Posted on Aug 29, 2007

Union  is among more than 400 institutions that will participate in a new Web-based project that will give prospective students and their parents accurate comparative data to help them when making a decision on which college to attend.

The University and College Accountability Network (U-CAN) is expected to debut next month. The site was created by the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, of which Union is a member.

Participating colleges will create a two-page profile that will include such information as the number of students who applied to the college, the number accepted and the number who enrolled. In addition, the profile will provide gender and ethnic background about students, graduation rates and tuition and student loan statistics. There also will be links to relevant areas on each college’s own Web site.

The U-CAN site comes as federal education officials and members of Congress have encouraged schools to provide better information to the public, and amid concerns that there has been too much reliance on rankings by publications such as U.S. News and World Report.

“We sympathize with the growing objection to rankings because of concerns about methodology and the fact that rankings make seemingly significant distinctions when they really are not significant,” said President Stephen C. Ainlay.

“We understand the importance of supporting families’ need for information as they consider colleges. We are committed to providing them with useful and accurate data, and the U-CAN initiative is one way of accomplishing this.”

Posted on Aug 29, 2007

The 564 members of the Class of 2011 will move into their residence halls Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Students will receive an official welcome from President Stephen C. Ainlay and other College leaders at 3 p.m. in Memorial Chapel. At 3:45 p.m., the students will say goodbye to their parents before heading off to their group orientation activities.

At 7 p.m., students will walk over to the President’s House, where they will sing the College’s alma mater, Ode to Old Union, for Ainlay and his wife, Judith. Ainlay is beginning his second year as president of Union.

The students in the Class of 2011 were chosen from a record 4,837 applications, and 67 percent were in the top 10 percent of their high school class.

For the first time in the College’s 213-year history, the number of incoming female freshmen surpasses male students, 286 to 278. The College began admitting women in September 1970.

Upperclass students move in Labor Day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Classes for all students begin Wednesday, Sept. 5.

 For a complete list of orientation activities, click here. 

Posted on Aug 24, 2007

President Stephen C. Ainlay has voiced his opposition to a proposed boycott of Israeli colleges by the British faculty union.

In early July, Ainlay sent a letter to the General Secretary of the University and College Union (UCU), decrying the idea of a boycott. He, along with leaders of other prominent U.S. colleges and universities hopes to influence the debate in Great Britain by speaking out forcefully against the proposal.

The proposal, which is currently being debated in regional meetings of the 120,000-member UCU, calls for boycotting Israeli academic institutions and academicians in order to apply pressure on the Israeli government.

"I join my colleague, President Lee Bollinger of Columbia University, and the mounting chorus of other college and university presidents and scholars, in voicing my objection to this course of action,'' Ainlay wrote in his letter. “Like President Bollinger, I find the idea of a boycott ‘utterly antithetical to the fundamental values of the academy, where we will not hold intellectual exchange hostage to the political disagreements of the moment.'' '

 “At a time when world tensions run high and pressures toward fragmentation seemingly grow, the academy provides the greatest hope for dialogue and understanding. The boycott of Israeli academics and/or academic institutions stands to dash such hope. In my view, the UCU is considering action that would damage the very mission of higher education.

 “I am proud to say that Union College will work to foster, not diminish, dialogue and intellectual exchange. I urge members of the UCU to be mindful of the mission of higher education, to turn away from the idea of a boycott, and join us in doing the same.” 

Posted on Aug 21, 2007

Union College is among more than 400 institutions that will participate in a new Web-based project that will give prospective students and their parents accurate comparative data to help them when making a decision on which college to attend.

The University and College Accountability Network (U-CAN) is expected to debut next month. The site was created by the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, of which Union is a member.

Participating colleges will create a two-page profile that will include such information as the number of students who applied to the college, the number accepted and the number who enrolled. In addition, the profile will provide gender and ethnic background about students, graduation rates and tuition and student loan statistics. There also will be links to relevant areas on each college’s own Web site.

The U-CAN site comes as federal education officials and members of Congress have encouraged schools to provide better information to the public, and amid concerns that there has been too much reliance on rankings by publications such as U.S. News and World Report.

“We sympathize with the growing objection to rankings because of concerns about methodology and the fact that rankings make seemingly significant distinctions when they really are not significant,” said President Stephen C. Ainlay.

“We understand the importance of supporting families’ need for information as they consider colleges. We are committed to providing them with useful and accurate data, and the U-CAN initiative is one way of accomplishing this.”

Posted on Aug 21, 2007

The  Times Union chronicled the recent trek by a group of recent Union College graduates who skated from Florida to Maine to raise money for autism.

The event, called "Rolling for Autism," raised more than $100,000 over the past two months.

To read the complete story, click here (registration may be required).