Social science news

Presidential prose: Letter from Thomas Jefferson, others part of Union collection

In 1824, physician, botanist and geologist Lewis C. Beck published an article in the New York Medical and Physical Journal on research he had done on the climate of the valley of the Mississippi. A member of Union’s Class of 1817, Beck challenged a theory on climate offered by Thomas Jefferson of both his home state and America as a whole in his 1787 book, “Notes on the State of Virginia.” Jefferson believed that, at similar parallels of latitude, the climate of the Mississippi Valley was warmer than that o

New study links historical redlining to tree disparity in Schenectady

A city’s street trees offer a myriad of environmental and psychological benefits, including shade, habitat and food for wildlife, and reducing pollutants in the air. Yet some neighborhoods in the city of Schenectady have significantly more tree-lined streets than others. Blame the environmental injustice on discriminatory federal housing policies dating back decades for the disparity in the tree canopy. New research by Allison Malatesta ’24 and Jeff Corbin, the Florence B. Sherwood Professor of Life Science

Union to mark 80th anniversary of Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings with a number of special events

Mushroom clouds of atomic bombs

President David Harris to give Founders Day talk

For his upcoming talk, Harris has been looking through Union’s archives and picking the brain of experts like Denis Brennan, a retired lecturer in the History Department who taught a class on Union College history.

Picture perfect: Historic Nott portrait gets a makeover

Eliphalet Nott has never looked better. A stately portrait of Union’s longtime president is back in the historic building that bears his name after a much-needed refresh at the Williamstown Art Conservation Center. Painted by the renowned artist Henry Inman and completed in 1844, the massive 8-foot-by-5-foot portrait that weighs nearly 100 pounds deteriorated over time. The last full restoration of the painting was done more than 40 years ago, in 1981.

Year in review: Most read stories of 2024

The former Phi Delta Theta House, one of the most iconic buildings on campus, will be torn down after years of being plagued by structural and mechanical issues. Built in 1914 at a cost of $17,000, the house overlooking the 50-yard line at Frank Bailey Field has been largely vacant since 2012 after the chimney collapsed and the boiler malfunctioned.

Students compete in Federal Reserve Challenge

Economics students who participated in the Fed Challenge.

Holocaust survivor Irene Zisblatt to speak at Kristallnacht commemoration

Irene Zisblatt

Catching up with…Sohini Chattopadhyay

Sohini Chattopadhyay has predominantly lived in cities that grew during the British colonial rule in India.

Sohini Chattopadhyay

Electric City Maker Faire: A day of creativity, learning and fun

On a recent weekday afternoon, Olivia Belfonti ’27, Michael Fitzmaurice ’27 and Adam Otsuka ’27, examine a pultrusion machine in Union’s 3D lab on the ground floor of the Wold Center.