November 2012 News Archive

The Union College Ethics Bowl team finished second among the 25 teams that competed in the Northeast Regional Ethics Bowl competition at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Conn.,  Saturday, putting it in contention for the upcoming national championship in Florida.

Seven Union students went head to head against their peers from such schools as Colgate University, Manhattan College, Marist, Providence College, the University of Baltimore, Villanova, West Point and Williams.

Union College has an estimated annual economic impact of $274 million on the Capital Region, a report released by the Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities shows.

This includes $19.5 million contributed to the economy by its 2,200 students and thousands of visitors annually to the College, according to the analysis done by the Center for Governmental Research, which conducted the statewide study for the CICU.

An opening reception for a new exhibit of Adirondack photography will be held Thursday, Nov. 29, from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the Kelly Adirondack Center.

The series of more than a dozen images were shot by Matt Milless, director of Student Activities, over the course of a year in the Piseco Lake area. Milless used a Canon 5D Mark ii or Canon 7D for the pictures, which include landscape and wildlife scenes.

Chef Ernest Servantes, who won the Food Network’s recent Chopped Grill Masters competition, was a recent guest chef on campus. He helped prepare lunch in Upper Class Dining Thursday and dinner Friday in West Dining Hall.

A photographer from the Times Union stopped by to watch Servantes in action. To see photos, click here.

Assistant Psychology Professor Christopher Chabris and Daniel J. Simons, a psychology professor at the University of Illinois, wrote a piece for the Wall Street Journal about neuromyths such as humans only use 10 percent of their brain.

Chabris and Simons are co-authors of The Invisible Gorilla, And Other Ways Our Intuitions Deceive Us.

With seven weeks until the official close of the “You are Union” campaign, Union has topped its goal of $250 million in the largest and most comprehensive fundraising campaign in its history. The campaign, publicly launched in 2004 and expanded by $50 million in 2008, has been transformative for the College, bolstering student scholarships and financial aid, faculty support, research programs, campus facilities and other priority needs outlined in the school’s strategic plan.

The campus community collected supplies for the victims of Hurricane Sandy. The items filled two College vans, which were driven to Monmouth County, N.J. and Staten Island, N.Y., two of the hardest hit areas.

To read about Union's effort in the Times Union and to view a photo gallery, click here.

President Ainlay was profiled as part of The Business Review's popular feature, 10 Minutes With, in which key decision makers and leaders share leadership philosophy, motivation and turning points in their lives.

To read the article, click here (subscription may be required).

In the early 19th century, Union's eloquent and energetic president, Eliphalet Nott, saw a need to expand the campus. The College occupied a single stone building in the Stockade neighborhood in Schenectady and was quickly outgrowing its space.

Nott began buying up land on Nistiquona Hill, about a half mile east of town for the new campus. He envisioned a family-like community of scholars where faculty and students lived together, "separated from the great world."

With seven weeks until the official close of the “You are Union” campaign, Union has topped its goal of $250 million in the largest and most comprehensive fundraising campaign in its history, College leaders announced at an alumni event held tonight.