September 13, 1996: Volume 38, Number 1

A Vision Of Becoming Better:

Remarks by Lawrence W. Milas, president of the F.W. Olin Foundation at Opening Convocation

"I've come to know the College quite well. It has a distinguished history, but Union today is a place of impressive academic quality that has provided important leadership for the rest of higher education.

"The F.W. Olin Foundation has a reputation for maintaining one of the most selective grant programs in America. In fact, our grants are often likened to a kind of Nobel Prize equivalent for colleges and universities. Each year the foundation selects only a tiny number of colleges for its grants from among hundreds of colleges which seek our support.

"People often ask how we select grant winners. The first thing required is time, because we need time to get to know as much as possible about each applicant.We look at many of the obvious indicators of institutional strength like enrollment trends, student and faculty credentials, financial management, fundraising, and the like. I can tell you that our grants are made only to strong colleges because we want to make strong colleges stronger. All of the indicators that I mentioned must be in the very positive range.

"We also seek something more. Colleges which win our grants must have a vision of becoming better. We're looking for colleges which, through their own strategic planning, seek to become more competitive and move up the ladder of academic quality. Colleges which are content with who they are and what they've accomplished do not fit our profile. The essence and mission of our grant program is to advance all of higher education, and we seek to do that by identifying those colleges that we believe are on the move in academic quality, colleges which we believe will provide important leadership for other institutions in the years ahead.

"We spent considerable time studying Union College, and tonight represents the culmination of ongoing discussions with President Hull and his administration over several years.

"Let me report to you what we've identified as some of the strengths of Union College:

-- Strong enrollments of academically superior students;

-- An exceptional faculty dedicated to teaching;

-- Strong and growing science programs;

-- Outstanding administrative and financial management;

-- Strong institutional planning which envisions an even stronger and better Union College;

-- A Board of Trustees which has undertaken an ambitious $150 million fundraising drive to provide the resources necessary for Union to enter the 21st century as one of our nation's leading colleges;

-- An alumni body that has been extraordinarily supportive and generous.

"Even with all these strengths, Union still has needs. And that's where the F.W. Olin Foundation can help. So, in recognition of what Union has already accomplished, but also in recognition of what we believe Union can and will accomplish in the future, I'm pleased to announce that the F.W. Olin Foundation will make a grant to Union College of $9 million.

"This grant will be used to construct and equip a new high- technology classroom and laboratory building. It's expected that the new building will be used by all students at some time during their undergraduate years because it will serve as a state-of-the-art technological interface for all academic programs.

"Our building grants are made because we believe they will have an impact far beyond the building itself. It's not a prize for an architectural contest. You may think we're giving Union a building, but I prefer to see our grant as a means by which Union can realize an important part of its future."

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