The College's 202nd year began, in a way, last June, when nearly all of the 590 freshmen attended the first summer orientation ever.
Over five one-day sessions, members of the Class of 2000 met their advisors, registered for classes, learned the philosophy and requirements of the General Education program, were introduced to their summer reading, and got through some of the bureaucracy associated with entering college.
Dean of Faculty Linda Cool reported that one result of the early sessions was that students enrolled in more advanced and/or challenging courses than had been the case in the past. “Our first analysis is that this is a result of the fact that students had direct access to
departmental representatives at registration,” she said.
Orientation continued in the
fall with two new components – a series of study skills programs
(from note-taking to “how to avoid procrastination”) and a series of community service projects. Working in conjunction with Schenectady 2000, a community revitalization effort, the Class of 2000 gave about 2,000 hours of volunteer labor to cleaning parks, landscaping public areas, and painting walls and bridges. The community service work was so successful that it received a special commendation from the Schenectady City Council.
The big news at the opening convocation that ended orientation and began the academic
year was the announcement of the $9 million gift from the F.W. Olin Foundation.
The gift will be used to construct and equip a high technology classroom and laboratory building, and the announcement-delivered by Lawrence W. Milas, foundation president-received a standing ovation from the crowd packed into Memorial Chapel.
The campus also was cheered by the news that the College was going out for bids on the reconstruction and expansion of Schaffer Library.
Other highlights of the opening convocation included:
- the investiture of Robert Sharlet as the Chauncey H. Winters Professor of Political Science (see the profile of Bob Sharlet on page 3);
- the awarding to Professor John Garver of the Geology Department of the Stillman Prize for Excellence in Teaching;
- the naming of Professors Charlotte Eyerman (art history) and Sarah Henry (history) as the John D., and Catherine T. MacArthur Assistant Professors, which provides support for
promising junior faculty members early in their careers; and - the honoring of 553 students whose grade point averages last year earned them Dean's List honors.
In the “miscellany” department of the opening of the year, the annual student computer survey found that Union students are increasingly active in the computer culture.
Sixty-eight percent own a personal computer (up from fifty-eight percent in 1995), and
ninety-three percent either own or have access to a student-owned computer in their rooms (up from eighty-seven percent last year).
The Career Development Center has introduced a new media center, which will enable students to research careers, graduate schools, and employers on the World Wide Web as well as look up alumni on the Union Career Advisory Network. The center also has joined a consortium of selective colleges to promote career opportunities or liberal arts majors. The group, comprising Bowdoin, Colgate, Middlebury, Oberlin, ,and Vassar in addition to Union, already cross-lists job openings and coordinates recruiting schedules.