May 2004 Board Report

Board Report: May 2004

by Stephen J. Ciesinski '70, Chairman, Board of Trustees

Dear Friends of Union:

Our spring meeting of the Board of Trustees again coincided with Reunion Weekend -- and once again, we were privileged to be able to combine the College's business with the fun of getting together with many old friends. It was a wonderful weekend. Convocation in Memorial Chapel is my favorite event, because we all experience the tradition of new graduates receiving a congratulatory handshake from those who are here celebrating their 50th graduation anniversary.

We spent quite a bit of time on academic and student affairs over the course of our meetings. We first heard from Vice President Dan Lundquist on the success the Admissions Office has had with the Class of 2008. Average GPA and board scores continue to be up from the previous year, and the class is otherwise outstanding.

We also were treated with two presentations over lunch from two students who briefed us on their Steinmetz Symposium research projects. It's great to see how nationally acclaimed the Steinmetz Symposium has become, and our presenters were suitably impressive.

We heard from the committee assigned to improve upon the current trimester system curriculum, since we have had very few major changes in quite a while and it's the trustees' desire to capitalize better on the school calendar. The committee members shared ideas that they were discussing on pedagogical issues and heard reactions from many trustees.

Finally, the Board also heard an energetic presentation from Professor Doug Klein, director of the Center for Converging Technology, on the amazing work that has been accomplished in the Converging Technologies initiative. We have so many cross-departmental studies emerging on campus that we are now being visited by other institutions to learn how they can implement what we are already doing. Quite a compliment to CT!

Vice President of Academic Affairs Christie Sorum reported favorably on two important student-related initiatives -- student advising and student retention. Based on feedback from past graduating seniors, we have made a number of changes in the College's advising system, such as improving the way we connect advisees with faculty in their departments.

On student retention, Christie reported that a new position has been created called the Director for Student Support Services. The position will focus on identifying students with a high risk of encountering academic difficulties, either because they have a history of poor grades (students on Academic Warning) or because faculty report a significant number of absences or otherwise poor performance. The position's focus will be to get the proper attention to reverse the problem. While few students encounter this issue, we want to be "first responders" to those who encounter academic difficulties.

The campus' Alcohol Task Force has been exploring ways to offer improved monitoring of formally sanctioned parties, seeking, among other things, to provide ample food supplies and non-alcoholic beverages, and seek a healthy and moderate atmosphere among those students of age who are eligible to drink legally on campus. The ban on hard liquor at such events will remain in place and will be strictly enforced. The Task Force's first policy announcement was the implementation, at the behest of President Hull, of a "Good Samaritan" policy encouraging students to report any potentially dangerous cases of intoxication without being concerned about disciplinary consequences at such a time. Incidentally, the policy refers to isolated incidents only and does not protect any who flagrantly and repeatedly violate the College's alcohol policy.

There is good news to report on the Minerva Houses. The former Psi Upsilon building will become known as Beuth House, thanks to the generosity of Trustee (and former Psi U member) Phil Beuth '54. Beuth House joins Golub House and Wold House as named houses, and we anticipate announcing more names in the next few months.

Elections for house governance positions were held recently, and I'm pleased to report that all seven houses have both students and faculty in leadership positions. Construction is also proceeding well. Renovations to North College are on schedule for completion in mid-July, and the renovations in the Chi Psi and Psi Upsilon buildings are on schedule for completion in mid-June. Renovations to the Sigma Phi building will begin in July of 2004. The Inn at College Park (the former Ramada Inn) will open this fall, and it proved to be a high priority housing option in the spring housing lottery. Their choices show that the Inn has already been accepted as a high-quality housing option, and that students and staff alike are excited about the interior design scheme.

Two new Theme Houses have been authorized by the Student Affairs Council: Bon Appetit House is organized around the concept of high quality student-prepared food dishes, while Ozone House seeks to promote environmental awareness among students, faculty, and staff.

The Board was gratified to hear about the many ways our students are involved in helping the local community. Efforts include the Relay for Life (a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society), a fashion show of support, Derby Days, T-shirt sales with proceeds to charity, UCare Day (an event that brings local children to Union for fun and feats of skill), canned food drives, and several more. The Harlem Wizards drew 500 people from campus and the community as a joint effort among Big Brothers-Big Sisters, College Relations, Dining Services, and the Athletic Department, funded by Student Activities.

