Faculty-Staff Achievements, Oct. 3, 2011

Award 

Megan Buchanan, associate director of athletics, will be enshrined into the University at Albany Athletic Hall of Fame Oct. 14 at the 28th annual HOF Dinner and Induction Ceremony. A reception for the inductees begins at 6 p.m., with the dinner and ceremony to follow in SEFCU Arena on campus. Buchanan will also be inducted Oct. 7 into the Hornell (N.Y.) High School Alumni Association Sports Hall of Fame.
 
Buchanan played at Albany from 1996 to 2000 and was a high-scoring forward who was a key figure in the women's basketball program's transition to the NCAA Division I level. She was the fifth player in school annals to score more than 1,000 points. In 1999-2000, Buchanan was named UAlbany's Female Athlete of the Year; she was also a member of the school's golf team. As a collegian, Buchanan ended third on the all-time scoring list with 1,093 points. She finished as the program's career leader with 124 three-point field goals and among the top-20 rebounders with 365.

A native of Arkport, N.Y., Buchanan earned an undergraduate degree in business administration and a master's in educational administration from UAlbany. She has served as Skidmore College's associate director of athletics since 2005. 

Activities

Denise Warner Limoli, associate professor of dance, taught ballet technique and repertoire for the classical ballet program of the Kaatsbaan International Dance Institute in Tivoli, NY. She was part of a faculty made up of former and current dancers with American Ballet Theatre.

Ronald Seyb, Joseph C. Palamountain Jr. Professor of Government and associate professor of government, gave a talk titled "The Teahouse of the November Moon? The Tea Party and the 2012 Presidential Election" Sept. 28 at the Edison Club, Rexford, N.Y., an event sponsored by the Office of Alumni Affairs and College Events.

Mary Solomons, director of donor relations, gave keynote remarks titled Donor Relations: The Bridge Between One Gift and the Next, at the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education Summer Institute for Advancement Services in July.  In September, Solomons attended the Association of Donor Relations Professionals Annual Conference, where she moderated a session on Best Practices and presented on the topic of Revising Endowed Funds.

Publications, Performances & Exhibitions 

Pola Baytelman and Jan Vinci, senior artists-in-residence, Department of Music, performed in the Hyde Collection's "de Blasiis at the Hyde" chamber music series Sept. 26.

Elzbieta Lepkowska-White, associate professor, management and business, and Aylin Ceylan, and Ali Shareef, both Class of 2011, are the authors of a paper, "Addressing Adjustment Barriers: International Students at a Small Liberal Arts College," presented in August at the Academy of Business Administration Conference, London. The paper is scheduled to be published in conference proceedings. The focus of the study is the nature and prevalence of adjustment issues that international students face at a small liberal art college. The authors show that international students face a variety of problems, even though the college provides them with some resources that they evaluate quite highly. Based on past studies the authors propose more effective ways that the college could use to address these problems.

Also at the conference, a second paper by Lepkowska-White and Mikhail Reutski '11 titled "Branding Ecotourism: Case of Costa Rica" was presented and is scheduled to be published in conference proceedings. The paper focuses on questions about ecotourism, including benefits and effects on locations such as Costa Rica, a leader in world ecotourism.  

Denise Warner Limoli, associate professor of dance, curated the exhibit, American Ballet Theatre: Then and Now, currently at the National Museum of Dance on South Broadway. This exhibit features over 60 costumes, dozens of programs, photographs, and memorabilia from ABT's illustrious past and present. The exhibit shows until August 2013.

In the News

Denise Warner Limoli, associate professor of dance, was interviewed by Robert Altman, president of WMHT-TV, for an upcoming broadcast of a performance by the San Francisco Ballet.