May 2006 Board Report

Board Report: May 2006

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

Dear Friends of Union:

The Board of Trustees met on another wonderful weekend that featured some of the familiar ReUnion traditions - class dinners, parade, alumni convocation family picnic and fireworks - and some other special events that I'll detail below. A few showers did little to dampen the Union spirit.

Tribute to Jim Underwood

Trustees and other members of the Union community gathered for a tribute dinner for Interim President Jim Underwood. Throughout his more than four decades as teacher and administrator, Jim has been a true champion for Union. From his start as a young professor of political science and through his service as dean of faculty and interim president, he has worked tirelessly on behalf of the College. And I'm sure that those of us who know Jim and his love for Union weren't the least bit surprised that he answered the call to lead the transition to our 18th President. It is worth noting that Stephen Ainlay has often praised Jim's fine work for the College. And Stephen and his wife, Judy, have found Jim and his wife, Jean, to be warm and enthusiastic hosts over the last few months. Appropriately, Jim will soon receive an honorary degree and give the main address at Commencement.

ReUnion Weekend

The Union spirit was burning bright as close to 2,000 alumni (an all-time record) from the classes of 1934 to 2005 came to campus for ReUnion 2006. Highlights included the 50th ReUnion medallion ceremony on Friday, alumni parade and convocation on Saturday morning, and the usual amazing ReUnion fireworks (courtesy of Steve Ente '75) on Saturday night.

Three alumni - Sigmund Giambruno '51, Albert Nahmias '66 and Trustee Mark Walsh '76 - received Alumni Council Gold Medals from the Alumni Council. Head Football Coach John Audino, who recently passed the 100-win mark, received the Meritorious Service Award. Robert Danziger '79, an outstanding volunteer, was elected alumni trustee. Also, at the Alumni Convocation, the College presented the Nott Medal for a distinguished professional career to Major General Robert Dickman '66. Bob, who retired from the Air Force after heading important commands with the U.S. space program, has always credited Union's broad-based education. Alumni admissions volunteer awards went to Timothy McCabe '73 and Judy Keseberg '76. The Robert Laudise '52 Chemistry Award, for achievement in the field and support of Union's chemistry department, went to Peter P. Kissinger '66.

The Class of 1976 took the Anable Cup (for the greatest number in the Alumni Parade). The Class of 1951 earned the McClellan Cup (for the highest turnout at ReUnion). The Class of 1956 won the Van Voast/Class of 1941 Cup (for best costume). And the 50th ReUnion Class of 1956 won the 1943 ReUnion Award (for overall ReUnion effort).

Class of 1941 den

I was personally touched to be part of the dedication of the Class of 1941 Den at Sorum House. My late father, Adam, was a member of that class, and he would have been pleased to see the results of his classmates' efforts. The den, already a popular gathering place for members of Sorum, features a collection of memorabilia donated by members of the class. Sorum House, you may recall, was dedicated last winter in memory of Christie Sorum, our dean of faculty who died last year. Among its many activities are student-faculty book groups and Christie's Coffeehouse, a great venue for student and faculty performers.

Academic Affairs

The College has received a three-year grant of $100,000 from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to support a peer mentoring initiative in the Minerva Houses. The "Minerva Mentors" program expands the Peers Assistants for Learning (PALS) program, launched earlier this year to great success.

The trustees viewed a fascinating exhibit in the Nott Memorial's Mandeville Gallery. "The Athenian Acropolis: Photographs by William James Stillman" is an exhibition in memory of Christie Sorum. The College's collection has a number of photographs by Stillman, of the Class of 1848. Andrew Szegedy-Maszak, the inaugural Sorum Guest Professor and professor of classics at Wesleyan University discussed Stillman's works at a workshop for students.

