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Faculty & Staff
Haldar among 40 under Forty
Professor of NanoSciences and NanoEngineering Pradeep Haldar, Ph.D., was selected by The Business Review as one of “40 under Forty,” individuals under age 40 whose personal and professional achievements enrich the Capital Region.

Haldar moved to the University at Albany in 2001 after spending 11 years at Intermagnetics General Corp., where he gained experience in business plan preparation, the formulation of marketing strategy, product development, and commercial product development. As the first director of UAlbany’s Energy and Environmental Technology Applications Center, he will work to enhance its infrastructure, strengthen its partnerships with high-tech businesses, and develop an accelerator center. Haldar, who earned a doctorate from Northeastern University in 1988 and an M.B.A. from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1999, holds three U.S. patents and has four others pending.

Haldar and his fellow honorees were selected from a field of more than 150 men and women nominated by Business Review readers for the third annual “40 under Forty” awards competition. The awards luncheon was held May 2 at the Crowne Plaza Albany Hotel.

Walcek wins 2002 AMS Editor’s Award
Christopher J. Walcek, a senior research associate at the Atmospheric Sciences Research Center, has won a 2002 Editor’s Award from the American Meteorological Society (AMS). The award was presented at the society’s 82nd annual meeting in Orlando.

Walcek, who is also an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Atmos-pheric Sciences, earned the honor for his “thoughtful, thorough, and fair reviews that improve the quality of submitted papers” to the society’s Journal of Applied Meteorology.

A UCLA graduate, Walcek’s research interests include air pollution meteorology and atmospheric chemistry, and interactions between larger-scale meteorology, clouds, and chemistry of atmosphere. The Environmental Protection Agency, the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy, and NASA have sponsored his research.

Walcek came to UAlbany in 1986 after working as an air quality consulting atmospheric scientist and a research scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR).

Zelizer presents paper in D.C.
Associate Professor of Public Administration and Policy Julian Zelizer presented his paper “Into the Political Thicket: Race, Redistricting, and Congressional Reform, 1962-1969” April 13 at the Organization of American Historians Convention in Washington D.C. The paper, based on a chapter of his new book project, The Coat of Democracy, described the impact of Supreme Court decisions on congressional reform during the 1960s and 1970s.

Other panelists present included Peyton McCrary of the U.S. Department of Justice; Lani Guinier of Harvard University Law School; Morgan Kousser of the California Institute of Technology; and Tom Edsall of The Washington Post.

Zelizer, who is also an associate professor of history, is an expert on 20th-century U.S. political and social history, and public policy.

Founded in 1907 as the Mississippi Valley Historical Association, the Organization of American Historians is the largest learned society devoted to the study of American history.

Jones Receives Social Policy Award
Distinguished Service Professor Shirley J. Jones of the School of Social Welfare was honored last month by her fellow graduates in the Columbia University School of Social Work Class of 1977. She received a silver tray inscribed “Extraordinary Service in Social Policy, Planning, and Education.”

Jones, who also holds a bachelor’s degree, an M.A. in education, and an M.S.W. from New York University, specializes in planning, policy, group work, and community organization. Her interests include housing policy, rural social work, minorities, and community organization. In 1996, she hosted the first and only national conference on collaborative, interprofessional practices to serve rural communities. Her resulting book, Preparing Helping Professionals to Meet Community Needs: Generalizing from the Rural Experience, continues to foster interdisciplinary research. A forthcoming book on action research will report the work of a cross-continental scholars’ forum between Africa and the United States. For the past several years, Jones has been at the forefront in organizing international study tours to African nations for the purpose of promoting African and American collaboration and partnership for planned change and development.

The editor of Sociocultural and Service Issues Working with Rural Clients (Rockefeller College Press, 1992), Jones has written two papers for the United Nations on housing policy, as well as several papers on the needs of rural families and the roles of women and minorities in development. She is investigating rural economic development and its implications for social work.

Jones joined the UAlbany faculty in 1988. Named a Collins Fellow in 1999, she received The University at Albany Foundation’s Academic Laureate Award for 2000.

Former UAlbany staffer tapped for UT presidency
University of Tennessee trustees have unanimously elected John W. Shumaker to serve as UT’s 21st president.

In 1977, Shumaker came to the University at Albany as dean of humanities and fine arts. During his decade at UAlbany, he also served as vice president for academic planning and development, and as acting vice president for research and educational development. He left in 1987 to accept the presidency of Central Connecticut State University, remaining in that capacity until 1995. For the past seven years, he has served as president of the University of Louisville in Kentucky.

Shumaker is expected to assume the UT presidency by July 15 but has indicated he may begin his term as early as May.



