Cimini, Trujillo Selected for National Center to Strengthen Alcohol, Drug Prevention Programs
By Lisa James Goldsberry
University at Albany psychologists M. Dolores Cimini and Daniel A. Trujillo are among a select few chosen as center associates by the U.S. Department of Education’s Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention. Working as trainers, consultants, and evaluators, they represent an elite group of experts from around the country.

Every two years, the center selects associates from 30 different institutions on the basis of their prior leadership, expertise in a specific content area, and success as community mobilizers, trainers, or writers. Ac-cording to the center, it is rare for two people to be chosen from the same organization in the same year. Center associates help strengthen alcohol, other drug, and violence prevention efforts on U.S. college and university campuses. In response to alcohol-related tragedies and research showing that while most college students are younger than the legal drinking age of 21, more than 43 percent have engaged in “risk drinking,” Congress in 1999 authorized U.S. ED to identify and promote effective campus-based programs.

In July 2000, UAlbany was one of 13 institutions to be awarded an “Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention Models on College Campuses Grant” from U.S. ED, with funding totaling $100,324. The funds were used to enhance already existing programs.

Cimini is program director of UAlbany’s Middle Earth Peer Assistance Program. She has designed and implemented training programs and credit-bearing courses in peer education and helping skills for students entering the health and mental health fields. She also consults in the development of peer education programs at other colleges and universities on a nationwide level.

Trujillo is coordinator for alcohol and drug prevention at UAlbany and is a staff psychologist at the University Counsel-ing Center. He earned his doctorate in counseling psychology from the University of Missouri-Columbia, where he worked in a nationally recognized alcohol and other drug prevention program. He has specialized research and educational expertise in alcohol and other drug prevention for at-risk college students.

The Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention serves as the national resource center for institutions of higher education concerned with reducing alcohol and other drug use. Funded by the U.S. Department of Education, the center offers training, technical assistance, and publications to assist those who want to take an active part in changing the environment in which students make decisions about alcohol and other drug use.

Faculty & Staff

Flax Named Marketing Associate
Carol Flax has been named marketing associate in the Office of Media and Marketing in the Division for University Advancement. She joins UAlbany from Ohashi International Ltd. of Kinderhook, N.Y., where she served as director of marketing & business development.

She previously worked at New York City-based Scholastic Productions in Commercial Film Development.

Flax earned a bachelor’s degree from Heidelberg College in Tiffin, Ohio, and a master’s degree from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. She resides in Valatie.

Weber Joins Media & Marketing
Heidi Weber has been named media relations specialist in the Office of Media and Marketing. She joins UAlbany from SMITH & JONES, an integrated marketing communications agency in West Sand Lake, N.Y.

Prior to working at SMITH & JONES, Weber served as a public relations account executive with the Albany office of Eric Mower and Associates, an integrated marketing communications agency.

Weber, a native of Clifton Park, earned a bachelor’s degree from UAlbany and a master’s degree from New York University in New York City. She serves on the board for the Capital Region Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America.

Steen Wins UUP Award
Ivan Steen, associate professor of history, has received the Nina Mitchell Award for Distinguished Service from United University Professions (UUP). Established in honor of veteran unionist Nina Mitchell (1926-88) of the Brooklyn Health Sciences Center, the award commends UUPers who have served the union with distinction in a variety of chapter and statewide capacities. A devoted activist and UUP leader, Steen has been a delegate for the Albany chapter for more than 20 years and presided from 1989-2001. A tireless volunteer lobbyist for the union, he serves on the delegations of its statewide and national affiliates, New York State United Teachers and the American Federation of Teachers.

Career Development Center Receives Honor
For the second consecutive year, UAlbany’s Career Development Center has won an award for excellence in programming from the State University of New York Career Development Organization, Inc. (SUNYCDO, Inc.)

SUNYCDO, Inc., an organization of SUNY career services professionals from each of the 64 SUNY campuses, honored the center for its March Career Forums. Alumni and company representatives spoke at “Careers in Advertising, Marketing, and Public Relations,” “Careers in Art, Music, and Theatre,” and “Careers in Media.” Panelists discussed their career paths, including their internships and entry-level positions, necessary skills to succeed in these careers, tips for breaking in, and information about their employers. The programs were recognized as educational activities used to help students with the career decision-making process.

Marine Resources Subject of D’Elia Talk at Congressional Oceans Day
Christopher F. D’Elia, UAlbany’s vice president for Research, was among the speakers at Congressional Oceans Day September 25 in Washington, D.C. He discussed managing marine resources.

