Union College: Difference between revisions
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Revision as of 22:29, 28 May 2009
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Motto | Sous les lois de Minèrve nous devenons tous frères (French: “We all become brothers under the laws of Minerva”) |
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Type | Private |
Established | 1795 |
Endowment | $378,737,000 |
President | Stephen C. Ainlay |
Academic staff | 209 |
Undergraduates | 2,200 |
Location | , , |
Campus | Urban |
Mascot | Dutchmen/Dutchwomen |
Website | Union.edu |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b8/NottMemorialPano.jpg/220px-NottMemorialPano.jpg)
Union College is a private, non-denominational liberal arts college located in Schenectady, New York. Founded in 1795, Union became the first college chartered by the Regents of the State of New York.[1]
Today, Union is rated among elite liberal arts colleges in the United States.[2] Number 40 in the 2008 U.S. News & World Report ranking, Union offers programs encompassing both liberal arts and sciences. Nearly fifty percent of its 2,200 students are enrolled in science or engineering. The current student body is almost evenly split between males and females, reflecting continuing changes in the composition of the student body since the College became coeducational in 1970. A founding member of NESCAC (before withdrawing in 1982), Union fields Division III teams in the majority of its sports.
Known as the "Mother of Fraternities", Union spawned the first three Greek letter societies in America.
History
Officially chartered in 1795, the college can trace its beginnings to 1779. Certain that British General Burgoyne's defeat at the Battle of Saratoga two years before would mean a new nation, several hundred residents of northern New York began the first popular demand for higher education in America. Local academic and clerical activists persisted in these efforts for sixteen years until the Regents of the State of New York recognized the school with the state's first charter. For its initial seventy-five years, Union was regarded as being among the top handful of colleges in America.[1] The College experienced some financial and other related difficulties in the late nineteenth century, but by 1900 it had regained its status as one of the nation's premier institutions of higher education. This was due in large part to the skilled leadership of Andrew Van Vranken Raymond (Class of 1875), who was president of the College from 1894 to 1907.
Union also has a rich history of alumni in politics.[3] United States Presidents Chester A. Arthur, Jimmy Carter, seven cabinet secretaries, fifteen United States Senators, ninety-one members of the House of Representatives, thirteen governors, fifty important diplomats, more than 200 judges, forty missionaries, sixteen generals, and ninety college presidents, including the first presidents of the University of Illinois, the University of Iowa, the University of Michigan, Smith College, and Elmira College, all studied at Union College. Fellow graduates William H. Seward, well-known for his once-controversial purchase of Alaska, and Robert Toombs served simultaneously as Secretaries of State; Seward for the United States and Toombs the Confederate States of America.[1] Portraits of both currently hang side-by-side in the President’s House.
Greek life
Union College is referred to as the "Mother of Fraternities" because many fraternities, including the first three in America, as well as three other national organizations, were founded there. More fraternities have been founded at Union than anywhere else. The Union Triad is a name given to the first three Greek letter social fraternities with a continuing record founded in America. They were the Kappa Alpha Society (1825) (the oldest fraternity in the nation), the Sigma Phi Society(the first to start a second chapter at another college) (1827) and Delta Phi (1827). The Sigma Phi is the only one remaining on campus, making it the oldest fraternity chapter in the nation. Approximately one-third of Union students choose to be a part of Greek life on campus. Nine fraternities that are part of the Inter-Fraternal Council on campus: Alpha Delta Phi (AD), Alpha Epsilon Pi (AEPi),Chi Psi, (XY), Delta Kappa Epsilon (DKE), Phi Delta Theta (Phi Delt), Psi Upsilon (Psi U), Sigma Chi (Sig Chi), Sigma Phi (Sig Phi), and Theta Delta Chi (TDX).
The sororities on campus are part of the Panhellenic Council, Delta Delta Delta (Tri Delt), Gamma Phi Beta (Gamma Phi), and Sigma Delta Tau (SDT). The Multicultural Greek Council is the governing body of five other Greek institutions: Alpha Phi Alpha, Phi Iota Alpha, Omega Phi Beta, Iota Phi Theta, and Lambda Pi Chi.
