Posted on Jul 1, 1997

At Bob Holland's graduation from Union in 1962, one of the people he met was an alumnus who had graduated
thirty-five years before, in 1927. The alumnus, he said, was “very proud” to describe what his generation had accomplished. This June, thirty-five years after his graduation, Holland looked out at the crowd gathered on Library Field and
offered a different perspective.

“I'm here to contend that the Class of 1962, and many of the intervening classes, did not get the job done.”

Holland described growing up in segregated Michigan and, while acknowledging that there have been many positive steps in civil rights, he said that there has been much backsliding recently. The real tragedy, he said, is that we are losing our capacity to care for the poor, especially children, the elderly, and the chronically-ill.

“It has been our generation that elected the bunch now in Washington that are acting like the gang that could not shoot straight,” he said. “In the pursuit of a balanced budget and lower taxes, they have declared war on the poor for being poor.”

The issue, he said, was “a lack of simply giving a damn.”

Holland said there were two reasons he wanted to make that point with the graduating seniors. First, economic deprivation anywhere is a threat to economic stability everywhere. Second, each graduate can make a difference.
“If you decide to have a positive impact on one poverty-stricken child's life, one each year until you come back to your thirty-fifth reunion, you will have a meaningful impact on a body of people the size of New York City.

“You can check my math or you can get busy making a difference.” Holland is president of Workplace Integrators of Detroit, a large distributor of office furniture, and the former president of Ben and Jerry's, the Vermont ice cream maker (which still gives him 365 free pints of ice cream a year). Chairman of the board of Spelman College in Atlanta, his many community activities include the NCAA Foundation, the Harlem Junior Tennis Tournament, and the Make a Difference Program in Detroit.

He received an honorary doctor of laws degree from the College. His citation noted that he has compiled an impressive record of improving the fortunes of companies while developing and supporting a range of community programs, particularly those that enhance opportunities for minorities.

“Your achievements do not surprise us,” his citation read. “From the moment you arrived here after a twenty-six hour bus ride from your home in Michigan, you have shown a remarkable combination of energy, enthusiasm, and leadership. For your positive and productive efforts on behalf of so many, we are proud once again to welcome you into our alumni body.”

Honorary doctor of letters degrees were awarded to Paul LeClerc, president of the New York Public Library and a former professor of French at Union, and Mary Patterson McPherson, the retiring president of Bryn Mawr College.

The citation for LeClerc, noting the enormous changes that are transforming libraries, praised his innovations, such as Library Entrance Online, which links all eighty-four branches of
the New York Public Library, and the new $100 million Science, Industry, and Business Library. “The library you lead is one of the world's great centers of learning, and it is appropriate that we greet you today with a quotation from the man you studied, Volta ire-'Liberty of thought is the life of the soul.' ”

McPherson, who will join the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation after leaving Bryn Mawr, was honored for the exuberant and affectionate goodwill she has shown leading her college. “You once wrote that a liberal arts curriculum is the single most important support of civilization because it liberates the intellect from the confines of time and place,” read her citation. “You have lived that credo at Bryn Mawr, and in your new role at the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, we are confident that you will encourage an even wider audience in the difficult art of critical thinking.”

Holland's advice was echoed by President Roger Hull, who drew applause with a Chinese proverb:

“If you want happiness for an hour, take a nap. If you want happiness for a day, go fishing. If you want happiness for a month, get married. If you want happiness for a year, inherit a fortune. If you want happiness for a lifetime, help others.”

The senior speech was given by Randall Pellish, a political science major from Pittsfield, Mass., and the fifth member of his family to attend Union (his father, Larry, graduated in 1968).

Noting that members of his class can expect to live well into the next millennium with all of its changes, he said that the constant changes will require continuing education.

“So, maybe, in a sense, we should not fret that this is our last day at Union,” he said. “Instead, this may be a new beginning where we will just
have to come back to Union and continue to learn about the world transforming outside these gates.”

Although new pressures will push and pull all of the graduates, he told his classmates to
remember that “a diamond is a chunk of coal that made good under the pressure of change.”

The senior class gift was a present that will make it more difficult for succeeding generations of students to be late for class-a large, double-faced clock atop a ten-foot pole immediately in front of the Reamer Campus Center. The lighted faces are easily seen at distances up to 100 feet.

The class raised more than $7,000 for the gift, and more than sixty percent of the class participated. Leading the senior gift committee were Pellish, Ashley Richter, Arielle Liberman, Megan Donovan, and Luis Beltre.

The valedictorian of the senior class was Dawn Landry, a chemistry major from Plattsburgh, N.Y., and the salutatorian was Jennifer Lawless, a political science major from Middletown, N.Y.

Landry was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Sigma Xi (the national scientific research honor society), and Sigma Iota Pi (the chemistry honor society). She participated on the track and diving teams; was social chairman of Wells House, a residence hall that promotes community service; and was a mentor in a program with Zoller Elementary School in Schenectady.

Lawless was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Pi Sigma Alpha (the political science honor society). She was a member of the Pre-Law society, the Union College Democrats, an editor of Concordiensis, and student assistant in the College's International Programs office. She is

co-author, with Professor Richard Fox, of an article titled “Why Women's Voices Are Not Heard,” which will appear in the December issue of the journal Current World Leaders.

