In this unsettled economic time I am pleased to report that the state of the MacVittie College Union is excellent. We continue to move forward in support-ing the mission of the College by enrich-ing the cocurricular life at Geneseo through innovative, diverse, educational, and engaging experiences. The fall semes-ter started with a robust and jam packed Weeks Of Welcome (WOW) sched-ule. The open-ing weekend featured the community building event, Playfair, and the award winning hip-hop-rock-funk band, The Urban Sophisticates. From free ice cream on the College Green to building hiking trails with Dr. Gregg Hartvigsen, there were numerous opportunities to get involved in WOW. In addition to the outstanding WOW events, there were several facility im-provements made this fall. The comple-tion of the landscaping and the placement of table and chair units put the finishing touches on the beautiful new Union Plaza. The renovation of the stairway between MacVittie Union and Sturges

not only improved the appearance of the area but also increased pedestrian safety. The installation of new carpet in the Knight Spot and the completion of the painting of the interior of the Union greatly improved their physical environments.

Also this semester the Upstate Escapes grant program was awarded the first runner-up for the SUNY Outstanding Student Affairs Pro-grams Award for Academic and Stu-dent Affairs Collabo-ration and the Geneseo Spring 2008 Performing Arts Calendar, de-signed by Kristen Fuest, earned an APEX Award for

Publication Excellence. These highlighted events, facility im-provements, and awards, along with many others confirm why the state of the MacVittie College Union is excellent. It has been a fantastic semester for the MacVittie College Union and many stu-dents, staff and faculty have worked hard to enrich the cocurricular life at SUNY Geneseo. I trust you will enjoy this issue of the “State of the Union.”

The State of the Union Charles “Chip” Matthews, Director

Fall 2008

Volume 1, Issue 1

State of the Union Robert W. MacVittie College Union Newsletter

Inside this issue:

The State of the Union 1

MOSAIC 2

Kinetic Gallery 2

Transferable Skills 3

First Year Employee 4

Upcoming Events 5

College Union & Activities

College Union 321

585-245-5851

union.geneseo.edu College Union Building Hours Monday-Thursday: 8am-11pm

Friday: 8am-2am

Saturday: 10am-2am

Sunday: noon-11pm

Summer Building Hours Monday-Friday: 8am-5pm

Saturday & Sunday: Closed

The Department of College Union

and Activities is a part of the Division

of Student and Campus Life.

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State of the Union

Have you checked out the MOSAIC lately? The MOSAIC, Multicultural Organization Space for Activities, Inclusion, and Collaboration, is located on the 1st floor of the College Union. This is a great new place on campus! The purpose of the MO-SAIC is to promote cultural awareness across campus and to allow students, staff, and faculty to explore different cultures and talk about their findings in a comfortable and supportive setting.

College Union and Activities in collaboration with the Office of Multicultural Programs and Services is pleased to announce a new development in the MOSAIC - the MOSAIC Cultural Awareness Series! This series will feature monthly lectures and workshops meant to highlight different cultures while at the same time encouraging the campus community to continue cul-tural exploration on its own. The program will be in full devel-opment by Spring 2009.

We would like to invite all students, student organizations and faculty members to participate in the Series by hosting a work-

MOSAIC Carey Backman, Associate Director and Suzanne Sharp, Assistant Director

shop or talk during the spring semester. The goal of the series is to offer students, staff, and faculty a “sampling” of different cultures. Lecture and workshop facilitators can select any topic they are passionate about and create a personalized for-mat, provided it fits with the MOSAIC’s mission to increase cultural awareness on campus. Some examples of possible workshops are Chinese calligraphy, cultural food, henna de-signs and application, origami, and language lessons.

Of course, we'll also need participants at each event, so we hope that you will join us for one! It's a great opportunity to get involved and take advantage of the rich culture Geneseo has to offer!

If you have any questions or are interested in developing a lecture or workshop, please email Carey Backman at back-man@geneseo.edu or Suzanne Sharp at sharp@geneseo.edu. We are so excited to be offering these great opportunities to the campus community!