Twelve senior faculty have been appointed to endowed professorships. A few of these chairs have come open recently. Others were created by gifts to the You are Union campaign. This is a wonderful way to honor both our best teachers and the generosity of Union's benefactors. The professors and their new titles are:

Ann Anderson, Agnes S. Macdonald Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Robert Baker, William D. Williams Professor of Philosophy
Ilene Kaplan, Joseph C. Driscoll Professor of Sociology
Raymond Martin, Dwane W. Crichton Professor of Philosophy
Teresa Meade, Florence B. Sherwood Professor of History and Culture
Hans-Friedrich Mueller, William D. Williams Professor of Classics
Robert Olberg, Florence B. Sherwood Professor of Life Sciences
Hilary Tann, John Howard Payne Professor of Music
Mark S. Toher, Frank Bailey Professor of Classics
Mark W. Walker, John Bigelow Professor of History
Suthathip Yaisawarng, Thomas Armstrong Professor of Economics
William Zwicker, William D. Williams Professor of Mathematics

The trustees learned about the Michael S. Rapaport Everyday Ethics Across the Curriculum Initiative, which starting this fall will become a staple of classroom discussions across the board. The idea grew from a pilot program by Prof. Harold Fried of Economics and is made possible by Mike Rapaport '59, a longtime benefactor.

The College will welcome a dozen students to campus through the Posse Foundation, an organization that identifies, recruits and trains talented students from urban public high schools to attend high quality colleges and universities.

Among the many student achievements this year, the Union College Ethics Bowl Team successfully grappled with a variety of ethical questions in the 2006 Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl, finishing second nationally in this prestigious event. Noah Eber-Schmid '06, recently became the College's 45th Thomas J. Watson Fellow. He will use the coveted $25,000 study grant to study the punk movement in Europe. Andrew Schaeffer '06 won a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship in Germany. This year, 19 students represented the College at the 20th annual National Conference on Undergraduate Research, held at the University of North Carolina-Asheville.

The board congratulates and thanks six faculty members. Melinda Goldner of sociology, Nicholas Krouglicof of mechanical engineering, David Ogawa of visual arts, and Junko Ueno of modern languages were granted tenure and promoted to associate professor. Mohammed Mafi of engineering and Lori Marso of political science were promoted to professor.

The board also learned of the upcoming retirements of four highly respected professors: George Butterstein and Peter Tobiessen, biology; Erik Hansen, history; and Josef Schmee, economics. These professors are well regarded by students, alumni and colleagues, and they will be missed.

Student Affairs

In Student Affairs, Interim President Jim Underwood has established a committee dedicated to find innovative ways of increasing the overall level of satisfaction among students. The committee has gathered information from a number of sources including surveys and interviews. The final report will include a wide range of recommendations, most assuming no significant changes in larger planning priorities.

Religious programming experienced significant growth this year with the establishment of a Hindu organization, an Agnostic Atheist Organization and a Multi-faith Council. These are in addition to our already vibrant Hillel organization, Muslim Student Association, Catholic Campus Ministry and Campus Protestant Ministry (which recently celebrated 25 years).

Student Activities, headed by Director Matt Milless and run by students, sponsored a dizzying list of offerings this year ranging from cultural programs to charity fundraisers to concerts by musical artists like Ben Folds, Guster and Common.

The Minervas continue to expand and have more influence on campus life as Greek Life continues to redefine itself. In early March, the Chronicle of Higher Education ran a comprehensive story that explored the challenges and triumphs of the Minervas and Greeks. That such a respected journal took on this story is another indicator that Union has taken a leadership role nationally in redefining campus culture by combining intellectual and social life.

The Board was informed that an anonymous individual(s) have sent out inflammatory emails with biased and offensive language to minority candidates running for Student Forum. The response from our Union campus community was swift, resolute and unified. Hundreds of students, faculty and staff held a march and rally, the trustees passed a resolution affirming our non-discriminatory policies and beliefs and condemning such messages, and Jim Underwood reaffirmed the College's commitment to foster "a community characterized by mutual respect." The College and local law authorities are vigorously pursuing an investigation to identify those responsible. As disturbing as the email messages were, it was truly inspiring to see how quickly and massively they were rejected by the Union community.