Minerva House System
One unique and distinctive part of campus life at Union is the Minerva houses. In recent years many Greek chapter houses on campus were taken over by the College to create the Minerva House system ([1]), named for the Roman goddess of wisdom who appears on the college's shield. All incoming freshman are randomly placed in a Minerva House. Upperclassmen also have the option of living in their Minerva. The seven Minerva Houses are Beuth House, Blue House, Breazzano House, Golub House, Green House, Sorum House, and Wold House.
Theme houses
As of September 2008, Union College has thirteen theme houses which are residential institutions each built around a specific theme. The houses are expected to contribute to the campus and local communities in ways directly related to their theme. Theme House Consortium (THC) is the over seeing body of all themes. THC meets weekly to discuss issues and release funds.
Sustainability and the environment
Union College is committed to decreasing the impact that the campus community has on the environment ([2]). A number of efforts are aimed at operating in a sustainable way, and the primary group that coordinates activities is U-Sustain ([3]). President Stephen Ainlay has signed the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment ([4]), which sets Union College on the path toward documenting our current carbon emissions, followed by subsequent targets to reduce our emissions toward the ultimate goal of carbon neutrality. As a first step, the Student Forum ([5]) and the College Administration has committed the funds to purchase a fraction of the electricity use from pollution-free sources. The College has an aggressive recycling program, they generate solar power from PV panels, and faculty and students are actively engaged in determining the carbon footprint of the college and how to reduce it. An innovative program by food service has increased local and organic dining options including Ozone Café and there is new organic kiosk in Reamer Center. Finally, students can opt for eco-friendly apartments at 712 Roger Hull Place.
The Environmental Science and Policy Program ([6]) is the largest interdepartmental program at Union. The ESP curriculum provides a solid grounding in modern environmental issues, including science, technology, public policy, and economics. The program is designed for students with an interest in understanding and solving environmental problems, and courses provide students the opportunity to explore areas of environmental policy, environmental science, and environmental engineering. The program builds a solid foundation that then allows student entry to diverse fields such as environmental science or environmental management in the public and private sectors, education, business, politics, and law. A unique aspect of the program is that the curriculum is designed around the intersection of Engineering with the Sciences and Social Sciences. This means that some of the courses taken by Environmental Science students are taught by engineers, so these students learn about Engineering Solutions. The integration of engineering into the courses and curriculum is unique in a small liberal arts setting.
Athletics
Union competes in the Liberty League for all sports except Ice Hockey where the Men's and Women's Teams are both members of ECAC Hockey at the Division I level. Football is usually quite strong and maintains a long standing rivalry with RPI. Each Season the two schools compete for the Dutchman's Shoes. Additionally, the Men's Ice Hockey also has a strong rivalry with RPI. Union is also home to strong Women's Lacrosse, Soccer and Softball teams which are usually nationally ranked. The school also offers a number of club sports ([7]) supported by Student Activities, including Ultimate, Rugby, Ice Hockey, Cycling, Kendo, Ballroom Dancing, Curling, and Bowling.
Union University
Union College, Albany College of Pharmacy, Albany Law School, Albany Medical College, Dudley Observatory, and Graduate College of Union University together form Union University, a historic linkage dating back to 1873 for graduate programs. Each member institution has its own governing board, is fiscally independent and is responsible for its own programs. [4]
Notable professors, alumni, and students
- Neil Abercrombie (born 1938), Class of 1959, politician, US House of Representatives (Democrat, Hawaii, 1st District), 1986-87, 1991-Present
- David Anderson (1937-97), Class of 1958, Scottish-born US diplomat, ambassador to Yugoslavia, 1981-85[5]
- Chester A. Arthur (1829-86), Class of 1848, New York state politician, 21st President of the United States, 1881-85
- Andrea Barrett (born 1954), Class of 1974, writer, National Book Award winner
- Stephen Berk, Professor of History at Union College, 1967-Present, renowned lecturer in the areas of Russian, Middle Eastern, and Jewish studies
- John Bigelow (1817-1911), Class of 1835, US diplomat in France during the US Civil War, key figure in preventing French recognition of the Confederate States of America[6]
- Baruch S. Blumberg (born 1925), Class of 1945, Nobel Laureate in Medicine, 1976
- Daniel Butterfield (1831-1901), Class of 1849, Union general in the US Civil War
- Bill Carmody (born 1951), Class of 1975, current Northwestern University men's head basketball coach (2000–Current), former assistant (1982-1996) and head men's basketball coach at Princeton University (1996-2000)
- Jimmy Carter (born 1924), 39th President of the United States, 1977-81. While pursuing the qualifications to command the Navy's first generation of nuclear submarines, then-Lieutenant Carter studied atomic physics through an extension program the College offered to officers detached to the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission's Division of Reactor Development, Schenectady laboratory
- Augustus W. Cowles (1819-1913), Class of 1841, educator and first president of Elmira College (NY)
- Amos Dean (1803-68), Class of 1826, first president of the University of Iowa, 1855-59[7]
- Vic Fazio (born 1942), Class of 1965, politician, US House of Representatives (Democrat, California, 3rd District), 1979-99
- Raymond Gilmartin (born 1941), Class of 1963, businessman, former Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Merck & Co., Inc.
