Posted on Jan 1, 1997

With a combination of academic forum and formal ceremony, the College dedicated the Armand V and Donald S. Feigenbaum Hall in October.

The event began with the first Feigenbaum Forum, which brought together a number of academic leaders to examine the characteristics that will be needed by a new generation of leaders in America.

The forum topic is a longstanding interest of the Feigenbaums, whose General Systems Company designs and implements integrated management systems for major corporations throughout the world.

The Feigenbaums believe that the quest for solutions to a range of complex managerial problems in the international marketplace must include more collaboration among business managers, academicians, and researchers.

To Armand Feigenbaum '42, great institutions make multiplicity a centerpoint in attracting and serving their constituencies. “Today's savvy constituencies recognize the limitations created by balkanization,” he said. “The key to genuine total quality management is fundamentally a concept of integration.”

And Donald Feigenbaum '46 noted that the key to “making multiplicity a sum not a difference is collective leadership that encourages the kind of sense of community that is genuinely shared.”

Other speakers during the lively two-hour forum included Roger Hull, president of Union; Dr. James Mandell, dean of Albany Medical College; Thomas Sponsler, dean of Albany Law School; James Lambrinos, professor of management and chairman of the College's Graduate Management Institute; Richard Kenyon, dean of engineering at Union; and Linda Cool, Union's vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty.

From the forum guests moved to the front entry of the Administration Building for the dedication ceremony. After the Feigenbaums cut the ceremonial ribbon, President Hull announced a surprise-the awarding of an honorary Doctor of Science degree to Donald Feigenbaum (Armand Feigenbaum received an honorary degree in 1992).

The citation for Donald Feigenbaum noted that in his long career he has brought the mindset of quality to many companies, imparting a message that has increased the efficiency of organizations worldwide. “Today, the Feigenbaum name takes a proud place on the Union College campus, a permanent reminder to all of us to constantly do our best,” the president said. “In this, your fiftieth ReUnion year, I am delighted to welcome you once again into the Union alumni body.”

Donald Feigenbaum graduated from Union in 1946, four years after his brother. They founded General Systems Co. in Pittsfield, Mass., thirty years ago. Armand Feigenbaum is the originator of Total Quality Control, and his book on the subject has been published in many languages and is the basic text on quality systems and improvement. Donald Feigenbaum is one of the acknowledged world leaders in systems management and systems engineering and was the founding chairman of the systems engineering committee of the American Society for Quality Control.

Armand V. and Donald S. Feigenbaum Hall was constructed in 1871 as a residence for President Eliphalet Nott Potter. It has served as the administration building since 1919, and today houses the offices of the president, vice president for academic affairs, vice president for finance, and vice president for public affairs.

Posted on Jan 1, 1997

One of the bright additions to the Union social scene this fall was a coffee house operated by a group
of students known as The Society. Located in the north end of Raymond House, the coffee house offers live music and poetry (and coffee, of course), and has proven to be a big hit with students.

The Society is the newest in what has been a growth industry at Union (and many other colleges)
– theme houses. Simply put, theme houses are student-initiated, student-run living areas that often occupy a wing or a floor of a residence hall. They involve small groups of students who share common interests and who work toward a common goal. Sometimes the students will “retrofit” the theme to their interests; sometimes they have a definite goal in mind for their house-doing community service or providing a coffee house setting, for example.

As the magazine reported in the September issue, the College has a growing array of theme houses. At Wells House, students share an interest in community service, and residents have established a tutoring program called One-on-One with Zoller Elementary School in Schenectady. Smith House provides social alternatives, ranging from art shows and poetry readings to an outdoor jazz concert. Bridging the gap between students and faculty is the theme of Ludlow House, which holds a weekly dinner with faculty.

One reader of that article noted that “in terminology and definition,” theme houses were “nearly synonymous with the Greek system at Union.” He wondered, as have other alumni, about the College's
position regarding fraternities and sororities.

My position is simple: I will continue to support fraternities and sororities as long as they neither discriminate nor haze. Unlike most college presidents in the Northeast, I am not interested in the demise of the fraternity system.

Beyond that, I want to do what I can to allow everyone to have the best possible college experience. In short, I want to have a more level playing field at Union for Greek and independent students-not by taking anything away from fraternities and sororities but by adding to independent students' opportunities. Those opportunities are not presently great enough, and we
will – through theme housing and other options – do what we can to improve the Union experiences for all of our students.

I know that this issue is of deep interest to many alumni, and I also know that a brief statement like this cannot answer all the questions that can be raised and issues that must be dealt with. One of those issues is the physical condition of Greek houses. When a house reaches such a state of disrepair that living there is simply unsafe, the College
must – and will – act. That is why Delta Phi was closed, and not – as I'm afraid some choose to
think – because we want to eliminate Greeks one by one.

Our position is something of an anomaly these days, but it's one that I think makes sense. Students will want to gather and live with friends of common interest, just as they did more than 170 years ago when the fraternity system began at Union. The College's goal is to make sure that the same kinds of opportunities are open to all our students.

ROGER H. HULL