Admissions, financial aid, communications

Union received the largest application pool in history (4,373, beating last year's all-time high) and admitted 1,841 (156 fewer than last year for an 11 percent increase in selectivity). By early May, we had received deposits from 562 students. This year saw the largest number of students selecting Union as their first choice school, academic indicators were up (64 percent are in the top 10 percent of their class), and we are currently under budget for financial aid. The success in admissions is a testament to the hard work and dedication not only of Dan Lundquist and his staff, but of our many alumni admissions volunteers. Thank you.

The Office of Communications has been busy with primary on-going projects in print and on the web. Media highlights, ranging from stories in newspapers to features on TV have reached a readership of about one million in the last three months, and a TV/radio audience of more than 100,000. The office continues to provide promotions support for numerous campus and public events, and to manage media coverage of the College and its people.

Facilities and environment

The trustees were thrilled to see the new Fitness Center in Alumni Gymnasium. The bright and spacious facility - with more than three times the space and equipment of our old facility -- has been heavily used since it opened at the start of spring term. Athletic Director Jim McLaughlin cited the Fitness Center's "wow" factor, a sentiment shared by all members of the Union community who use it, and by our prospective students and their families who visit.

Renovations are on pace at North Colonnade for the new music facility, made possible by a generous donation from Jim Taylor '66 and John Taylor '74. We expect this spectacular building to be completed this October.

Work is also well under way on the $1.1 million renovation of Butterfield Hall, much of it funded by outside sources including a state grant to Union and Super Power for research labs that will provide state of the art facilities to our students and support Super Power's research in high-temperature superconductors. Completion is expected in mid-August.

Administration and finance

The trustees approved a balanced budget for 2006-2007. Historically, the budget is approved in February, but this year's budget was more challenging than usual with increases in energy, employee benefits and financial aid. We took the extra time to make decisions on such critical issues as faculty and staff compensation, deferred maintenance and student services. The board did approve the comprehensive fee and financial aid budget in February so as not to impact the College's planning in admissions. Congratulations to the Finance staff for all their hard work during some extremely volatile times.

College Relations and You Are Union campaign

At the end of March, the You are Union campaign had totaled $109 million, well past the halfway mark and some $6 million up from November 30. Among the highlights from the campaign: eight faculty positions have been endowed, $16 million in scholarship support has been received, and five of the seven Minervas have been endowed (Beuth, Golub, Sorum, Wold and one anonymous).

I am happy to report that the Union Fund has 179 more alumni donors than last year, and is on track for the goal of $4.3 million and a 42 percent alumni participation rate.

In Alumni Relations, this year we will have an amazing 70 events attended by more than 6,000 alumni. There are more than 25 very active regional clubs, and an effective Alumni Council whose members include outstanding volunteers in Admissions, Union Fund, Career Center and ReUnion and Class activities.

Trustee news

We said 'thank you and farewell' to three members who served the board with distinction:

Thomas E. Hitchcock '66, an insurance and investment planner, has served since 1983 with a stellar record of involvement in admissions, development and alumni relations. Stephen R. Karp, parent of Doug '97 and CEO of New England Development Company, has served since 1994. He was instrumental in the acquisition of the Ramada Inn and its transformation into College Park Hall, and assisted us greatly on other recent facilities and real estate decisions. Mark G. Webster '88, a dentist with a busy practice in North Reading, Mass., has served since 1998. Mark played a key role in gathering alumni support for the Minerva system.

As I write, we are finishing an exciting year of transition and charting the next leg of Union's journey. We pay tribute to Jim Underwood, who has extended his invaluable service to the College. We welcome Stephen Ainlay, a dynamic leader who will soon become our 18th president. And once again, we thank all members of the Union community who continue to embrace and celebrate this truly distinctive institution.