Oceans Day is an annual opportunity for congressional staff and members to connect in a comprehensive way with the research, education, conservation, and commercial activities that take place in, on, and around our nation’s waters.

Other prestigious speakers for the event included Jean-Michel Cousteau, president of Ocean Futures Society and son of Jacques Cousteau; and Rear Admiral Richard West, oceanographer of the Navy.

D’Elia has written many scientific publications on the nutrient dyna-mics of estuaries and coral reefs, and on science policy. He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and has served on numerous advisory panels to the National Science Foundation.

Prior to joining UAlbany, he was director of the Maryland Sea Grant College Program of the University System of Maryland. D’Elia earned his Ph.D. in zoology from the University of Georgia and did postdoctoral work at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

MBA Students View Argentine Fiscal Crisis
By Vinny Reda
When four UAlbany master’s of business administration (MBA) students from the Capital Region traveled this August to Argentina in order to understand that nation’s current financial crisis, they had no idea they would have front-row seats to history.

Joe Benny of Scotia, Brandon Boyle of Albany, Kate Brousseau of Delmar, and Darby Greco of Latham were selected to apply their MBA training to Argentina’s current monetary and fiscal situation, as well as to understand the country’s impact on the world markets. Shortly after they arrived in Buenos Aires, however, so did senior representatives from the Intern-ational Monetary Fund (IMF) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury, including its secretary, Paul O’Neill.

Argentina’s currency had just entered into a full-fledged financial crisis, said Linda Krzykowski, assistant dean for UAlbany’s MBA programs.

“We had already scheduled meetings with Argentine business leaders - now, suddenly, we were attending business briefings at levels hardly ever possible,” said Krzykowski. “The IMF was supplying a $14 million bailout to rescue the country’s economy, and groundbreaking commerce negotiations with the U.S. were taking place. It gave our students an incredible business vantage point.”

In its programs, UAlbany’s School of Business emphasizes the importance of fostering international business relationships and understanding. The group of MBA students went to Buenos Aires as part of a program offered in conjunction with the Universidad del Salvadore.

“Some School of Business faculty have been traveling to Buenos Aires during the summer break to teach at the Universidad del Salvadore in its equivalent of an evening MBA program,” said Krzykowski. “We saw this as an opportunity to bring some of our brightest students; this is the third year we have done so.”

Brousseau called her experience “an amazing opportunity to learn international business contextually. I worked in a group with five professional Argentines throughout the course, and was able to learn from their many experiences of working in an emerging country. I was also able to understand the true effects of their currency issues not only on their economy but on them and their families.”

The students visited the American Chamber of Commerce in Argentina and met with a consulting firm to gain further exposure to the many economic challenges of the country. They also spent 10 days studying international business with Argentine students. W. Christian Buss, associate professor of marketing at UAlbany, taught the course while in Argentina. This was his ninth year traveling to Argentina.

Buss explained the program’s value locally: “The Capital Region is rapidly expanding its presence in the overseas markets. This program is one way in which the University helps enhance the international orientation of the region’s management cadre.”

The structure of the program also gave students the opportunity to pursue some personal interests. “It was a great opportunity to learn first-hand about the international business environment in Argentina and to study with individuals who are actively involved in the field,” said Boyle. “Additionally, I had the opportunity to explore my interest in international development by meeting with representatives of the Grameen Bank, an international development bank, in Argentina.”

UAlbany In The News
By Lisa James Goldsberry

The October 14 issue of The New York Times featured information from a new survey by the Center for Women in Government, which found that women continue to make significant progress in occupying leadership positions in state government. The report was titled “Appointed Policy Makers in State Government, a Demographic Analy-sis.”

The October 12 issue of The New York Times quoted a UAlbany student who is also a member of the National Guard. The article, titled “295 Students in National Guard Denied Tuition Aid,” discussed the letters from New York State notifying hundreds of guardsmen they would not receive the college scholarships they had expected in return for enlisting. Since that time, the state has decided to reinstate the tuition aid.

The August 11 edition of The Economist mentioned the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government in an article titled “Red Ink Rising.” In discussing the overall rise for inflation and legislated tax changes to get at underlying revenue growth, the Institute said the adjusted real increase was just over 2 percent in the past six months. This was helped by unexpectedly strong growth in personal income taxes.

The August 13 issue of Nation’s Restaurant News featured a profile of Chartwell’s, the University’s meal service provider. In an article titled “Compass North America: Core Competency,” the company’s president, Steve Sweeney, discussed the growth of his business and how one week after Chartwell’s got the UAlbany contract, the company found that it had to serve the New York Giants football training camp.