The Kenney Center continues to provide a wide array of programs for the local community:

In the Homework Program, approximately 20-30 Union student volunteers serve as tutors for 20 third and fourth graders for 15-20 hours a week.
In the America Reads Program, two student program coordinators and 15-20 volunteers provide one-on-one tutoring for some 20 youth ages 5-12.
The Girls Inc. Science Program, supported by Union volunteers, is offered one day per week for girls in grades 4-6. Ten girls participate in interesting and time-consuming projects.
Studying Arithmetic in Literature (SAIL) Program involves three elementary schools, with 35-50 Union volunteers tutoring 62 third and fourth graders in reading and math.
The Science and Technology Entry Program (STEP) provides after-school tutoring and Saturday workshops for 30 middle and high school students.
Big Brothers-Big Sisters, our biggest student program, provides mentors for at-risk youth and includes an eight-week day camp with activities for youngsters.
The Obenzinger Scholars Program offers a premedical student the opportunity to develop programs related to the health and welfare of our community. This year the student coordinated with volunteers the following programs: STD awareness health fair, HIV testing and counseling workshop, breast cancer informational health fair.
In Las Mariposas, sponsored by ALAS student group. Union students volunteer to work with bilingual youngsters whose first language is Spanish.
UCARE, a student volunteer outreach group, assists individual students and student groups in identifying volunteer opportunities in the community. Projects include tutoring at the public library, volunteering at the Northeast Parent and Child Society, volunteering at Schenectady 2000, planting trees for Re-Tree Schenectady, and assisting in after-school programs at Hamilton Arts Center.

As usual, we had a full round of committee meetings. Here are a few additional highlights:

FACILITIES AND ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE

The second phase of the improvements to Frank Messa Rink at Achilles Center, which includes the creation of new locker rooms, showers, a general-purpose

room, and enlargement/renovations to the sports medicine area in the lower level, is complete. The women's hockey ECAC final four was held at Achilles Center and was a huge success, using the newly-renovated facilities. The David A. Viniar Basketball Pavilion project is on schedule for completion in September of 2004.

ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE COMMITTEE

Having incorporated the cost containment measures recommended by committees formed during the 2002-2003 fiscal year, attention has turned to examining some of the principles that we view as critical to maintaining the College's ability to recruit quality students, faculty, and staff and its reputation as a top liberal arts institution. The Planning and Priorities Committee is examining the College's commitment to our faculty-student ratio, as well as financial aid, terms abroad and student undergraduate research, facilities/deferred maintenance, and salary increases/employee benefits.

COLLEGE RELATIONS

Through March 31, 2004, Union had received $7,557,581 in private support, up $1,055,507, or 16 percent, over the same period last year, and we have over $15 million in outstanding or pending gift requests that should be decided by June 30. The Union Fund was ahead of last year's figures by 505 alumni donors and $251,000, putting us in a great position to achieve our goals of 40 percent participation and $3.9 million.

Our work with current students has expanded to include freshmen, sophomores, and juniors in addition to the senior class. Each class has an active committee educating and soliciting their classmates about the need and benefit of giving back to Union. This new program is designed to instill class pride, a sense of philanthropy, and a stronger connection to Union among undergraduates so that they will continue to give to Union after they graduate, increasing both our young alumni participation rate and our young alumni volunteer numbers.

In the winter and spring, we held alumni events in Boston, Minneapolis, New York City, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Schenectady, Seattle, Washington D.C., and London, to name a few. By the end of June, nearly 70 events will have been sponsored with more than 6,000 alumni, family, and friends participating.

INVESTMENT COMMITTEE MEETING

The performance of the endowment continues to show excellent results. We are now comfortably positioned in the top 25th percentile of peer institutions for both the last year and the last three years. The Investment Committee is satisfied with how our portfolio is balanced and with the individual managers we are using. We hope that the alumni and other gift-givers are now feeling that they are getting a strong ROI on the gifts they provide.

TRUSTEE NEWS

In news about the trustees, I'm very pleased to announce that Trustee Bob DeMichele '66, who has done such a wonderful job as chair of our Investment

Committee, was named a Life Trustee -- a well-deserved honor for his unique contributions to the Board. Trustees Estelle Cooke-Sampson '74, Robert F. Cummings, Jr. '71, William J. Curtin '82, Christine I. Reilly '75, and David A. Viniar '76 were all reelected to four-year terms, and we said farewell to outgoing Trustees Phil Beuth '54, Gerald Barandes '54, Paul Wintrich '60, and Student Trustee Matt Gerien '04.

I have said repeatedly that the College is in excellent condition overall. In many respects, we are really "over-achievers," in that we get by far the most out of our resources when compared to our competition. Our biggest challenge to even better performance is to increase our endowment materially, and we plan to unveil a program for this initiative at Homecoming weekend next fall. I hope you will all join us then, as it promises to be an event you won't want to miss.

