presidential
Honors Society. He also serves as a student representative for the University
Senate and the Student Assembly, and is a member of various committees
of the Student Association. Among his many awards and honors are the
Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence, Phi Beta Kappa, and
the dean’s list. Genkin plans to take a year off before going
to graduate school, where he will study social sciences. “What
I will remember most from my experience at UAlbany are the outstanding
professors I had the privilege of having and learning from. I think
we truly have some of the best, brightest, and most dedicated faculty
in the country. I will particularly remember professors David Wagner
from sociology and Ronald McClamrock from philosophy. They have significantly
influenced my intellectual identity and orientation.”
 Nathan Giesselman |
Nathan Giesselman, an
accounting major from Rochester, has gained experience in many different
areas. He plays rugby and is an emergency medical technician for the
Western Turnpike Rescue Squad in Guilderland. In addition, he is president
of Alpha Chi Rho fraternity and a member of both the Presidential Honors
and Golden Key honor societies. He won a Chancellor’s Award for
Student Excellence, a Presidential Undergraduate Leadership Award, a
Disabled Student Services Outstanding Achievement Award, and the Deloitte
and Touche Beta Alpha Psi Award for the top junior accounting major.
“The main thing that Albany has done for me is to prepare me for
the outside world. The skills I acquired here allowed me to successfully
perform in my job at General Electric, and to gain admittance to Columbia,
one of the nation’s top law schools. I will always remember the
many staff here at Albany who took a personal interest in my success,
and who got to know me as a person and a friend rather than as a number.”
 Hector Mejia |
Hector Mejia, an accounting major from New York City, has always challenged himself to do his best. A native of Honduras, he has consistently been recognized as one of UAlbany’s brightest stars. In addition to being a recipient of this year’s Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence, he also won the H. Patrick Swygert Scholarship, a Spellman Achievement Award, the School of Business - Outstanding Graduating Senior Award in Accounting, and the President’s Award for Undergraduate Leadership - Outstanding Senior Award, among many others. He has received several scholarships, as well, including an Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting Scholarship. Mejia is a member of Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society, the Beta Alpha Psi professional accounting fraternity, the Presidential Honors Society and the National Golden Key Honor Society. He has accepted a position with PricewaterhouseCoopers, one of the big eight accounting firms. “What I will remember the most about UAlbany is my experience at Empire Commons, the coolest residential apartments on campus,” he said.
School
of Public Health Poster Day Highlights
By Lisa James Goldsberry
The School of Public Health presented its 12th
Annual Student Poster Day April 25 in the Albany Law School Gymnasium,
New Scotland Avenue. Students from all over the world who are enrolled
in master’s or doctor of public health programs within the school
presented their research data. At the end of the event, seven Excellence
in Research and 12 Honorable Mention awards were presented.
 Excellence in Research winner William Greenhut, a second-year biomedical sciences student/Photo by Mark Schmidt |
This event, a replica of a professional
conference poster session, was offered to students as an invaluable
real-life scientific opportunity to present their research data, demonstrate
and sharpen their communication skills, and learn how to test and defend
a scientific hypothesis.
Sixty UAlbany students representing five academic (Biomedical Sciences;
Biometry and Statistics; Epidemiology; Environmental Health and Toxicology;
Health Policy, Management and Behavior) and professional education departments
participated. Each contestant received a certificate of participation.
In addition, each poster presentation was considered for the Excellence
in Research and the Honorable Mention awards nominations. Teams of faculty
from each respective department judged the posters.
The event continued with the keynote address and awards presentation
ceremony, 3:30 to 5 p.m. in the David Axelrod Institute Auditorium.
Dale Morse, the director of the Office of Science and Public Health
at the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH), and a faculty member
in UAlbany’s School of Public Health, was the keynote speaker.
He discussed “Poster Day as Scientific Training: How it Relates
to Public Health Preparedness for Emerging Infections, Bioterrorism,
and Other Significant Events.” His address was followed by the
awards ceremony presentation conducted by Peter Levin, dean of the School
of Public Health. A list of the winners follows:
Biometry and Statistics
Tingfei Hu, “Survival
Analysis of the Randomized Placebo-controlled Trial of the Drug D-Penicillamine
for Patients with Primary Biliary Cirrhosis.”
Biomedical Sciences
Sharlene Persaud, “Using
Serum Alpha-Fetoprotein as a Diagnostic Marker in Screening Neonates
for Cystic Fibrosis.”
Environmental Health and Toxicology
Laurie Bradley, “Interaction
of Estradiol and Insulin-like Growth Factor I on Foci Formation in MCF-7
Human Breast Cancer Cells.”
Mingfei Luo, “Translational
Control of Estrogen Receptor Alpha Expres-sion.”
Yan Weng, “Inducible,
Lung-Specific Deletion of the NADPH-cytochrome P450 Reductase Gene:
a Model for Studying the Role of Pulmonary P450s in NNK-Induced Lung
Cancer.”
Epidemiology
Lusine Ghazaryan, “Predictors
of Chlamydia Infection in New York State Sentinel Sites.”
Health Policy, Management and Behavior
William Greenhut, “Identifying
Barriers to Participation in the Child and Adult Care Food Program.”
The event was sponsored by the School of Public Health, Health Research Inc. and the Wadsworth Research Center of the NYSDOH.
Alumni
Weekend
By Carol Olechowski
Talks by best-selling writers and historians.
Tips for financial and publishing success. Great music. Terrific food.
Tours of interesting campus sites. And, of course, opportunities to
meet old friends, make new acquaintances, and celebrate the achievements
of fellow graduates. Those are just a few of the exciting events planned
for the University at Albany’s annual Alumni Weekend observance
June 6-8.
 John Cahill, secretary and Gov. George Pataki’s chief of staff, gave the Burton Lecture May 15. Cahill, Lynn Gilmore Canton, John Nielsen, Janet Martin Welch, and Betty Barnette were honored./Photo by Mark Schmidt |
Friday, June 6, Alumni Weekend participants
are invited to become tourists for the day with visits to the Boor Sculpture
Studio, CESTM, the Life Sciences building, Empire Commons, and the Performing
Arts Center. Walking tours of the downtown campus are scheduled for
Saturday.
Alumni will gather at 6 p.m. Friday at The Desmond Hotel and Conference
Center for the Gala Awards Dinner celebrating the accomplishments of
several friends and graduates, including UAlbany supporter Morris Massry;
Donald Putterman ’52, ’53; Timothy Bermingham ’70,
’75; Paul Hooker ’60, ’61; Albert Kaehn ’51,
’52; Paul Stec ’81; Mary Joan Egan ’40, ’61,
’72; and the late Walter Schick ’48, ’49.
Saturday’s events begin at 8 a.m. in Waterbury Hall Cafeteria
with the All-Class Breakfast, the Half-Century Club Celebration, and
the Alumni Association annual meeting. The All-Alumni Buffet will follow
at 12:30 p.m. Other highlights June 7 include brief informational sessions
with Associate Professor of Marketing William Danko (co-author of the
best-seller The Millionaire Next Door); Professor of History and Africana
Studies Allen B. Ballard (author of Where I’m Bound); Associate
Professor of Music Findlay Cockrell; Distinguished Teaching Professor
Warren E. Roberts; and University archivist Geoff Williams. At 3:30
p.m. in Page Hall Auditorium, the award-winning Capitaland Chorus will
perform.
I ndividual class gatherings, dinners, and receptions will be held throughout
the weekend.
For more information about Alumni Weekend, please see the UAlbany’s
Web site: http://www.albany.edu/alumni/AW2003/CalendarNetscape.htm.