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	More than 300 Graduate Assistants to Receive Cash Awards Jeryl L. Mumpower, associate provost and dean of Graduate Studies, has announced that UAlbany will be distributing supplementary cash awards this semester to 322 graduate assistants who are enrolled in doctoral programs. These supplements will be awarded to students in doctoral programs in every college and school across the University. “We have worked as hard as we could to do better in terms of graduate stipends,” Mumpower said. The new funds for graduate assistants come from the state of New York, which has allocated $162,000 to UAlbany for a Doctoral Program Recruitment and Enhancement Fund, out of a total of $800,000. According to the terms of the contract with the Graduate Student Employees Union (GSEU), these funds need to be disbursed this fiscal year to those members of the bargaining unit presently enrolled in doctoral programs. The University will support students in continuing their doctoral studies by providing supplements up to a maximum of $1,200. The largest awards will be targeted to those students whose current annual stipend levels are lowest, but all eligible graduate assistants who receive an annual stipend of less than $12,000 will receive some level of support. After distributing these supplemental funds, the median annual stipend for GSEU members enrolled in doctoral programs will be $10,844. “While we will continue to seek additional funding for our graduate students, current levels of graduate stipend support for GSEU doctoral students represent a significant improvement in comparison to prevailing levels of just a few years ago,” Mumpower said. “The University at Albany invests in excellence and strives for equity. In accordance with the terms of the contract, we have used these funds in a way we believe will best help eligible members of the GSEU bargaining unit to pursue and complete their doctoral studies in a timely fashion.” In recent years, UAlbany has taken steps to increase the level of funding support for doctoral students. Targeted funds, particularly for nationally ranked programs, have achieved measurable results in terms of recruiting and retaining quality doctoral students. The latest funding is aimed at helping those students who enjoy the least benefit from the targeted stipend investments that have been made up to this point. “We felt that targeting these new funds to doctoral students with lower stipend levels was the best way to promote retention. It just seemed like the right thing to do,” Mumpower concluded.
	Faculty & Staff Haldar among 40 under Forty Professor of NanoSciences and NanoEngineering Pradeep Haldar, Ph.D., was selected by The Business Review as one of “40 under Forty,” individuals under age 40 whose personal and professional achievements enrich the Capital Region. Haldar moved to the University at Albany in 2001 after spending 11 years at Intermagnetics General Corp., where he gained experience in business plan preparation, the formulation of marketing strategy, product development, and commercial product development. As the first director of UAlbany’s Energy and Environmental Technology Applications Center, he will work to enhance its infrastructure, strengthen its partnerships with high-tech businesses, and develop an accelerator center. Haldar, who earned a doctorate from Northeastern University in 1988 and an M.B.A. from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1999, holds three U.S. patents and has four others pending. Haldar and his fellow honorees were selected from a field of more than 150 men and women nominated by Business Review readers for the third annual “40 under Forty” awards competition. The awards luncheon was held May 2 at the Crowne Plaza Albany Hotel. Walcek wins 2002 AMS Editor’s Award Christopher J. Walcek, a senior research associate at the Atmospheric Sciences Research Center, has won a 2002 Editor’s Award from the American Meteorological Society (AMS). The award was presented at the society’s 82nd annual meeting in Orlando. Walcek, who is also an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Atmos-pheric Sciences, earned the honor for his “thoughtful, thorough, and fair reviews that improve the quality of submitted papers” to the society’s Journal of Applied Meteorology. A UCLA graduate, Walcek’s research interests include air pollution meteorology and atmospheric chemistry, and interactions between larger-scale meteorology, clouds, and chemistry of atmosphere. The Environmental Protection Agency, the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy, and NASA have sponsored his research. Walcek came to UAlbany in 1986 after working as an air quality consulting atmospheric scientist and a research scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). Zelizer presents paper in D.C. Associate Professor of Public Administration and Policy Julian Zelizer presented his paper “Into the Political Thicket: Race, Redistricting, and Congressional Reform, 1962-1969” April 13 at the Organization of American Historians Convention in Washington D.C. The paper, based on a chapter of his new book project, The Coat of Democracy, described the impact of Supreme Court decisions on congressional reform during the 1960s and 1970s. Other panelists present included Peyton McCrary of the U.S. Department of Justice; Lani Guinier of Harvard University Law School; Morgan Kousser of the California Institute of Technology; and Tom Edsall of The Washington Post. Zelizer, who is also an associate professor of history, is an expert on 20th-century U.S. political and social history, and public policy. Founded in 1907 as the Mississippi Valley Historical Association, the Organization of American Historians is the largest learned society devoted to the study of American history. Jones Receives Social Policy Award Distinguished Service Professor Shirley J. Jones of the School of Social Welfare was honored last month by her fellow graduates in the Columbia University School of Social Work Class of 1977. She received a silver tray inscribed “Extraordinary Service in Social Policy, Planning, and Education.” Jones, who also holds a bachelor’s degree, an M.A. in education, and an M.S.W. from New York University, specializes in planning, policy, group work, and community organization. Her interests include housing policy, rural social work, minorities, and community organization. In 1996, she hosted the first and only national conference on collaborative, interprofessional practices to serve rural communities. Her resulting book, Preparing Helping Professionals to Meet Community Needs: Generalizing from the Rural Experience, continues to foster interdisciplinary research. A forthcoming book on action research will report the work of a cross-continental scholars’ forum between Africa and the United States. For the past several years, Jones has been at the forefront in organizing international study tours to African nations for the purpose of promoting African and American collaboration and partnership for planned change and development. The editor of Sociocultural and Service Issues Working with Rural Clients (Rockefeller College Press, 1992), Jones has written two papers for the United Nations on housing policy, as well as several papers on the needs of rural families and the roles of women and minorities in development. She is investigating rural economic development and its implications for social work. Jones joined the UAlbany faculty in 1988. Named a Collins Fellow in 1999, she received The University at Albany Foundation’s Academic Laureate Award for 2000. Former UAlbany staffer tapped for UT presidency University of Tennessee trustees have unanimously elected John W. Shumaker to serve as UT’s 21st president. In 1977, Shumaker came to the University at Albany as dean of humanities and fine arts. During his decade at UAlbany, he also served as vice president for academic planning and development, and as acting vice president for research and educational development. He left in 1987 to accept the presidency of Central Connecticut State University, remaining in that capacity until 1995. For the past seven years, he has served as president of the University of Louisville in Kentucky. Shumaker is expected to assume the UT presidency by July 15 but has indicated he may begin his term as early as May.
	Recycle Life Last month, UAlbany students held a press conference to kick off a special organ and tissue donation awareness campaign aimed at college-aged students. The campaign, Recycle Life, was part of a unique UAlbany curriculum developed in partnership with the New York State Task Force on Organ and Tissue Donation that gives students hands-on experience while developing a communications model to be used by other college campuses. The event was the culmination of semester-long efforts by Department of Communication Chair Teresa Harrison and a group of 18 undergraduate and graduate students. /Photo by Mark Schmidt.
	Portrait Installed Members of the University Art Museum’s collections staff recently installed the portrait of former UAlbany President H. Patrick Swygert in the President’s Reading Room, second floor of the University Libraries. Painted by Washington, D.C. artist Simmie Knox, the portrait is a recent addition to the University Art Collection and is a gift of the UAlbany Foundation.	Scholarship Awarded Megan Paige Turner, the first recipient of the $500 University at Albany Woman’s Association Endowed Scholarship, will graduate later this month with a degree in English. The association, founded in 1951, welcomes members who are women faculty, staff, and wives of faculty. The endowed scholarship is administered by the University at Albany Foundation and was established for women who have attended UAlbany for at least two years. /Photo, courtesy of Dodie Seagle.