Kinetic Gallery Jennifer Whittaker, Arts and Exhibits Coordinator

The Kinetic Gallery, located on the main floor of the College Union, is an exhibit space designed specifically to highlight art both on campus and in the community, facilitate the devel-opment of an appreciation in the fine arts, and create a space where students can interact with innovative artistic ideas. Featuring work by students, faculty, and outside artists, the Kinetic Gallery is in the unique position to build a connection with the student body in addition to the community at large. Ideally, the intention of the Kinetic Gallery is to get its audi-ence thinking about art as a part of everyday life and to pro-vide inspiration to see the potential for creativity in the every-day world. This past semester, the focus of the exhibits in the gallery has been on international subject matter. We have hosted exhibits featuring photography from Afghanistan, col-lages from Pakistan, paintings by migrant workers, and body maps of HIV positive women from Tanzania, Rwanda, and Kenya. As we enter into the new year, we are shifting our spotlight from other continents and focusing on art right here in the neighborhood. Upcoming shows include an exhibit about sustainable art initiatives happening in the community, a future collaborative display with the Geneseo Elementary School, and college student work from the upcoming Paint Your Heart Out event.

Student talent will be displayed during GREAT Day and Senior Exhibits will be presented at the end of the semester. Nationally recognized local art professor Doug Anderson will be exhibiting his installation, Asphodel and Artist Mae Leong’s installation, Barcode and Sound: Traces of Invisible Codes, will be featured in the first weeks of April.

The gallery is open every day from12-4pm, for students and com-munity members to come visit. If you would like to learn more about upcoming shows, have any questions, or have work you would like to see displayed, please leave your name and e-mail in the gallery log or e-mail me at kinetic@geneseo.edu. A new web-site about the gallery is in the process of being created and will be up and operating for the Spring Semester.

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State of the Union

Transferable Skills Jennifer Wrobel, Student Manager, MacVittie College Union

from year to year. Because of this, you need to know how to work within a team regardless of its members, and the ability to work in a group is one of the top skills employers look for in job candidates. I know that I am able to work in any group because of the ex-periences I’ve had. Though I’m not happy about having to leave my posi-tion as a college union manager at the end of this aca-demic year, I will always be thankful that I was fortu-nate enough to have this experience. The skills I’ve gained are unforgettable, as are the people I have been fortunate to work with. I cannot wait to see how the experiences I’ve had as a manager will help me when it comes to any future job I’ll be lucky to get.

The end of 2008 marks my last fall semester as a manager. As a senior, I will be graduating in the spring and diving headfirst into a shaky economy and an unstable job market. I admit, while this does make me a bit nervous, I feel that my three years as a manager have prepared me for an uncertain future. The skills I take away from this experience are an invaluable asset to my marketability. The first thing I learned as a manager is the need to be flexible: the environment in the Union is always changing and this requires you to think on your feet. Customer service is a number one priority (also a valuable skill!) but I had to learn to balance the hap-piness of a customer with the rules and regulations of the Union. Friday and Saturday nights are a time when those flexibility skills are put to the test – you never know what’s going to happen at a Geneseo Late Knight event! I know that employers look for the ability to adapt to change and to think quickly and creatively, and those are two things I’ve had a lot of practice with. Another important skill I’ve gained is the confidence in myself to be a leader, especially one who isn’t watched constantly. As a manager, you are trusted to facilitate a staff of about forty as well as do your own projects without the supervision of the professional staff. Because of this, I’ve learned the significance of integrity and reliability. A future employer can trust me to complete projects without having to guide me every step of the way. I have learned how to be an independent employee with important and valuable leadership skills. I feel the essential lesson I’ve gained in my tenure as a manager is the ability to work on a team. The man-ager team is comprised of seven students with equal responsibility, and it can be difficult to balance lead-ership between all of us. The manager team changes

