Items tagged with 'Siena College'
Look up in the sky, it's a bird, it's a plane, it's a minotaur and a firefly
Take me where I cannot stand: Launching in Virginia, (probably) visible from upstate New York.
A rocket is scheduled to launch into space from a spaceport in Virginia this evening, sometime between 7:30-9:15 pm. Two local things about the launch of this Minotaur I rocket:
We should be able to see it
The rocket launch "will be HIGHLY visible on the east coast," according to NASA, as long as there isn't too much cloud cover. Here's info on how to spot the rocket -- it boils down to look the south/southeast about 90 seconds after launch. As you face that direction, the rocket will be arcing from right to left, south to east, about 10 degrees over the horizon.
A tiny satellite from Siena College will be aboard
Part of the payload for the Air Force rocket: a "nanosatellite" called Firefly built in part by Siena students. From a press release:
The development of Firefly was a joint venture between Siena College, the National Science Foundation, which is the funding agency, and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. The small satellite, which is about the size of a football, was built in part by Siena College students, faculty and engineers. Firefly is designed to help solve the mysteries of lightning. It is the second in a series of National Science Foundation-funded nanosatellites. Small, inexpensive satellites show great promise for focused science as well as enabling new kinds of discovery. ...
Siena fires its basketball coach
Siena College announced today that it has "relieved" men's basketball head coach Mitch Buonaguro of his duties. From the press release:
"I'd like to thank Mitch for his dedication and commitment to Siena basketball the last eight years," director of athletics John D'Argenio said. "This change isn't being made for lack of effort. Basketball is important in the strategic direction of Siena. We have high expectations and aspirations for this program."
This move wasn't unexpected. The Saints were 8-24 this year, and 35-59 in Buonaguro's three years as head coach.
The last few years were a tough pill to take after the tenure of Siena's previous coach, Fran McCaffrey. The Saints won almost 70 percent of their games during McCaffrey's five seasons -- with NCAA tournament appearances, big upsets, and some of the program's best-ever players. Buonaguro was an assistant under McCaffrey. And when McCaffrey left to become head coach at Iowa, players lobbied for Buonaguro -- who, by all accounts, is a very likable guy -- to get the top job.
Siena says a national search is under way. It's an attractive job. Siena has some of the best facilities in its conference. And if you win, the job can launch a coach to a big program. And if you don't win...
Catholic 7/Big East: There had recently been some talk about Siena potentially (as a long shot) being in the mix for the new Big East -- the conference being formed by the "Catholic 7" schools leaving the collapsing conference (they're taking the name with them). That talk has died down as the new conference rounds out with Xavier, Butler, and Creighton -- as well as probably Dayton and St. Louis. [Washington Post] [Newark Star-Ledger]
Earlier on AOA: Even with home court advantage, Siena to the "Catholic 7" seems like a long shot
photo: Siena College athletics
Even with home court advantage, Siena to the "Catholic 7" seems like a long shot
Attractive because of its ample... seating.
Surprising bit from a recent John Feinstein report in the Washington Post about plans for the new college basketball conference being formed by the seven Catholic schools exiting the crumbling Big East: Siena is in the conversation for the new conference. From the article:
The conference leaders want six eastern and six western -- really, midwestern -- schools. The eastern division of the league will consist of Georgetown, St. John's, Seton Hall, Villanova, Providence and either Richmond (also a non-Catholic school) or Siena -- a late entry but a potentially appealing one because it's a Catholic school that (more importantly) plays in a 15,500-seat arena in Albany, N.Y.
Being picked for your gym probably isn't the reason most schools hope they'll draw suitors -- though, hey, if you got it, flaunt it. Also: it's nice to be considered.
But Siena's athletic director has already poured cold water on the speculation. [TU]
And that's not surprising, because the move would be a stretch, for a few reasons...
This just in: college continues to be expensive
The website Campus Grotto recently released its annual list of the 100 most expensive colleges -- and, as in years past, RPI, Union, and Skidmore are on the list (table above).
Both Union and Skidmore have been sliding down the list over the last few years. For 2008-2009, they were both in the top 20.
Other schools in the greater region that also made this year's list: Bard College (#10, $57,580) Bennington College (#27, $56,990), Williams College (#33, $56,770).
Of course, these totals are like the list price on a car -- not everyone ends up paying that. In fact, at a lot of schools, very few students end up paying full price because of scholarships, grants, and other financial aid.
Campus Grotto notes this school year marks a new era -- for the first time a school's total cost has exceeded $60,000. Sarah Lawrence -- #1 on the total cost chart again -- checks in at $61,236.
