Ford Foundation Awards $80,000 Challenge Grant to Albany’s IFW
ByGreta Petry
The Ford Foundation has awarded the University at Albany’s Initiatives For Women program an $80,000 challenge grant. For its part of the 2-to-1 match, IFW has the goal of raising another $160,000 in new endowment funds by 2004.

When the University meets the match, the foundation’s award will be used to support the endowment to the IFW program for graduate fellowships to women pursuing careers in the physical sciences.

“We are delighted with the support shown to IFW by the Ford Foundation,” said Carol Bullard, chair of the all-volunteer IFW steering committee that supports UAlbany women’s educational and professional goals. “IFW has a goal of increasing its endowment by $250,000 or more over the next three years. The Ford award is the perfect lead gift in this effort and will strengthen our effort with donors, foundations, and corporations.”

This year’s IFW awards, given out in July, provided $27,320 to 36 women. The funding was used to support a wide variety of needs, including defraying the cost of tuition and books. The award money is also used for computer equipment, childcare costs, conference fees, and other costs not normally funded by traditional scholarships, but necessary for educational and professional development.

This year’s IFW awards dinner will be October 10 at Herbert’s at Birch Hill.

The 2001 IFW Awards and their recipients are:

Presidential Awards (2 at $2,500)
Elizabeth Burnworth, a Ph.D. student in sociology, for travel and expenses related to her dissertation research on civic activism on the issue of breast cancer in the U.S.
Laurie Keefer, a doctoral student in clinical psychology, for interview expenses and materials for her study on non-drug alternatives to hormone replacement therapy.

Endowed Awards
Lillian Barlow Award ($800)
Shirlee Dufort, a master’s level student in English, to attend the New York State Writers Institute over the summer.

Christine E. Bose and Edna Acosta-Belen IFW Feminist Research Award ($1,000)
Limarie Nieves-Rosa, a student in the Ph.D. program in sociology, to cover the research-related costs of her dissertation on the effects of changes in welfare policy on poor women in Puerto Rico.

Gloria R. DeSole Fund for IFW ($1,000)
Joyce Keyes, a public administration Ph.D. student with a reading disability, to cover the cost of a tape recorder and paid readers.

Judy L. Genshaft Fund for IFW Scholarship ($500)
Linda Scoville, of the Advisement Services Center/Undergraduate Studies, to attend the 2001 Conference of Northeast Association of Pre-Law Advisors.

Haynes-Davis Memorial Scholarship ($1,000)
Natalya Grigoryants, a master’s level student in economics from Russia, for tuition and books.

Initiatives For Women Endowment Award ($500)
Shai Brown, who works in Residential Life as a Dutch Quad coordinator, to attend a course offered by the Association of Fundraising Professionals.

Bernice Mosbey Peebles ’39 Scholarship Award ($1,000)
Chrislene Adams, a Master of Science student in special education and a single mother of four children, to cover the cost of childcare while Adams finishes her degree. This award is designated for a woman of color.

Physician’s Endowment Fund for IFW ($500)
Liana Rodriguez, an undergraduate majoring in chemistry, for an MCAT preparation course.
Susan Van Horn-Shipherd ’64

Women in Science Scholarship ($500)
Suzanne Levine, an undergraduate majoring in physics and mathematics, for summer coursework.

Named Awards
Patrick Foti Award in Memory of R. Thomas Flemming ($500)
Claudine Lochard, a Ph.D. student in counseling psychology and the daughter of Haitian immigrants, to support dissertation-related costs on the career planning decisions of adolescents with sickle-cell anemia.

David and Gladys Groudine Award ($500)
Deborah McManama, a D.A. student in the humanistic studies program studying English and educational administration, to help defray the cost of tuition and books.

Ann Gustin Scholarship for Women in Law and Government ($500)
Alla Reyfman, an undergraduate in UAlbany’s accelerated 3+3 Law Program with Albany Law School, toward tuition and books.

Secretarial-Clerical Council IFW Award ($500)
Librada Pimentel, an office administrator for the Department of Latin American and Caribbean Studies who is completing her bachelor’s degree through Empire State College, for tuition and books.

The Kathleen A. Turek IFW Technology Award ($500)
Rachel Pocino, an undergraduate majoring in computer science and mathematics, toward the cost of tuition and books.