College Union Fact # 13 "Initially, college unions were started by students, and many today, such as those in Canada and California, operate under a student-led model of governance." Fifty-one facts about college unions- published by the Association of College Unions International

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State of the Union

Diana Barun, Geneseo Late Knight Coordinator

My experiences with the students this year have all been quite unique and it is amazing to see how different each one is. As I study student development theory in my graduate classes, my work with Late Knight has al-lowed me to see theory become reality. When students come to my office to plan events, there are those who have every aspect mapped out to a “T,” while others are in need of some guidance. It is my job to advise all students, no matter what level each individual or group is on. The true challenge is to give the appropriate amount of support so that they can learn the most from each programming experience. This really keeps me on my toes as I must constantly assess the ability of the individual or group and it is the most difficult part of my job. At times they may fail, and at others they may succeed, but in the end it comes down to the knowl-edge that students gain from the experience. It has been an extremely fulfilling getting to know the indi-viduals and groups that are passionate about program-ming with Late Knight. I enjoy working with them all. No matter what their level, I know that each event is an opportunity for learning and growth, both personally and professionally.

Matthew Jordan, Program Advisor

Everyone that has ever held a job remem-bers what it is like to be the “new kid on the block”. There are many chal-lenges to overcome, and it is not always easy. These challenges include, but are not limited to: quickly learning job responsi-bilities, getting in tune with the office jargon, under-standing the rules and limitations of the job, adjusting to the work schedule, and meeting and interacting with colleagues, supervisors, employees, and patrons. This is not an easy transition, but it has been made much smoother through the support of a lot of people and our supervisors in particular. In our first semester working for the Division of Stu-dent & Campus Life, a great deal of learning has taken place. In my position, learning takes place on a number of fronts, as I work for Student Association and College Union & Activities, and act as an advisor to Activities Commission and ACE. I have found this to be very beneficial to me because I get to learn from a number of different people and view situations from many perspectives. One thing they have all taught me is the importance of teamwork. One example of this stems from the programming done by the organiza-tions I help advise. I get a first hand look at how much time and effort goes into the programming done by Activities Commission and the cultural organiza-tions of ACE. Because I get to work with all of them, I try to encourage them to work together as much as possible, whether that be collaborating on shows, or simply going to each other’s shows to show support. Teamwork is extremely important and the students and staff I work with have convincingly taught me that.

Tales of a First Year Employee in the Union Matthew Jordan, Program Advisor and Diana Barun, Geneseo Late Knight Coordinator

College Union Fact # 22 "Programs in unions are extensive and highly diversi-fied. They range from co-curricular seminars and workshops, to speakers and conferences, to concerts and recreational tournaments."

Fifty-one facts about college unions- published by the Association of College Unions International

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State of the Union

Spring Welcoming Activities - January 15-16, 2009

Martin Luther King, Jr. Display - January 20-24, 2009

Student Organization Expo - February 4, 2009

Mamma Mia! at Shea's February - 15, 2009

ACUI Region 2 Billiard Tournament - February 21, 2009

Syracuse Orange Basketball - February 22, 2009

Upcoming Events

College Union & Activities Mission Statement

The Department of College Union & Activities at SUNY Geneseo strives to pro-mote learning by providing an innovative, diverse, educational, and engaging cocurricular experience for students. The department achieves this through its contribution of welcoming events and activities, specialty trips, late night events and activities, and distinctive daytime programming.

The Department of College Union & Activities manages the operations of the MacVittie College Union, which serves as the community center for the College, as well as the Knight Spot, a versatile space dedicated primarily for student or-ganization use. The department provides support and guidance to the numerous student clubs and organizations on campus and works collaboratively with stu-dents, staff, faculty, and the community to contribute to the Geneseo mission.

SUNY Geneseo College Union & Activities CU 321 1 College Circle Geneseo, NY 14454

College Union & Activities Vision Statement The Department of College Union and Activities aspires to continually improve its facilities, resources, and programs to meet the needs of the College community and to advance student learning.