Catching up with...

Director of International Programs Lara Atkins grew up in Homer, N.Y., a Cortland County village with more cows than people.

An associate professor in the Department of Electrical, Computer, and Biomedical Engineering, Tak Buma almost took a swim in a Venetian canal once.

Aileen Schatz oversees orientation and pre-orientation programs, aiding new students and their families in their transition to Union.

Two economists, two teaching jobs in different countries, one big commute and a whole lot of cooking. That’s how life adds up these days for Dong (Carl) Cheng, the John D. MacArthur Assistant Professor of Economics, and his wife, Jun (Bean) Zhao.

Bill Blanchard Jr., a public safety officer with Campus Safety since 1998, can tell you the location of the best pianos on campus.

Kim Plofker, associate professor of mathematics, is always eager to talk about ancient Sanskrit, the value of interdisciplinary learning, butterflies and the local bus schedule.

James Hedrick ’92 grew up on Long Island. A longtime amateur radio operator, he got his FCC commercial radio license as a teenager and designed, installed and repaired public safety radios and marine electronics.

Janet Sweeney freely admits that she eats “a ridiculous amount of pretzels!” She’ll also admit, rather quietly because it sometimes raises eyebrows, that she’s not a dog person.

Lewis Davis, the Thomas Armstrong Professor of Economics and department chair, joined Union 16 years ago.

While an undergraduate at Robert Morris University, Zach Kaiser worked as a resident assistant. He found inspiration watching his supervisors make meaningful impacts in the lives of his peers.