HIGHLIGHTS

Steven Hess to Lecture 
    Steven Hess, a survivor of Nazi-occupied Europe, will speak about his wartime experiences Thursday, March 23, at 4:15 p.m. in Lecture Center 24 on the main campus. An informal reception will follow.
    Born in Amsterdam, Holland, in 1938, Hess spent his childhood years under Nazi occupation. He and his family, including his parents and twin sister, were in both the Westerbork and Bergen Belsen concentration camps during the period 1942-45. They were liberated by Russian troops while on a transport en route to an eastern European extermination camp. The family eventually returned to Holland and emigrated to the U.S. in 1947.
    The lecture is being presented in conjunction with The Holocaust: Lessons and Legacies, a course jointly sponsored by the departments of history and Judaic studies. Taught by Professor Mark A. Raider, the course includes guest lecturers and a film series and is made possible, in part, by the support of the Holocaust Education Foundation of Chicago, the Schenectady Jewish Community Center, and the United Jewish Federation of Northeastern New York.

Walter Zenner Speaks March 22
    The next meeting of the Judaic Studies Lunch-and-Learn Series will be Wednesday, March 22, from noon to 2 p.m., in the private dining room of the Patroon Room in the Campus Center. The informal lunch series is open to faculty, Judaic studies scholars, and invited guests.
    Professor Walter Zenner of the Department of Anthropology will give a talk, “Are Syrian Jews Arab Americans?” Zenner is editor of the Anthropology and Judaic Studies Series for SUNY Press and a recognized expert on Sephardic Jewry. He has conducted field work among Jews and Arabs in Israel as well as Syrian Jews in Jerusalem, New York, and Manchester, England.
    For more information, call Christine Pearce, 442-4130. R.S.V.P. by March 20. Cost is $9 per person. Checks made payable to Sodexho Marriott may be sent in advance to Ms. Pearce in Judaic Studies, HU 284.

    Danielle Ferguson, Katy Lopoukhine and Paul Nooney have a unique perspective on the University at Albany Annual Fund:  As UAlbany students, they benefit from the various programs it supports.  And as Annual Fund representatives, they articulate the fund’s needs to alumni, parents, and other potential donors.
    Middletown native Katy has been an Annual Fund caller for more than a year.  When she speaks with prospective donors, the atmospheric science major points out the importance of such Annual Fund-supported initiatives as the Career Development Center, “where students get ready for life after Albany.  I also tell them that the fund supports writing-intensive workshops; I’ve been to some of those.” 
    The sophomore says that the men and women she contacts find the new library, with its 24-hour study rooms, and the NCAA Division I athletics program particularly interesting. Katy herself is impressed with the latter:  “I've gone to some of the games.  My roommate from last year played lacrosse.”
    Computer science major Danielle, a junior, enthusiastically points out that “so many programs at Albany are directly supported by the Annual Fund that it’s hard to realize the fund’s impact.  Parents and alumni can designate their contributions to the various schools and colleges, but if they’d rather put their gifts somewhere else, they can give to individual departments, the libraries, the Greatest Needs Fund, the Educational Opportu-nities Program, the general scholarship fund . . .  There are so many different designations donors can choose from on the pledge form, so making a contribution is easy.”
    Like Katy, Danielle, who minors in business administration, has availed herself of some Annual Fund-supported programs.  With an eye toward graduation in 2001, the Brooklyn native has already visited the Career Development Center, which is “helping me explore my options.”   Every donation “goes toward programs that benefit students,” observes Danielle, who was an Annual Fund caller for two years before making the transition to supervisor in 1999.
    For caller Paul, one of the most impressive programs the Annual Fund supports is the new library.  When the atmospheric science major first used the meteorology books in the facility last fall, “I walked in and said, ‘I can’t believe this is my own campus!’ ” he recalls.  “I’m just in awe over the new library.  I like to talk with Annual Fund supporters about it, and about CESTM and the Division I sports program, too.”
    Paul, a junior who aspires to work for the National Weather Service, emphasizes that annual giving is more critical now than ever before. “State funding accounts for 22 percent of the University’s operating budget, so our supporters’ contributions help a lot,” the Schenectady native says, adding that he always makes sure to “thank the donor for past gifts.”
    All three students “feel good that we’re helping to keep University programs running,” Katy notes.  She recognizes, too, that she is getting something else out of her work with the Annual Fund:  skills that will serve her well after she graduates.  “It’s strengthened my communication skills, which will be pertinent to whatever I’ll be doing after I leave Albany, and the work environment is nice.  I have fun at work.  I love this job!” says Katy.
    Adds Danielle:  “It’s great to know I’m contributing to making the University an even better place through my work with the Annual Fund.  Someday, I’ll make a contribution as a donor.  I definitely want to give back to Albany.”
    The Annual Fund’s faculty/staff campaign will begin in early April. You, too, can support Danielle, Katy, Paul, and all UAlbany students by contributing to the  campaign. For more information about the fund and the various ways to make a gift, please call Director of Annual Giving Michael Boots at 442-3038.