St. Rose, Siena, Sage, and UAlbany did not make the top 100 list. Their 2012-2013 total cost figures are post jump.
Capital Region college president compensation
UAlbany's uptown campus.
When it was announced last week that Robert Jones will become the next UAlbany president, there were a few eyebrows raised about his compensation -- he'll receive a total of $555,000. That includes salary, money from the Research Foundation, and a housing allowance.
That's a lot, no matter what job you're doing. And given that the SUNY system has faced budget cuts recently, it's understandable that the figure would catch attention.
But is it too high? That's a hard question. And people are going to have different answers based on their own perspectives.
To get some context, we pulled data about presidential compensation at UAlbany, RPI, Union, Skidmore, St. Rose, Siena, and the Sage Colleges -- and broke it down to see how it compares across multiple categories.
Here's the result...
Eight commencement speeches in eight lines
Mark Sullivan sang during his St. Rose commencement speech. Twice.
We're just about finished with commencement season here in the Capital Region. Pomp. Circumstance. Advice.
Here are eight commencement speech in eight lines (or thereabout):
RPI's Jackson stays in top 10 for private college president compensation
RPI president Shirley Ann Jackson's salary is the 7th highest in the nation among private college presidents, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education's annual salary rankings. The Chronicle reports Jackson's 2009 total compensation was $1,771,877, up 7 percent from the year before.
The average professor at RPI gets almost $154k/year in compensation, according to the Chronicle -- giving RPI an 11.5/1 president to professor pay ratio. (A few quick comparisons: the ratio is 4.7/1 at MIT, and 3.7/1 at Cal Tech.)
Said RPI's VP of strategic communications and external relations to the TU about Jackson's salary: "[it is] a reflection of her extraordinary accomplishments, and of the desire of the Board of Trustees to have her continue the comprehensive transformation at Rensselaer."
Jackson topped the Chronicle's chart for the 2007-2008 academic year with reported total compensation of $1,598,247. In March 2009, the school announced she was giving 5 percent of her salary to a student scholarship fund.
There have been a lot of impressive developments at RPI during Jackson's tenure. But there also has been what seems like a not insignificant amount of discontent. The most recent sign was a student senate resolution calling for Jackson's removal if "significant changes" aren't made at the school. And a group calling itself the "Alliance for Responsible Governance" has also been pushing for change. [RPI] [Reddit RPI]
The Chronicle also lists compensation for other local private colleges. Those are after the jump.
What are Siena's chances?
Woof!
Siena plays the Ohio State in the first round of the NCAA basketball tournament Friday night (around 9:40 pm, though probably later).
The Buckeyes and the Saints are seeded #8 and #9 respectively in their bracket. Theoretically, 8/9 games are the most evenly matched games of the first round.
So what are Siena's chances of winning? It depends on how you look at it.
Siena's number is 9
Ronald Moore and the Saints are headed to Ohio.
Siena's men's basketball team got a #9 seed in the NCAA tournament. The Saints will play #8 seed Ohio State in Dayton, Ohio on Friday.
That #9 seed is a remarkably high seeding for a team from Siena's conference -- and it's the highest seed the team has gotten in its five trips to the tournament. But in a weird way, it's a tough draw for the Saints. If they're able to beat OSU (which is very possible), they'll almost certainly face #1 seed Louisville in the second round. Not only is Louiville a one seed, it's also the highest seeded team in the whole tournament.
The Saints are scheduled to tip off their first round game around 9:40 Friday night.