- Gordon Gould (1920-2005), Class of 1941, inventor of the laser
- John Milton Gregory (1822-98), Class of 1846, first president of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1867-80
- Edward Everett Hale, Jr. (1863-1932), Professor at Union College, 1895-1932; son of the writer Edward Everett Hale and descendant of Nathan Hale
- Ira Harris (1802-75), Class of 1824, politician, US Senator (New York), 1861-67
- Murad Wilfried Hofmann (born 1931), student at Union College in the early 1950s; German diplomat, former ambassador to Morocco and Algeria; converted to Islam in 1980[8]
- Robert Holland, Jr. (born 1940), Class of 1962, former CEO of Ben and Jerry's ice cream company
- Alan Horn (born 1943[9]), Class of 1964, President and CEO, Warner Brothers; co-founder, Castle Rock Entertainment; producer (“Seinfeld,” “When Harry Met Sally,” “City Slickers,” “A Few Good Men,” “Shawshank Redemption,” “The Green Mile,” “The Bucket List”)[10]
- Martin Jay (born 1944), Class of 1965, Professor of History, University of California at Berkeley
- Charles Jones Jenkins (1805-83), Class of 1824, Democratic politician, Governor of Georgia during Reconstruction, 1865-68
- Leonard Jerome (1817-1891), Class of 1840, New York entrepreneur and grandfather of Sir Winston Churchill.
- Randy Kuhl (born 1943), Class of 1966, politician, US House of Representatives (Republican, New York, 29th District, 2005-09)
- Neil A. Lewis, Class of 1968, New York Times journalist
- Fitz Hugh Ludlow (1836-70), 19th century author and explorer, author of the renowned "The Hashish Eater" (1857) and the college Alma Mater: "Ode to Old Union."
- James W. Morley (born 1921), Professor at Union College from 1948-55; pioneer in the teaching of modern East Asian studies at the College; later became a leading scholar of East Asian studies and political science at Columbia University, where he taught until 1991; mentor to many prominent Japan specialists, including Gerald Curtis
- Julius Sterling Morton (1832-1902), Class of 1854, though it is not certain if he graduated from Union College, the University of Michigan, or possibly both[11]; US Secretary of Agriculture, 1893-97, founder of Arbor Day
- Frank Mountain (1860-1939), one of only two Union College students known to have played Major League baseball[12]; won 58 games as a pitcher from 1880-1886 in the National League and the American Association
- Herman W. Nickel (born 1928), Class of 1951, German-born US journalist for Time magazine, diplomat; US Ambassador to South Africa, 1982-86[13]
- Eliphalet Nott (1773-1866), 19th century Presbyterian minister, inventor, educational pioneer, and president of the College for sixty-two years (1804-1866); namesake of the Nott Memorial.
- Amasa J. Parker (1807-90), Class of 1825, 19th century Congressman and justice of the New York State Supreme Court, one of the founders of Albany Law School
- Amasa J. Parker, Jr. (1843-1938), Class of 1866, New York State Senator, lawyer, and author of numerous books and articles on law.
- Robert Porter Patterson (1891-1952), Class of 1912, US government official, key figure in mobilization of US armed forces during World War II, US Secretary of War, 1945-47
- Alexander Hamilton Rice (1818-95), Class of 1844, Republican politician, Mayor of Boston (1856-57), US House of Representatives (1859-67), Governor of Massachusetts (1876-79)
- Phil Alden Robinson (born 1950), Class of 1971, screenwriter and director of Field of Dreams and other films.