Steve Ciesinski '70
Chairman, Board of Trustees

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About Union Mission Statement History of Union Office of the President Board of Trustees Presidents of Union College Union Notables Exhibit Traditions of Union What to do AroundU? The Union Campus Great Grads of Union	Board Report: May 2004 by Stephen J. Ciesinski '70, Chairman, Board of Trustees Dear Friends of Union: Our spring meeting of the Board of Trustees again coincided with Reunion Weekend -- and once again, we were privileged to be able to combine the College's business with the fun of getting together with many old friends. It was a wonderful weekend. Convocation in Memorial Chapel is my favorite event, because we all experience the tradition of new graduates receiving a congratulatory handshake from those who are here celebrating their 50th graduation anniversary. We spent quite a bit of time on academic and student affairs over the course of our meetings. We first heard from Vice President Dan Lundquist on the success the Admissions Office has had with the Class of 2008. Average GPA and board scores continue to be up from the previous year, and the class is otherwise outstanding. We also were treated with two presentations over lunch from two students who briefed us on their Steinmetz Symposium research projects. It's great to see how nationally acclaimed the Steinmetz Symposium has become, and our presenters were suitably impressive. We heard from the committee assigned to improve upon the current trimester system curriculum, since we have had very few major changes in quite a while and it's the trustees' desire to capitalize better on the school calendar. The committee members shared ideas that they were discussing on pedagogical issues and heard reactions from many trustees. Finally, the Board also heard an energetic presentation from Professor Doug Klein, director of the Center for Converging Technology, on the amazing work that has been accomplished in the Converging Technologies initiative. We have so many cross-departmental studies emerging on campus that we are now being visited by other institutions to learn how they can implement what we are already doing. Quite a compliment to CT! Vice President of Academic Affairs Christie Sorum reported favorably on two important student-related initiatives -- student advising and student retention. Based on feedback from past graduating seniors, we have made a number of changes in the College's advising system, such as improving the way we connect advisees with faculty in their departments. On student retention, Christie reported that a new position has been created called the Director for Student Support Services. The position will focus on identifying students with a high risk of encountering academic difficulties, either because they have a history of poor grades (students on Academic Warning) or because faculty report a significant number of absences or otherwise poor performance. The position's focus will be to get the proper attention to reverse the problem. While few students encounter this issue, we want to be "first responders" to those who encounter academic difficulties. The campus' Alcohol Task Force has been exploring ways to offer improved monitoring of formally sanctioned parties, seeking, among other things, to provide ample food supplies and non-alcoholic beverages, and seek a healthy and moderate atmosphere among those students of age who are eligible to drink legally on campus. The ban on hard liquor at such events will remain in place and will be strictly enforced. The Task Force's first policy announcement was the implementation, at the behest of President Hull, of a "Good Samaritan" policy encouraging students to report any potentially dangerous cases of intoxication without being concerned about disciplinary consequences at such a time. Incidentally, the policy refers to isolated incidents only and does not protect any who flagrantly and repeatedly violate the College's alcohol policy. There is good news to report on the Minerva Houses. The former Psi Upsilon building will become known as Beuth House, thanks to the generosity of Trustee (and former Psi U member) Phil Beuth '54. Beuth House joins Golub House and Wold House as named houses, and we anticipate announcing more names in the next few months. Elections for house governance positions were held recently, and I'm pleased to report that all seven houses have both students and faculty in leadership positions. Construction is also proceeding well. Renovations to North College are on schedule for completion in mid-July, and the renovations in the Chi Psi and Psi Upsilon buildings are on schedule for completion in mid-June. Renovations to the Sigma Phi building will begin in July of 2004. The Inn at College Park (the former Ramada Inn) will open this fall, and it proved to be a high priority housing option in the spring housing lottery. Their choices show that the Inn has already been accepted as a high-quality housing option, and that students and staff alike are excited about the interior design scheme. Two new Theme Houses have been authorized by the Student Affairs Council: Bon Appetit House is organized around the concept of high quality student-prepared food dishes, while Ozone House seeks to promote environmental awareness among students, faculty, and staff. The Board was gratified to hear about the many ways our students are involved in helping the local community. Efforts include the Relay for Life (a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society), a fashion show of support, Derby Days, T-shirt sales with proceeds to charity, UCare Day (an event that brings local children to Union for fun and feats of skill), canned food drives, and several more. The Harlem Wizards drew 500 people from campus and the community as a joint effort among Big Brothers-Big Sisters, College Relations, Dining Services, and the Athletic Department, funded by Student Activities. The Kenney Center continues to provide a wide