Board Report: October 2006

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

Dear Friends of Union:

The October meeting of the Board of Trustees took place on Homecoming and Family Weekend, one of those perfect weekends with beautiful fall colors, crisp blue skies, and competitive and well attended athletic contests involving Union squads and other D3 school teams.

Spirits were still high on campus a month after the inauguration of Stephen C. Ainlay as the College's 18th president. That weekend included a superb symposium, "Bridging the Academic-Social Gap," in which higher education leaders discussed innovative initiatives, our Minervas being one; a moving installation ceremony for our new president that made us all proud to be part of Union; and an evening gala that was by all accounts the most memorable celebration we have had in quite some time. At our board meeting, the trustees thanked the College's Inauguration Committee, led by Kathy Quinn, assistant to the president, and Prof. William Finlay, College Marshall. They created a wonderful event that involved all members of the Union community and captured our rich history, welcomed a new president, and celebrated our promising future. In case you missed the Inauguration Weekend, you can see photos, text and a webcast of the ceremony at www.union.edu/inauguration.

Homecoming Weekend

Alumni Relations Director Nick Famulare '92 and his colleagues did their usual superb job in welcoming back an estimated 2,600 alumni and friends. Besides the traditional open houses, lectures and tailgate picnic, Homecoming featured:

-- Two presentations by author Andrea Barrett '74, winner of the National Book Award. She gave well-attended public lecture on Friday, and then on Saturday met for informal conversation with students and faculty at Wold House. Andrea's appearance was organized by the English department as the inaugural event in their alumni writers series, which this year will feature six alumni who have gone on to distinguished careers.

-- A poster session by summer research students organized by Prof. Mary Carroll '86, director of undergraduate research. More than 100 students from 18 departments did research last summer on campus, and it was wonderful to see them share their work.

-- In a moving ceremony, the College awarded Philip G. DiSorbo '71 the Eliphalet Nott Medal, presented to distinguished alumni who have achieved success in their professional lives. Phil found his calling for a career in compassion shortly after leaving Union, when he joined Schenectady Hospice and soon expanded it to become a national model to empower countless people and their families as they prepare for the end of life. Phil recently took on a new role as executive director of the Foundation for Hospices in Sub-Saharan Africa. Together with his wife, Cynthia, a nurse and hospice caseworker, he is bringing the hope of the hospice movement to a part of the world where AIDS claims up to 7,000 lives daily. It is truly fitting for Union to honor Phil in this way. Throughout his career, he has maintained close ties with Union, calling on faculty, staff and students as Hospice volunteers and enriching their lives as well.

-- The Alumni Council recognized Tom Hitchcock '66 with the Distinguished Service Award. Tom has had a long and remarkable career of service to the College in roles that have included trustee, alumni trustee, board member and chair of Union Graduate College, class president and head agent, and chair of the Annual Fund. The Alumni Council also presented Steve Ente '75 with a Special Appreciation Award. Anyone who has been at Union for a celebration, including the recent inauguration, knows that Steve's fireworks displays are in a league of their own.Both Tom and Steve spoke movingly about their long time love of Union College at the volunteer celebration dinner.-- Last week and throughout Homecoming, the Nott Memorial was wrapped with a giant pink bow to raise awareness and funds for the fight against breast cancer. A group of students headed by Lis Sartori '07 has made creative use of our campus symbol, and on the weekend they were well on their way to their goal of raising $30,000 for breast cancer research.

Strategic Planning

The Board discussed progress of the Strategic Planning committee directed by John E. Kelly III '76, trustee chair; and Therese A. McCarty, interim dean of faculty, and campus chair. I thank John and Therese, and all the other members, for their careful and dedicated work.

Strategic planning has become an important part of the post-presidential search process, and it began to intensify in activity shortly after the selection of Stephen C. Ainlay as 18th president of the College. Throughout the summer, the committee has gathered information on institutional needs, priorities and directions.

I am pleased to report that we are well on our way to developing a comprehensive plan that will guide us through the next decade and beyond. Next year, President Ainlay plans to announce his view on the strategic course Union should take. Until then, the committee will continue to gather information and generate feedback from the Union community.

SAT Option Announced

After consideration by the Board, the College has changed its admissions policy to make standardized testing - the SAT - optional. Union has long employed a highly personalized, rigorous review process that carefully considers academic achievement, a better predictor of college potential than standardized testing. As our recruitment effort brings us in front of a broader and more diverse audience, we are questioning the message that requiring SATs - with their scoring errors and bias - sends about how we evaluate candidates. It is important to note that by making the SAT optional, we continue to broaden our reach, certainly not lower our standards. Other top national liberal arts colleges who have taken this approach have seen increases in quality, diversity and selectivity with no adverse effects. In just a few days, this change has brought an enthusiastic response from prospective students, parents and officials at secondary schools who value our careful consideration of applicants.

National Honors

I am pleased to report that Union was selected recently as one of the 25 "best neighbor" urban colleges and universities, recognized for their positive economic and social benefit to their communities. The list of "Saviors of our Cities" schools includes the University of Southern California, the University of Pennsylvania and George Washington University.

I am also happy to report that the National Collegiate Scouting Association has ranked Union 35th among all Division I, II and III institutions; and 25th among those in Div. III. The association matches and introduces college coaches to qualified student-athletes. The NCSA ranking - derived from media rankings on academics, the U.S. Sports Academy Directors Cup rankings and NCAA graduation rates - was developed to encourage student-athletes to consider colleges based on overall merits.