General Awards
Dalia Abdel-Hady - $300
Carol Anderson - $1,000 Center for Latino, Latin American, and Caribbean Studies (CELAC) - $500
Dolores Cimini - $500
Stephanie Cour - $500
Melinda Denham - $300
Sara Di Donato - $800
Marla Frazer - $370
Patricia Gonzales - $400
Jennifer Gunsaullus - $500
Melissa Henneman - $800
LaRae Jome - $300
Heather Laube - $750
Shealeen Meany - $500
Candace Merbler - $900
Jane Muthumbi - $1,000
Lori Burns Sykes - $1,000
Women’s Resource Center - $300
Kristen Wallingford - $500
Yoshiko Yamada - $1,300

The IFW awards announced this summer are in addition to the nine $8,000 awards made through the Avon-IFW Life Impact Scholarship Program. Avon scholarship winners are: Erlyn Amell, Susan Brent, Pauline Bush, Michelle Delgado, Rachel Della Ratta, Veronica Miller, Paula Quierolo, Denise Rubio, and Ann Young.

Student News
By Carol Olechowski

Dave Bishop, Student Association President, Outlines His Goals
Twenty-year-old David Bishop was eager to enroll at UAlbany after graduating from high school in 1998. “I’d heard great things about the University and its East Asian studies program,” he remembers. UAlbany was close to his native Long Island, but far enough away for him to “get out and see the world a little bit.” He also found the University’s city setting - and its diversity - attractive.

Now, as president of the Student Association for 2001-02, Bishop hopes to build upon UAlbany’s positive aspects. “My main job is to serve as spokesman for the organization, to deal with the media and the University administration,” notes the senior East Asian studies/history double major and Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity brother. “My goal is to keep the SA fiscally responsible while having some great programs, concerts, and shows along the way. I’d like to put more money toward multicultural events and awareness workshops. And I’d like to see Dippikill used more by the University. There are so many wonderful things we could do with it as a field study location for classes in atmospheric science and the life sciences.”

Bishop is well positioned to achieve those objectives, according to Vice President for Student Affairs James P. Doellefeld. Says Doellefeld: “David Bishop is a campus leader and ‘newsmaker’ who understands the value of a collegial leadership style. He is a highly effective representative of undergraduate students.”

On the personal side, Bishop is weighing his post-graduate options, which might include “going to grad school here, or going to Japan to teach English. Long term, I’d like to get a Ph.D. someday and teach in a college. It’s a great experience to be able to connect with people and help them to learn.”

Hannan’s Hip Fracture Research Findings Published in JAMA
ByVinny Reda
Such risk factors as age and nursing home residency can help predict how well a patient will be able to function after breaking a hip, while other risk factors can help predict whether a patient will survive a hip fracture. Those findings, the result of research conducted by UAlbany professor Edward L. Hannan and his colleagues, were detailed in the article “Mortality and Locomotion 6 Months After Hospitalization for Hip Fracture,” which was published in the June 6 Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

Hannan, who chairs the Department of Health Policy, Management, and Behavior in UAlbany’s School of Public Health, and his fellow researchers analyzed data on 571 adults, aged 50 and older, who experienced hip fractures and were admitted to four New York City hospitals between August 1997 and August 1998. The study, with Hannan as principal investigator, was undertaken to identify and compare the importance of significant pre-fracture predictors of functional status and mortality at six months, and to compare risk-adjusted outcomes for hospitals providing initial care.

Hip fracture is a common cause of death and disability. According to statistics cited in the JAMA article, an estimated 350,000 hip fractures occur each year in the U.S., and the total inpatient cost of caring for these patients is nearly $6 billion per year, exclusive of physician charges. “Among patients discharged following hospitalization for hip fracture,” the authors note, “only 60 percent will have recovered their pre-fracture walking ability by 6 months, and 24 percent of patients will have died by 12 months.”

Recognizing that “a need exists for a practical means to monitor and improve outcomes, including function, for patients with hip fracture,” the researchers focused on death rates in-hospital and at six months; locomotion (the patient’s ability to walk and climb stairs); and adverse outcomes - death, or the patient’s need for total assistance to move around. The results were compared by hospital and adjusted for pre-fracture patient risk factors, including age, sex, race, functional status, dementia, admission from a nursing home, and whether a paid helper was required to care for the patient. A modified APACHE (Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Eval-uation) score was used to capture the impact of patients’ vital signs, laboratory studies, and mental status, and a modified co-morbidity score measured the impact of chronic conditions.

“The in-hospital mortality rate was 1.6 percent,” noted the authors. “At 6 months, the mortality rate was 13.5 percent, and another 12.8 percent [of patients] needed total assistance to ambulate.”

Laboratory values were strong predictors of mortality but were not significantly associated with locomotion. Lower pre-fracture locomotion, a higher modified APACHE score, and a paid helper at home prior to the fracture were significantly related to higher mortality at six months.