array of programs for the local community: In the Homework Program, approximately 20-30 Union student volunteers serve as tutors for 20 third and fourth graders for 15-20 hours a week. In the America Reads Program, two student program coordinators and 15-20 volunteers provide one-on-one tutoring for some 20 youth ages 5-12. The Girls Inc. Science Program, supported by Union volunteers, is offered one day per week for girls in grades 4-6. Ten girls participate in interesting and time-consuming projects. Studying Arithmetic in Literature (SAIL) Program involves three elementary schools, with 35-50 Union volunteers tutoring 62 third and fourth graders in reading and math. The Science and Technology Entry Program (STEP) provides after-school tutoring and Saturday workshops for 30 middle and high school students. Big Brothers-Big Sisters, our biggest student program, provides mentors for at-risk youth and includes an eight-week day camp with activities for youngsters. The Obenzinger Scholars Program offers a premedical student the opportunity to develop programs related to the health and welfare of our community. This year the student coordinated with volunteers the following programs: STD awareness health fair, HIV testing and counseling workshop, breast cancer informational health fair. In Las Mariposas, sponsored by ALAS student group. Union students volunteer to work with bilingual youngsters whose first language is Spanish. UCARE, a student volunteer outreach group, assists individual students and student groups in identifying volunteer opportunities in the community. Projects include tutoring at the public library, volunteering at the Northeast Parent and Child Society, volunteering at Schenectady 2000, planting trees for Re-Tree Schenectady, and assisting in after-school programs at Hamilton Arts Center. As usual, we had a full round of committee meetings. Here are a few additional highlights: FACILITIES AND ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE The second phase of the improvements to Frank Messa Rink at Achilles Center, which includes the creation of new locker rooms, showers, a general-purpose room, and enlargement/renovations to the sports medicine area in the lower level, is complete. The women's hockey ECAC final four was held at Achilles Center and was a huge success, using the newly-renovated facilities. The David A. Viniar Basketball Pavilion project is on schedule for completion in September of 2004. ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE COMMITTEE Having incorporated the cost containment measures recommended by committees formed during the 2002-2003 fiscal year, attention has turned to examining some of the principles that we view as critical to maintaining the College's ability to recruit quality students, faculty, and staff and its reputation as a top liberal arts institution. The Planning and Priorities Committee is examining the College's commitment to our faculty-student ratio, as well as financial aid, terms abroad and student undergraduate research, facilities/deferred maintenance, and salary increases/employee benefits. COLLEGE RELATIONS Through March 31, 2004, Union had received $7,557,581 in private support, up $1,055,507, or 16 percent, over the same period last year, and we have over $15 million in outstanding or pending gift requests that should be decided by June 30. The Union Fund was ahead of last year's figures by 505 alumni donors and $251,000, putting us in a great position to achieve our goals of 40 percent participation and $3.9 million. Our work with current students has expanded to include freshmen, sophomores, and juniors in addition to the senior class. Each class has an active committee educating and soliciting their classmates about the need and benefit of giving back to Union. This new program is designed to instill class pride, a sense of philanthropy, and a stronger connection to Union among undergraduates so that they will continue to give to Union after they graduate, increasing both our young alumni participation rate and our young alumni volunteer numbers. In the winter and spring, we held alumni events in Boston, Minneapolis, New York City, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Schenectady, Seattle, Washington D.C., and London, to name a few. By the end of June, nearly 70 events will have been sponsored with more than 6,000 alumni, family, and friends participating. INVESTMENT COMMITTEE MEETING The performance of the endowment continues to show excellent results. We are now comfortably positioned in the top 25th percentile of peer institutions for both the last year and the last three years. The Investment Committee is satisfied with how our portfolio is balanced and with the individual managers we are using. We hope that the alumni and other gift-givers are now feeling that they are getting a strong ROI on the gifts they provide. TRUSTEE NEWS In news about the trustees, I'm very pleased to announce that Trustee Bob DeMichele '66, who has done such a wonderful job as chair of our Investment Committee, was named a Life Trustee -- a well-deserved honor for his unique contributions to the Board. Trustees Estelle Cooke-Sampson '74, Robert F. Cummings, Jr. '71, William J. Curtin '82, Christine I. Reilly '75, and David A. Viniar '76 were all reelected to four-year terms, and we said farewell to outgoing Trustees Phil Beuth '54, Gerald Barandes '54, Paul Wintrich '60, and Student Trustee Matt Gerien '04. I have said repeatedly that the College is in excellent condition overall. In many respects, we are really "over-achievers," in that we get by far the most out of our resources when compared to our competition. Our biggest challenge to even better performance is to increase our endowment materially, and we plan to unveil a program for this initiative at Homecoming weekend next fall. I hope you will all join us then, as it promises to be an event you won't want to miss. Steve Ciesinski '70 Chairman, Board of Trustees
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