Committee reports

Academic Affairs:
In academic affairs, the board learned of two exciting grants from the National Science Foundation. The first, a $298,000 grant will be used for the purchase of a new scanning electron microscope. The other, a $500,000 grant, will support four-year supplemental scholarships to two cohorts of 10 students to be designated Converging Technology Scholars. The grant is aimed at increasing the numbers of under-represented students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, including women in engineering and computer science.

The board is pleased that David Hayes, professor of chemistry, has been appointed interim dean of arts and sciences. Dave, a respected colleague with an impressive record of college service, arrived at Union in 1976 with a B.S. from MIT and a Ph.D. from Cornell.

Beginning this year, ethics has become a staple of classroom discussion across the board thank in large part to a generous alumnus. The Michael S. Rapaport '59 Everyday Ethics Across the Curriculum Initiative provides grants to faculty who integrate ethics segments into their courses. It began as a pilot project by Prof. Hal Fried of economics, who, with Prof. Bob Baker of philosophy, has expanded the program into a college-wide initiative.

We are pleased to learn that Geology has been accepted into the Keck Geology Consortium, a leading independent undergraduate research organization. This is a strong validation of the strength of this department, which has long been active in sponsoring faculty-directed undergraduate research. Union was among five institutions accepted this year, the first time since 1987 the group has taken new members.

The board was delighted to approve the promotion of three faculty to full professor. They are Richard Fox, Political Science; Bonney MacDonald, English; and Louisa Matthew, Visual Arts. We thank them for their distinguished service and wish them well.

Student Affairs:
Members of the Minerva Council have been working with Prof. Eshi Motahar and the members of the Web office to create an intriguing concept called "Marketplace of Ideas." Using the metaphor of a marketplace, the website enables students, faculty and staff to get together to share ideas, learn a skill, debate a topic or play a game. This is an interesting concept that will both support and enhance the Minervas.

Residential Life continues to devote substantial energy to maintaining and improving quality of life for students. A recent survey by the office found that 69 percent of students were satisfied with the overall quality of residence halls, and that 84 percent felt safe. These are quite positive results. Residential Life has aligned three assistant directors to support all living options on campus, a reorganization that mirrors the organization of deans in the Dean of Students Office.

Admissions, Financial Aid, Communications:
We opened the school year with 560 first-year students and 15 transfers, nearly on goal for the year, with anticipated savings in financial aid of about $1.2 million due to increased control on aid offers and fewer admitted aid students enrolling.

Palmer Fargnoli '93, whom many of us know from his roles with College Relations, has joined the Admissions Office in a new and important position as director of the alumni admissions program. Alumni can be our strongest assets in admissions, and Palmer is off to a fast start in developing on- and off-campus programs to support the effort.

The Office of Communications has developed a plan, endorsed by President Ainlay, to ensure a smooth transition as he assumes the presidency; to enhance internal communications through formal and informal addresses to the campus community; and to position our president at the national level on key messages through conferences, media activities and select board roles. The Web team has been busy with the implementation of a content management system that will greatly enhance the web site, and the development of "Marketplace of Ideas," an interface that partners "buyers" and "sellers" of ideas, with the exchange focused around the Minervas. A new admissions viewbook and companion "travel piece" is due out this fall. Partnering with a design firm and photographer, the College has produced an exciting and inviting book that appeals to 17-year-old prospects and their parents. In media relations, the office was instrumental in placing the College in a New York Times feature on "hidden gems" in the college marketplace, and on a number of regional and national articles on Noah Eber-Schmid '06, our newest Watson Fellow. The office was especially busy introducing President Ainlay to the local media, which resulted in positive profiles in newpapers and TV. The office also coordinated coverage of the inauguration, including our web site which featured stories, photos and links to speeches within an hour of the end of the ceremony.

Investments:
For the 12-month period ending June 30, the total return on the endowment was 13.4 percent, outperforming the composite index by .38 percent. This brings the market value of the endowment and similar funds to approximately $324 million. The committeecontinues to meet frequently on key decisions and obviously our results continue to speak for themselves. Our ranking is exceptionally high- among the top 15% in the country.

College Relations:
The trustees were pleased to learn that 2005-06 was the second-best fund raising year in Union College history with $20.7 million received in private support. That represented a 29 percent increase over the previous year. The total for the You are Union campaign is at $116.5 million. These are exceptional numbers made more so by the fact that they were reached during a presidential transition year. In alumni relations we continue to gain momentum. There were more than 60 alumni and parent events attended by 6,000, a revived alumni travel program (with a recent trip to Tuscany and an upcoming one to the Amazon), and nearly 100 new volunteers added for ReUnion and regional clubs. I am personally very heartened by the trend we are seeing among our alumni in "Union Pride."

Facilities and Environment:
Two major building projects are under way and nearing completion. One is the new Taylor Music Building made possible by a generous gift from Jim '66 and John '74 Taylor. The other, the renovation of Butterfield Hall, will afford new laboratory space for mechanical engineering and bioengineering. Planning is also under way for renovations to our Science and Engineering Center.

Finally, if you missed Homecoming or the Presidential Inauguration, I hope you get back to campus soon. There is an energy and excitement that is truly contagious.

Steve Ciesinski '70
Chairman, Board of Trustees