Eliphalet Nott

The building is dedicated to Eliphalet Nott (1773-1866), president of Union College for sixty-two years. A Presbyterian minister and inventor, Nott was a major leader of American Education. His many innovations included a scientific curriculum and the introduction of engineering at a liberal arts college.

The Nott Memorial was conceived by President Nott in consultation with the French architect Joseph Jacques Ramee (1764-1842). In 1813 Ramee created designs for a planned campus with a circular building as an alumni or graduates' hall. Its placement and surroundings are in accordance with the Renaissance tradition of the Ideal City, espoused by Piero della Francesca. The Nott Memorial was designed by architect Edward Tuckerman Potter, the grandson of President Nott and a Union College graduate.