Crowds, crowds, crowds, and more crowds! Hardly a common occurrence at Union. However, this year-and this time in the College's life-is certainly different.
Beginning with our magnificent birthday celebration on February 25, we had ample reasons to be exhilarated (and exhausted). The Founders Day convocation, in a jam-packed Memorial Chapel, set the tone for the rest of the day, with wonderful comments and reminiscences by the Eliphalet Nott medalists. Following a luncheon for 1,000, the newly-restored Nott Memorial was rededicated before a wonderful crowd of family and friends, among whom was David McCullough, the Pulitzer Prizewinning author of Truman and last year's commencement speaker, who gave a truly marvelous talk on the importance of the Nott (please do not miss his comments as reprinted in this issue).
Then the hockey team did its part by lighting up the scoreboard with five quick goals and beating Harvard before a delirious crowd of 2,500 fans in Achilles Rink. A live television broadcast, beamed across the country to twenty-five alumni gatherings via satellite, reached another 1,000 alumni.
Finally, the evening ended, at least for some of us, with a black-tie gala in the fieldhouse that brought together nearly 3,000 people to dance the night away to the music of the Duke Ellington Orchestra and that unified this campus in a way that I have not seen before.
All of us who were wondering how the events of Founders Day would turn out were absolutely delighted, ecstatic, thrilled-you choose the word-at the turnout for each event. Although it is commonplace to use the word “apathy” on college campuses today, apathy stayed home and did not make even a token appearance on campus that weekend.
Less than two months later there were again huge crowds on campus, and again we were delighted to welcome them. This time the crowds were students who had been accepted to Union and
were coming to campus to determine whether Union was to be the institution where they spend the next four years.
As you know, or at least as many of you know, the
admissions world is a volatile one these days. For the past three years, we have had three full (more than full) classes, and this year we broke all of our admissions records in terms of applications. By the time you read this column, we will know what the exact number of students coming to Union will be. For now, I remain “cautiously optimistic” because I know that our first-rate admissions office has done its job, and I know, too, that the increasing attention that the College is receiving is translating into record numbers of applications of increased quality.
During a three-day period in mid-April, another crowd-a huge crowd of more than 1,800 people-descended onto the campus for three exciting days. For the second time in six years, Union played host to students and faculty from colleges and universities throughout the country who were coming together for the National Council on Undergraduate Research. As I have said in describing the Charles Steinmetz Symposium-a symposium that was held for the fifth time in May and gave students an opportunity to describe the research that they are engaged in with faculty-nothing validates better what this institution stands for than undergraduate research.
With faculty and students working hand-in-hand, students are able to hone their research skills and to develop their talents to the fullest; and, with an opportunity to stand on their feet to present that research, they also have the chance to express themselves about work that they feel (rightly) proud of.
In addition, it is important to note that the presenters come from a range of disciplines. For instance, I moderated seven presentations – all from the areas
of philosophy, political science, and religion-and I found myself, as usual, disappointed that I could not get to more presentations. However, one event in particular stands out in my mind. Organized by Professor of Music Hilary Tann, and including in the program a composition written by Union student Jennifer Pyun, an evening of music was scheduled for the Nott. For the 400-500 people there that evening, and certainly for me, it was a memorable night.
Undergraduate research is a shorthand description for all of the many ways students apply what they are learning in classrooms and laboratories. From art to economics to history to music to the sciences and engineering, our students are encouraged to engage in undergraduate research. Simply stated, we are convinced that the best learning comes when students are actively involved in the learning process. The parable may not be perfect as an analogy, but it is similar to giving a man a fish or teaching him how to fish. Since we want to have our students learn “how to fish,” I am delighted by the tremendous response to what we have been doing for the past four years, and I am encouraged that the number of students engaged in undergraduate research and in making presentations on what they have been engaged in are growing each year.
The crowds will certainly continue for the rest of the year. In June, there will be a Reunion like none before, a Reunion that I would encourage all of you to come back to participate in. Next fall, we will celebrate twenty-five years of coeducation at Union, and we will also celebrate 150 years of engineering at this historic institution. For each of these events-for all of these events-I hope you will come back and visit. Although generally it is not fun to be part of a crowd, a Bicentennial celebration is certainly the exception to the rule.
Roger H. Hull