- James Roosevelt, Sr. (1828-1900), Class of 1847, businessman, father of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt
- Edmund Sears (1810-76), Class of 1834, Unitarian parish minister and writer of "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear"
- Laurenus Clark Seelye (1837-1924), Class of 1857, educator and first president of Smith College (MA), 1873-1910[14]
- William H. Seward (1801-72), Class of 1820, Governor of New York, U.S. Secretary of State from 1861 to 1869, key figure in the US purchase of Alaska from Russia
- Scott Siegler (born 1947), Class of 1969, President, Columbia Pictures Television, TriStar Pictures Television and Granada Entertainment [15]
- Howard Simons (1929-89), Class of 1951, journalist, managing editor of The Washington Post at the time of the Watergate Scandal (1972)
- Charles Steinmetz (1865-1923), Professor at Union College, 1902-23, ground-breaking late 19th-early 20th century mathemetician and electrical engineer, holder of over 200 patents.
- Henry Philip Tappan (1805-81), Class of 1825, first official president of the University of Michigan, 1852-63
- James Tedisco (born 1950), Republican politician, New York State Assemblyman (1982–present), NY State Assembly Minority Leader (2005-2009)
- Rawson Marshall Thurber (born 1975), Class of 1997, film director
- Robert Toombs (1810-85), Class of 1828, Georgia politician who served in the US House and Senate from 1844-61; 1st Secretary of State of the Confederacy, February-July 1861
- Lee Tracy (1898-1968), studied at Union College around 1918, World War I veteran; noted character actor who appeared in Dinner at Eight (1933), The Best Man (1964), many other films
- Andrew Van Vranken Raymond (1854-1918), Class of 1875, president of Union College, 1894-1907; key figure in reviving the College's fortunes after a period of difficulty
- David Viniar (born 1954), Class of 1976, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Goldman Sachs, 1999-Present
- Mark S. Watson (1887-1966), Class of 1908, war correspondent for The Baltimore Sun, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting, 1945
- George Westinghouse (1846-1914), founder of Westinghouse Electric Corporation, studied briefly at Union College in 1865, following the end of the US Civil War[16]
- Kate White (born 1950), Class of 1972, Editor-in-Chief, Cosmopolitan Magazine, 1998-Present
- John S. Wold (born 1916), Class of 1938, geologist, businessman, politician, US House of Representatives (Republican, Wyoming), 1969-71
- Leonard Woods (1807-78), Class of 1827, fourth president of Bowdoin College, 1839-66
- Joseph Christopher Yates (1768-1837), founding trustee of Union College, American lawyer, statesman and politician, served successively as Mayor of Schenectady (1798), State Senator (1805), State Supreme Court Justice (1808), and seventh Governor of New York (1823–1824); is also the namesake of Yates County, New York.
- Steven Zaloga (born 1952), Class of 1973, historian, author of numerous books, expert on military technology
Gallery
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Interior of the Nott Memorial
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Schaffer Library
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Admission Building
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Memorial Chapel
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F.W. Olin Center and Science and Engineering Center
References
- ^ a b c "About Union: About Union College". Union College. Retrieved 2009-04-02.
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(help) - ^ "America's Best Colleges: Union College". U.S.News & World Report. Retrieved 2008-06-04.
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(help) - ^ "Special Collections: Union Notables". Union College Schaffer Library. Retrieved 2009-04-02.
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(help) - ^ "Union University". Union College. Retrieved 2009-04-03.
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(help) - ^ http://www.nytimes.com/1997/07/09/world/david-anderson-60-ex-envoy-to-belgrade.html
- ^ http://www.answers.com/topic/john-bigelow
- ^ http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/spec-coll/archives/guides/RG05/RG05.01.01.htm
- ^ http://www.islamreligion.com/articles/124/
- ^ http://www.variety.com/profiles/people/main/42683/Alan%20F.%20Horn.html?dataSet=1
- ^ http://www.union.edu/Alumni/News/great_grads.php
- ^ http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9902E6D61230E733A2575BC2A9629C946397D6CF
- ^ http://www.baseball-reference.com/schools/unionny.shtml
- ^ http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1079/is_v85/ai_3956327/
- ^ http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Seelye-L.html
- ^ http://www.union.edu/Alumni/News/great_grads.php
- ^ http://www.pabook.libraries.psu.edu/palitmap/bios/Westinghouse__George.html