Schenectady, N.Y. (June 14, 1998) – If some of Union College's graduates look older and wiser than their classmates, perhaps it's because they are.
A few gray heads have been appearing in the graduation procession, thanks to a program that awards bachelor's degrees to alumni whose study was cut short – in most cases by military service. Many of the recipients have gone on to careers in medicine or law.
Each spring, the College awards bachelor's degrees to alumni who have completed at least three years of study at Union, did not receive a bachelor's degree from another institution, have received an advanced degree and have attained distinction in their field. These are not honorary degrees.
About 40 alumni have received bachelor's degrees in the eight years of the program.
This year they are:
Raymond DeMatteo '41, a Schenectady attorney and former city councilman (Mr. DeMatteo's granddaughter, Maria McLean of Schenectady, is a graduating senior at Union.);
Howard Beardmore '48, a periodontist in Coral Gables, Fla.;
Howard Seld '35, a retired attorney in Lake Worth, Fla.; and
Dr. George Clark '42, a physician in Chazy, N.Y.
Among others from past years were Dr. John Clowe '44 of Schenectady, past president of the American Medical Association; Sidney Brodsky, director of pediatric cardiology at St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa, Fla.; J. Bradley Aust, Dorn Distinguished Professor in the Department of Surgery at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio; Levon Bedrosian, medical director of the Child's Hospital in Albany; and Paul Carbone, director of the University of Wisconsin Clinical Cancer Center and a professor at the University of Wisconsin.