A paper co-authored by Yijing Stehle, assistant professor of mechanical engineering; Ronald Bucinell, associate professor of mechanical engineering; Ellen Robertson, assistant professor of chemistry; and Rebecca Cortez, professor of engineering, was published in Materialia, a multidisciplinary journal of materials science and engineering. The piece includes contributions from Luke Kilby ‘23 and Hayden Qualls ‘22.

Christa Grant, assistant dean of diversity and inclusion, was honored with the Albany Business Review’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion award. They recognize three individuals and three organizations who have shown a commitment to promoting practices that advance diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace and in the business community. Read more here (subscription is required)

Jordyn Kerr '23 co-authored a study in the American Journal of Health Promotion, titled, "Exploring COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy amongst Black Americans: Contributing factors and motivators.” Kerr and her colleagues interviewed Black adults in the Boston area who identified as “vaccine hesitant” to understand the motivations and what strategies could increase their willingness to get vaccinated. They found that the reasons for vaccine hesitancy were varied, and that members of their own community (not celebrities) were most likely to overcome doubts among the participants. Read the article here.

Union’s Pre-Orientation program was honored with the Association for Orientation, Transition, and Retention in Higher Education Region IX’s Innovative Transition Program Award. The overall program is overseen by Aileen Schatz, director of the First Year Experience, and Kate Schurick, dean of first-year students. The program consists of three experiences: Leadership (led by Matt Milless, assistant dean of students, and Katie Davin, assistant director of Student Activities); Community (led by Janet Sweeney, director of community outreach, and Erynne Blackburn, program coordinator of community outreach); and Outdoors (led by Pete Fowler, associate director of the Becker Career Center).

Submit your news to gowanc@union.edu.