photo: MAAC Sports
DA says scratched car prompted bombing, new rail plan for state, Siena's going to the NCAA Tournament, Breslin warns of budget deficit, big plans for Troy Proctors
A Schenectady County judge denied bail yesterday for Steven Raucci, the school district employee accused of arson and terrorism. In arguing against bail, the Schenectady DA said Raucci bombed a person's car after the man scratched Raucci's car in a parking lot. The DA says Raucci has continued to make threats since being taken into custody. [TU] [Daily Gazette]
Underground explosions blasted four manhole covers off the ground yesterday afternoon in downtown Albany. National Grid says burning cables may have caused a build up of gases. Power near the site of the explosions will be shut off as investigators try to figure out what happened. [AOA] [TU] [CapNews9]
David Paterson and seemingly every other upstate elected official were at the Rensselaer train station yesterday to announce a new state rail plan. State officials hope the plan will increase New York's chances of scoring federal stimulus money for rail projects. As part of the plan, officials would like to spend $3 billion on somewhat higher speed rail service throughout the state. [TU] [AP/Troy Record] [Daily Gazette]
As David Paterson announced that he's freezing the pay of some 160 of aides, it came out that he just re-hired his recently fired top aide for $170,000. [Newsday] [NY Post]
The Albany Common Council chose not to issue subpoenas last night after the heads of the unions that represent Albany police officers chose not to testify under oath as part of the investigation in the ghost ticket scandal. The council has gotten 5,000 documents from the APD as part of the investigation. [TU] [CapNews9] [Fox23]
The Siena men's basketball team is going to the NCAA tournament. The Saints beat Niagara 77-70 last night in the MAAC Tournament final. Kenny Hasbrouck, playing with an injured calf, led Siena with 19 points. The tournament set a conference record for attendance, drawing almost 51,000. [Daily Gazette] [Troy Record]
Siena thisclose to the NCAA tournament
Siena point guard Ronald Moore
The Siena men's basketball team is playing for a spot in the NCAA tournament tonight in the MAAC final at the TU Center. The Saints, who won the regular season MAAC title, take on Niagara, which was the regular season runner up.
If you want to see some genuinely happy people, watch the game tonight on ESPN2 (it starts at 9 pm). For "mid-major" schools such as Siena, winning the conference tournament and going to the NCAA tournament is like winning the Super Bowl.
Siena's had a great season and it's the favorite tonight. Here are a few subplots for tonight's game:
Look out for the Saints
Sports Illustrated's Seth Davis on Siena's basketball team:
Siena may have fallen off the radar after the Saints lost all three of their games at the Old Spice Classic in Orlando in November, but now they have won 12 of their last 13, they're undefeated in the MAAC and they're ranked 20th in the RPI. No team will want to see its name pop up next to Siena's on Selection Sunday.
For the Saints to get a spot on Selection Sunday, they'll probably still have to win the MAAC tournament (even with that RPI ranking, an at-large bid will be hard to snag). It starts March 5 at the TU Center here in Albany.
Sudhir Venkatesh at Siena
Sudhir Venkatesh
Here's something interesting for Wednesday evening: Sudhir Venaktesh will be speaking at Siena.
Sudwho? Venkatesh is a sociologist who's done some interesting work about inner cities. His most recent book, Gang Leader for a Day, is about what he learned after embedding himself in a Chicago neighborhood the cops said was "too dangerous" for them. From a blurb:
In Hollywood-speak, Gang Leader for a Day is The Wire meets Harvard University. It's a brazen, page turning, and fundamentally honest view into the morally ambiguous, highly intricate, often corrupt struggle to survive in what is tantamount to an urban war zone. It is also the story of a complicated friendship between Sudhir and JT-two young and ambitious men a universe apart.
He's also studied the economics of inner cities.
Here's Venkatesh on NPR and talking with Stephen Colbert.
Venkatesh's talk starts at 7:30 pm in Siena's Key Auditorium. It's free.
photo: Sudhir Venkatesh
Contagious drama in Albany
Siblings John and Maeve McEneny. He's a playwright. She's a director.
It killed more people than WWI or the Black Plague, and it was rampant here in Albany.
And the mark it made affected generations in ways they probably didn't understand.
Still, who writes a play about the flu?
John McEneny, that's who.
No, not that John McEneny -- though he did work on it.
Interior design studies
We're guessing that Lauren Johnson's "alcove" at Siena is the space to beat in the TU's Best Dressed Dorm competition. Her space is so small it's amazing she can even turn around in there (and forget about dancing about like in that Target commercial.)
photo: Lauren Johnson / OTE
State budget, emailing clerk quits, something might stink, study abroad investigation
Eliot Spitzer proposed a $124 billion state budget, a little more than 5 percent increase over last year. Reaction ranges from "too much" (Bruno) to "generally pleased" (Silver). [TU]
That Schenectady city hall clerk who sent the nasty email to the mother of the child who died in a bike accident has resigned. [AP/CBS6]
The city of Mechanicville is threatening to cut off its own school district's sewer line. Apparently the city has wanted to inspect the school's sewer line for overflow problems, but the school has been unresponsive. [Record]
The New York State AG's office has subpoenaed Siena College as part of a larger investigation of a study-abroad business. It seems Andrew Cuomo's office thinks the relationship between the company and schools might present a conflict of interest. The investigation is focusing on more than a dozen schools, including Cornell and Harvard. [TU]
... said KGB about Drawing: What's something that brought you joy this year?