	Student Scholarships The Department of East Asian Studies has been awarded a $1.9 million grant under the Freeman Foundation’s Undergraduate Asian Studies Funding Initiative. This grant includes student scholarships. Each year, beginning in 2002, the department will receive approximately $60,000 in scholarship money to current and incoming departmental majors based on academic merit. Pictured, from the left, are: Airi Nihommatsu, Rachel Carson, Siqi Zhang (above, in back), Katherine VanVoorhis (seated), Peter Smith, and Amira Applewhaite, who are among the 2002-2003 scholarship winners. Photo by Mark Schmidt.	Reception Alain Kaloyeros, center, at an April 30 reception at the Center for Environmental Sciences and Technology Management (CESTM) honoring him as the founding dean of the School of NanoSciences and NanoEngineering. Photo by Mark Schmidt.
	158th Commencement Just Days Away By Christy DeLaMater With Commencement Weekend just over a week away, the University is alive with excitement and anticipation. The graduate ceremony is at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 18, at the Recreation and Convocation Center; the undergraduate ceremony is at 10 a.m. Sunday, May 19, on the new library lawn. A few last-minute reminders: If you are a faculty member who is planning to march in the graduate or undergraduate ceremony, please contact Carly Grant at 442-5310, or e-mail her at cgrant@uamail.albany.edu. Additional volunteers are welcome for the larger ceremonies. Please contact Christy DeLaMater at 591-8626, or e-mail cdelamater@uamail.albany.edu with your commitment. Any last-minute questions can be answered by visiting our Web site at www.albany.edu/commencement, or by e-mailing commencement@uamail .albany.edu. Volunteer rehearsals are scheduled for Tuesday, May 14, at 10 a.m. in the RACC lobby (for the graduate ceremony) and Thursday, May 16, at 10 a.m. in the new library atrium (for the undergraduate ceremony and other weekend assignments). Faculty marshal rehearsals are scheduled for the same dates/places above, but at 11 a.m. on both days, respectively. We hope to see you and your family and friends at one or more of the Commencement ceremonies and activities.	Alumni Weekend 2002 June 7-9 Have you been to the downtown campus lately? Come to Alumni Weekend and take a tour that highlights the past and shows our UAlbany progress. This weekend is a great chance to come together with alumni, faculty, and staff from all generations, as well as an opportunity to connect with the roots of UAlbany. For more information, please call the Alumni House at 442-3080.
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