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 2006 by Stephen J. Ciesinski '70, Chairman, Board of Trustees Dear Friends of Union: The Board of Trustees met on another wonderful weekend that featured some of the familiar ReUnion traditions - class dinners, parade, alumni convocation family picnic and fireworks - and some other special events that I'll detail below. A few showers did little to dampen the Union spirit. Tribute to Jim Underwood Trustees and other members of the Union community gathered for a tribute dinner for Interim President Jim Underwood. Throughout his more than four decades as teacher and administrator, Jim has been a true champion for Union. From his start as a young professor of political science and through his service as dean of faculty and interim president, he has worked tirelessly on behalf of the College. And I'm sure that those of us who know Jim and his love for Union weren't the least bit surprised that he answered the call to lead the transition to our 18th President. It is worth noting that Stephen Ainlay has often praised Jim's fine work for the College. And Stephen and his wife, Judy, have found Jim and his wife, Jean, to be warm and enthusiastic hosts over the last few months. Appropriately, Jim will soon receive an honorary degree and give the main address at Commencement. ReUnion Weekend The Union spirit was burning bright as close to 2,000 alumni (an all-time record) from the classes of 1934 to 2005 came to campus for ReUnion 2006. Highlights included the 50th ReUnion medallion ceremony on Friday, alumni parade and convocation on Saturday morning, and the usual amazing ReUnion fireworks (courtesy of Steve Ente '75) on Saturday night. Three alumni - Sigmund Giambruno '51, Albert Nahmias '66 and Trustee Mark Walsh '76 - received Alumni Council Gold Medals from the Alumni Council. Head Football Coach John Audino, who recently passed the 100-win mark, received the Meritorious Service Award. Robert Danziger '79, an outstanding volunteer, was elected alumni trustee. Also, at the Alumni Convocation, the College presented the Nott Medal for a distinguished professional career to Major General Robert Dickman '66. Bob, who retired from the Air Force after heading important commands with the U.S. space program, has always credited Union's broad-based education. Alumni admissions volunteer awards went to Timothy McCabe '73 and Judy Keseberg '76. The Robert Laudise '52 Chemistry Award, for achievement in the field and support of Union's chemistry department, went to Peter P. Kissinger '66. The Class of 1976 took the Anable Cup (for the greatest number in the Alumni Parade). The Class of 1951 earned the McClellan Cup (for the highest turnout at ReUnion). The Class of 1956 won the Van Voast/Class of 1941 Cup (for best costume). And the 50th ReUnion Class of 1956 won the 1943 ReUnion Award (for overall ReUnion effort). Class of 1941 den I was personally touched to be part of the dedication of the Class of 1941 Den at Sorum House. My late father, Adam, was a member of that class, and he would have been pleased to see the results of his classmates' efforts. The den, already a popular gathering place for members of Sorum, features a collection of memorabilia donated by members of the class. Sorum House, you may recall, was dedicated last winter in memory of Christie Sorum, our dean of faculty who died last year. Among its many activities are student-faculty book groups and Christie's Coffeehouse, a great venue for student and faculty performers. Academic Affairs The College has received a three-year grant of $100,000 from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to support a peer mentoring initiative in the Minerva Houses. The "Minerva Mentors" program expands the Peers Assistants for Learning (PALS) program, launched earlier this year to great success. The trustees viewed a fascinating exhibit in the Nott Memorial's Mandeville Gallery. "The Athenian Acropolis: Photographs by William James Stillman" is an exhibition in memory of Christie Sorum. The College's collection has a number of photographs by Stillman, of the Class of 1848. Andrew Szegedy-Maszak, the inaugural Sorum Guest Professor and professor of classics at Wesleyan University discussed Stillman's works at a workshop for students. Twelve senior faculty have been appointed to endowed professorships. A few of these chairs have come open recently. Others were created by gifts to the You are Union campaign. This is a wonderful way to honor both our best teachers and the generosity of Union's benefactors. The professors and their new titles are: Ann Anderson, Agnes S. Macdonald Professor of Mechanical Engineering Robert Baker, William D. Williams Professor of Philosophy Ilene Kaplan, Joseph C. Driscoll Professor of Sociology Raymond