“Age and pre-fracture residence at a nursing home were significant predictors of locomotion but were not significantly associated with mortality,” the authors continued.

With respect to hospital performance, the study found that “performance on one outcome is not necessarily related to performance on another. This indicates that both mortality and functional status measures are needed to adequately assess hospital performance, and that the pro-cesses of care that are associated with lower mortality rates are not identical to the processes associated with better functional status,” the authors suggested.

According to Hannan and his colleagues, their findings “have implications for ongoing efforts by providers, accrediting agencies, employers, and other parties to better understand and improve outcomes of health care. Specifically, we believe that greater attention needs to be paid, not only to preventing hip fracture, but also to preventing the mortality and morbidity that results once a patient has fractured a hip - an issue that has not been on the quality improvement agenda of most health care organizations.”

The authors encourage more clinical research to better understand the efficacy of interventions that might increase survival and improve functional outcomes.

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, The Mary and David Hoar Fellowship of the New York Community Trust and the New York Academy of Medicine, the National Institute on Aging, and the American Federation for Aging Research Paul Beeson Faculty Scholar Award supported the project.

New Ad Campaign
The New York Giants offered UAlbany complimentary air time during the broadcast of the Giants vs. Jets game on Saturday, Aug. 25. This is one of the benefits UAlbany enjoys for hosting the Giants’ summer training camp. The 30-second television spot is based on a five-part print ad campaign that will run in Time Magazine, U.S. News & World Report, and The New York Times this fall. The campaign highlights extraordinary research and extraordinary teaching at UAlbany.

University Begins Construction of New Student Housing
By Mary Fiess
To meet student demand for campus housing and accommodate projected growth in student enrollment, the University has begun construction of new student housing that will provide on-campus accommodations for an additional 1,200 students.

Empire Commons, the new housing which is being constructed in phases, will be ready for occupancy by 800 students at the beginning of the fall semester in 2002. The accommodations for an additional 400 students are slated for completion in January 2003.

“Attractive, quality student housing is an important element in the University at Albany’s efforts to recruit and retain high-performing undergraduate and graduate students. We are confident this new housing will strengthen the quality of life for our students,” said Vice President for Student Affairs James P. Doellefeld. “These new student residences are one factor in the equation to advance UAlbany into the very top ranks of public research universities in America.”

Featuring apartment-style living accommodations, the new housing complex will consist of 26 buildings located on 25 acres at the intersection of Washington Avenue and Fuller Road. Most of the buildings will be designed with 12 four-bedroom, two-bath apartments for undergraduates - 48 occupants to a building. All bedrooms will be single occupancy. The plan calls for six of the buildings to be constructed in two clusters forming a “graduate community” for graduate students. The current plan for the graduate student apartments includes four bedrooms and four baths. All apartments will feature a kitchen and living room and include a washer and dryer. On the site will be one building that will serve as a commons “welcoming” building, complete with exercise and mail facilities, vending or concession services, staff offices, and meeting areas.

“I am pleased that UAlbany is in the process of constructing campus housing geared to its upperclassmen. Upperclass-men at the University who decide to live in this new housing will surely have the best of both worlds, apartment-style housing with essential amenities such as high-speed Internet access, the presence of blue light phones, and the presence of the University Police Department. Those students who have the choice to live on or off campus will now have a more difficult decision to make,” says Alicia Zayatz, who is majoring in criminal justice and political science.

For graduate students, both the proximity and amenities are appealing features, says Christopher Bischoff, a doctoral student in political science and treasurer of the Graduate Student Organization. “Grad students are always pressed for time. If they are working late at the library, it’s good to know that home is only a short walk away. And with laundry facilities on site, students don’t need to spend valuable time travelling to a laundromat.”

“We are working to develop housing that will best serve our campus community. One reality we face is that we have very little land left on our campus that we can develop. Throughout the design process, we have done everything we can to balance our need for new student housing and our desire to preserve as much green space as possible on our campus,” said Vice President for Finance and Business Paul Stec.

The State University of New York entered into a ground lease agreement with the University at Albany Alumni Association to develop the student housing. The alumni association is subleasing the site to the University at Albany Foundation Student Housing Corpora-tion, which is overseeing the development of the project. The housing will be managed by the University under contract with the Student Housing Corporation. The estimated $59 million in project costs will be funded through municipal tax-exempt bonds, and the Student Housing Corporation is seeking financing through City of Albany’s Industrial Development Agency.

United Development Corp. of Albany is the project developer. Architects are DiMella Shaffer Associates of Boston. The site engineer is Saratoga Associates; the general contractor is BBL Construction Services. First Albany Corporation will serve as bond underwriter.

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