All told, the College awarded 651 degrees -154 graduate degrees, 247 bachelors of arts, 188 bachelors of science,
twenty-eight bachelors of science in civil engineering, sixteen bachelors of science in mechanical engineering, fourteen bachelors of science in electrical engineering, and four bachelors of science in computer systems engineering.

Continuing a recent tradition, the College awarded bachelor's degrees to alumni whose years at Union were interrupted-in most cases, by military service. The degrees went to:

• Dr. Robert Dewell '64, an otolaryngologist at Mary Imogone Bassett Hospital in Cooperstown, N.Y.; 
• Edward W. S. Hull '43, a former Washington Post correspondent and author of a number of books about marine coastal affairs;  
• Dr. Kenneth R. Lang '71, a dentist from Williston Park, N.Y.; 
• Dr. Richard H. Lange '46, retired chief of nuclear medicine at Ellis Hospital in Schenectady; 
• Dr. George Palmer '76, a veterinarian in Plattsburgh, N.Y.; 
• Dr. Joseph Honet '54, chair of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Sanai Hospital in Detroit; 
• Dr. Alan DeMayo '50, a pediatrician in New York City; 
• Dr. Sara Jane Goldberg-Weiss '76, a dentist in Wappingers Falls, N.Y.

They received their degrees based on the following criteria-completing at least two years at Union, not receiving bachelor's degrees elsewhere, earning higher degrees, and attaining distinction in their fields. Thirty-four alumni have received bachelor's degrees in the seven years of the program.

Posted on Jul 1, 1997

Recently, the Parents Council asked its members
to give their impressions of Union, and I'm happy to say that we look very good to this constituency. Overall, 330 of the 388 respondents rated Union good to excellent in such areas as academic affairs, student and residential life, and extracurricular activities. However, forty-eight rated the institution average, and, at the other end of the spectrum, ten parents
said we were poor or fair.

The survey also asked parents to contribute comments, and their remarks were for the most part reassuring. We were delighted to read statements such as “teachers friendly, approachable, and competent,” “amazed at the quality, variety, nutrition” of food, and “great opportunities” for participation. We were thrilled when we saw comments such as “she is growing and developing into a wonderful adult” or “it has taught him the things that he wants and does not want for his life” or “the atmosphere of learning was almost palpable in comparison to that of other campuses we visited.” We were even happy (I think) to see “Union College taught my child how to deal with disappointments in his life.”

But, being an institution that is constantly looking for ways to improve, we also read with great interest the not-so-favorable comments. I would like to share some of them with you, along with some ideas of what we can do to address them.

There were numerous comments about drinking and the Greek system-“too much boozing,” as the parent of one senior put it, and “the Greek system detracts from academics” and “students are left on their own and abuse their freedom.”
As I have repeatedly said, despite many seemingly not hearing the message, I want to continue to treat eighteen-year-olds as adults (after all, they can vote in and die for this country) and to support Greek life so long as it entails neither discrimination nor hazing. We repeatedly discuss these issues with students (one well-attended session this year was led by the local district attorney, a Union alumnus), but I refuse to send security officers into houses to check for either of these “activities.” Drinking, despite efforts that range from non-alcoholic social events to individual counseling, continues to be a problem here and at virtually every American college campus. We do have work to do-a great deal of work.

A broader array of social opportunities was another often repeated sentiment. Coupled with that sentiment were comments that we should do more to encourage student involvement in volunteer and off-campus activities. Here, theme houses are part of the answer. From Smith House (whose members open its doors to a range of student organizations for meetings and events) to Wells House (where residents share a common interest in community service) to the newly-formed and
environmentally-minded Tree House, students are trying different approaches to living and learning. And we will continue to accommodate students' interests.

Another common theme was the condition of the residence halls, which too many felt needed work. “Rooms and dorms need updating” is how one parent put it; said another, “either fix the houses or replace them.” We need both to renovate existing facilities and to develop new accommodations, which presents us with a fundraising challenge and a space problem (which is the reason for our ongoing lawsuit on our Lenox Road properties).

Terms Abroad, while generally praised, elicited some criticism. As one parent put it, “the lack of openings and opportunity is a serious defect.” We now have more than two dozen international programs, and the number of students participating puts us among the top twelve schools in the nation. We also continue to explore further options, especially regarding exchanges, which have the benefit of bringing more international students to campus. But we will never have the resources to enable students to study wherever and whenever they choose.

Perhaps the chief complaint in our academic area came with advising. “There have been many wonderful teachers, but the academic advising needs to be more informative,” said the parent of one sophomore. We do a fine job with first-year students and an excellent job once students choose a major, but we recognize that we have a problem with sophomore advising.

I do not want alumni and parents reading this column to assume the worst. The critical comments were far outweighed by wonderful ones, and, even in the areas where some parents criticized us, others had nice comments (one parent, for example, said our residence halls seem “sturdy and long-lasting, very organized and clean”).

On the whole, the parents' responses made for encouraging reading. In fact, I do not think that I can praise Union any better than the parent of one junior: “Our daughter has been challenged by a strong academic program and has benefitted by having several strong professors. She has found many opportunities to strengthen her character. This has been a wonderful opportunity.”

To that parent-thank you! To all who participated and made suggestions-thank you. And to the alumni whose support has enabled us to do
so much-thank you. We will continue to try to improve!