Martin, Dwane W. Crichton Professor of Philosophy Teresa Meade, Florence B. Sherwood Professor of History and Culture Hans-Friedrich Mueller, William D. Williams Professor of Classics Robert Olberg, Florence B. Sherwood Professor of Life Sciences Hilary Tann, John Howard Payne Professor of Music Mark S. Toher, Frank Bailey Professor of Classics Mark W. Walker, John Bigelow Professor of History Suthathip Yaisawarng, Thomas Armstrong Professor of Economics William Zwicker, William D. Williams Professor of Mathematics The trustees learned about the Michael S. Rapaport Everyday Ethics Across the Curriculum Initiative, which starting this fall will become a staple of classroom discussions across the board. The idea grew from a pilot program by Prof. Harold Fried of Economics and is made possible by Mike Rapaport '59, a longtime benefactor. The College will welcome a dozen students to campus through the Posse Foundation, an organization that identifies, recruits and trains talented students from urban public high schools to attend high quality colleges and universities. Among the many student achievements this year, the Union College Ethics Bowl Team successfully grappled with a variety of ethical questions in the 2006 Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl, finishing second nationally in this prestigious event. Noah Eber-Schmid '06, recently became the College's 45th Thomas J. Watson Fellow. He will use the coveted $25,000 study grant to study the punk movement in Europe. Andrew Schaeffer '06 won a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship in Germany. This year, 19 students represented the College at the 20th annual National Conference on Undergraduate Research, held at the University of North Carolina-Asheville. The board congratulates and thanks six faculty members. Melinda Goldner of sociology, Nicholas Krouglicof of mechanical engineering, David Ogawa of visual arts, and Junko Ueno of modern languages were granted tenure and promoted to associate professor. Mohammed Mafi of engineering and Lori Marso of political science were promoted to professor. The board also learned of the upcoming retirements of four highly respected professors: George Butterstein and Peter Tobiessen, biology; Erik Hansen, history; and Josef Schmee, economics. These professors are well regarded by students, alumni and colleagues, and they will be missed. Student Affairs In Student Affairs, Interim President Jim Underwood has established a committee dedicated to find innovative ways of increasing the overall level of satisfaction among students. The committee has gathered information from a number of sources including surveys and interviews. The final report will include a wide range of recommendations, most assuming no significant changes in larger planning priorities. Religious programming experienced significant growth this year with the establishment of a Hindu organization, an Agnostic Atheist Organization and a Multi-faith Council. These are in addition to our already vibrant Hillel organization, Muslim Student Association, Catholic Campus Ministry and Campus Protestant Ministry (which recently celebrated 25 years). Student Activities, headed by Director Matt Milless and run by students, sponsored a dizzying list of offerings this year ranging from cultural programs to charity fundraisers to concerts by musical artists like Ben Folds, Guster and Common. The Minervas continue to expand and have more influence on campus life as Greek Life continues to redefine itself. In early March, the Chronicle of Higher Education ran a comprehensive story that explored the challenges and triumphs of the Minervas and Greeks. That such a respected journal took on this story is another indicator that Union has taken a leadership role nationally in redefining campus culture by combining intellectual and social life. The Board was informed that an anonymous individual(s) have sent out inflammatory emails with biased and offensive language to minority candidates running for Student Forum. The response from our Union campus community was swift, resolute and unified. Hundreds of students, faculty and staff held a march and rally, the trustees passed a resolution affirming our non-discriminatory policies and beliefs and condemning such messages, and Jim Underwood reaffirmed the College's commitment to foster "a community characterized by mutual respect." The College and local law authorities are vigorously pursuing an investigation to identify those responsible. As disturbing as the email messages were, it was truly inspiring to see how quickly and massively they were rejected by the Union community. Admissions, financial aid, communications Union received the largest application pool in history (4,373, beating last year's all-time high) and admitted 1,841 (156 fewer than last year for an 11 percent increase in selectivity). By early May, we had received deposits from 562 students. This year saw the largest number of students selecting Union as their first choice school, academic indicators were up (64 percent are in the top 10 percent of their class), and we are currently under budget for financial aid. The success in admissions is a testament to the hard work and dedication not only of Dan Lundquist and his staff, but of our many alumni admissions volunteers. Thank you. The Office of Communications has been busy with primary on-going projects in print and on the web. Media highlights, ranging from stories in newspapers to features on TV have reached a readership of about one million in the last three months, and a TV/radio audience of more than 100,000. The office continues to provide promotions support for numerous campus and public events, and to manage media coverage of the College and its people. Facilities and environment The trustees were thrilled to see the new Fitness Center in Alumni Gymnasium. The bright and spacious facility - with more than three times the space and equipment of our old facility -- has been heavily used since it opened at the start of spring term. Athletic Director Jim McLaughlin cited the Fitness Center's "wow" factor, a sentiment shared by all members of the Union community who use it, and by our prospective students and their families who visit. Renovations are on pace at North Colonnade for the new music facility, made possible by a generous donation from Jim Taylor '66 and John Taylor '74. We expect this spectacular building to be completed this October. Work is also well under way on the $1.1 million renovation of Butterfield Hall, much of it funded by outside sources including a state grant to Union and Super Power for research labs that will provide state of the art facilities to our students and support Super Power's research in high-temperature superconductors. Completion is expected in mid-August. Administration and finance The trustees approved a balanced budget for 2006-2007. Historically, the budget is approved in February, but this year's budget was more challenging than usual with increases in energy, employee benefits and financial aid. We took the extra time to make decisions on such critical issues as faculty and staff compensation, deferred maintenance and student services. The board did approve the comprehensive fee and financial aid budget in February so as not to impact the College's planning in admissions. Congratulations to the Finance staff for all their hard work during some extremely volatile times. College Relations and You Are Union campaign At the end of March, the You are Union campaign had totaled $109 million, well past the halfway mark and some $6 million up from November 30. Among the highlights from the campaign: eight faculty positions have been endowed, $16 million in scholarship support has been received, and five of the seven Minervas have been endowed (Beuth, Golub, Sorum, Wold and one anonymous). I am happy to report that the Union Fund has 179 more alumni donors than last year, and is on track for the goal of $4.3 million and a 42 percent alumni participation rate. In Alumni Relations, this year we will have an amazing 70 events attended by more than 6,000 alumni. There are more than 25 very active regional clubs, and an effective Alumni Council whose members include outstanding volunteers in Admissions, Union Fund, Career Center and ReUnion and Class activities. Trustee news We said 'thank you and farewell' to three members who served the board with distinction: Thomas E. Hitchcock '66, an insurance and investment planner, has served since 1983 with a stellar record of involvement in admissions, development and alumni relations. Stephen R. Karp, parent of Doug '97 and CEO of New England Development Company, has served since 1994. He was instrumental in the acquisition of the Ramada Inn and its transformation into College Park Hall, and assisted us greatly on other recent facilities and real estate decisions. Mark G. Webster '88, a dentist with a busy practice in North Reading, Mass., has served since 1998. Mark played a key role in gathering alumni support for the Minerva system. As I write, we are finishing an exciting year of transition and charting the next leg of Union's journey. We pay tribute to Jim Underwood, who has extended his invaluable service to the College. We welcome Stephen Ainlay, a dynamic leader who will soon become our 18th president. And once again, we thank all members of the Union community who continue to embrace and celebrate this truly distinctive institution. Steve Ciesinski '70 Chairman, Board of Trustees
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