Posted on Nov 30, 2001

Schenectady, NY (Nov. 30, 2001) – John Moses of Stamford, a 1953 graduate of Union College in Schenectady, New York, has been appointed National Chair of the Annual Fund for the College.

“John has been a tireless supporter of Union for decades,” Union Vice President of College Relations Tom Gutenberger said. “His knowledge of the College and dedication to higher education make him the ideal person for this important role.”

As National Chair, Moses will work closely with his alma mater to encourage alumni participation in supporting the College's annual
fund drive.

“I'm grateful for this opportunity to give something back to the institution that has given so much to me,” Moses noted. “Supporting Union and furthering the cause of higher education is more important today than
ever before, as the costs of providing quality education keep rising. A successful annual fund initiative enables Union to continue to offer first-rate classroom and out-of-classroom experiences for students of all backgrounds. I look forward to the challenge and the opportunity to make a positive difference.”

While a student at Union, Moses was President of the Student Council, Chairman of the Interfraternity Council, President of the Student Body, and President of Phi Sigma Kappa. In 1989, he was awarded Union's Alumni Gold Medal for outstanding commitment to his alma mater.

A management consultant and trainer, Moses formerly held positions as Director of Training for Marriott International's Northeast Region and as Director of Interdepartmental Training and Organization Development at NYNEX. He is current president of the Southern
Connecticut/Westchester Chapter of the Association for Psychological Type, an
international organization which promotes the knowledge and ethical use of psychological type in education, business, government, family counseling and career guidance. Moses also serves on the Board of Directors of the Stamford Senior Center. He and his wife, Patricia, have four children and four grandchildren.

 Founded in 1795, the first college chartered by the Regents of the State of New York, Union is an independent, coeducational liberal arts college. In 1845, Union became the first liberal arts college to offer engineering. Today, Union is a recognized leader in both undergraduate research and international study; the College offers academic programs in the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and engineering. Union's 2000 students come from more than 35 states and two-dozen other countries.

Posted on Nov 28, 2001

Senior defensive end Josh Stinehour (Rochester, NY/Penfield
High School) was among 45 student-athletes to be recognized for their performances during the recently concluded fall season.  Stinehour, a four-year letterwinner and two-year starter for the football team, is a top-10 finalist for the prestigious Gagliardi Trophy (the equivalent of the Heisman Trophy) as the best
Division III player in the country. The winner will be announced on December 13.

Stinehour, who picked up 33 quarterback sacks in the last two
years (including a nationally-ranked 20 sacks this year), was also named the Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association's “Defensive Player of the Year.” A first-team All-Conference selection the
last two seasons, Stinehour was named to this year's Verizon Academic All-East team (which advances him to the national ballot) and was a member of the UCAA All-Academic team. A computer science major with a mathematics minor, Stinehour is very active in community service
which includes the renovation of housing for low-income families in
Schenectady.

The Dutchmen's fourth-leading tackler this year with 51 total tackles, Stinehour has also been nominated for several All-American honors as well as the Woody Hayes National Scholar-Athlete Award. He finished his
career with 133 total tackles, six fumble recoveries, and eight forced fumbles, to go along with his 33 quarterback sacks.

Senior placekicker Andrew Ruffo (Conklin, NY/Susquehanna
Valley) joined Stinehour on both the Verizon All-East team and the UCAA All-Conference squad. Ruffo set the Union record for career field goals (38) and finished with 114 point after
touchdown kicks and 228 total points. He was named to the UCAA All-Conference squad as a first-team punter and a second-team placekicker.

Other Dutchmen named to the UCAA All-Academic team were senior
linebacker Mike Ranfone (Branford, CT/Hamden Hall), senior defensive backs Radney Wood (Newport, NY/West Canada Valley) and James Weaver
(Bronxville, NY/Iona Prep), and junior defensive tackle Justin Sievert (New Paltz, NY/New Paltz).

The Dutchmen had 10 players named to the UCAA All-Conference first team, six players named to the second team, and two named to the honorable mention squad.

First-team honorees included: senior fullback Matt Laporta
(Rensselaer, NY/Columbia); senior offensive linemen Justin Forrester (Rochester, NY/Bridgton Academy) and Mike Visconti (East Boston, MA/Northfield Mount Hermon), who picked up his third-straight first-team award; senior linebacker Mike Rosenthal (Walpole, MA/Blair Academy), who finished fourth on Union's all-time tackle chart with 279 total tackles and earned his third consecutive first-team award; senior defensive back George Kandirakis (N. White Plains, NY/Valahalla); junior tailback George Beebe (Salem, NY/Salem); junior tight end Pat St. Denis (Voorheesville, NY/Bouton); junior offensive lineman A.J. Bodden (Scotia, NY/Scotia-Glenville); Ruffo, and Stinehour.

Senior quarterback Ben Gilbert (Brattleboro, VT/Brattleboro
Union), who set several Union records including career yards (8,208), career touchdown passes (75), and touchdown passes in a season (27), while leading the Dutchmen to a four-year record of 33-9 and into postseason play the
last three years, headed the seven players who were named to the second team. Junior wide receiver Ryan Gallo (Troy, NY/Catholic Central), junior offensive line Chris Lalonde
(Queensbury, NY/Queensbury) joined Ranfone, Sievert, Wood, Ruffo, and Weaver on the second team. Junior offensive lineman Alan Fiore (Staten Island, NY/Wagner) and junior
defensive lineman Dan Croce (Modena, NY/Wallkill) were both honorable mention selections.

Senior field hockey standout Yvonne Turchetti (Red Hook,
NY/Red Hook) was the most decorated female athlete of the fall term. Turchetti was named to the UCAA All-Academic as well as to the All-Conference first team (for the third consecutive
year). She was also a second-team
all-state selection as well as a second team National Field Hockey Coaches Association. Turchetti, a defensive player, was the Dutchwomen's leading scorer for the third consecutive
year. She finished her career with 24 goals and 57 points.

Joining Turchetti for field hockey recognition were senior Heather Babcock (Farmington, CT/Farmington), who was UCAA All-Academic and All-Conference second team, senior Lindsay Simon (Madison, CT/Loomis
Chaffee), and sophomore Lauren Updegrove (Portsmouth, RI/Portsmouth Abbey School), who qualified for the All-Academic squad.

The women's soccer team had two of its members qualify for the
UCAA All-Academic team, three players voted to the All-Conference first team, and two players chosen to the All-Conference second team. Five Dutchwomen were voted to the All-State team.

Sophomore forward Stephanie Mole' (Newton, MA/Newton
North) recorded the hat trick as she was named UCAA All-Academic, All-Conference first team, and All-State after leading the Dutchwomen in scoring with her 13 goals and 31 points.  Junior goaltender Carolyn Stead (Portland, ME/Deering) joined Mole' on the UCAA
All-Academic team while senior defender Stephanie Maychack (Averill Park, NY/Averill Park) was selected to both the UCAA All-Conference first team
and the All-State squad. Senior
midfielder Lauren Byrne (Northport, NY/Northport) was a UCAA All-Conference first-team selection, and freshman midfielder Molly Flanagan
(Simsbury, CT/Loomis Chaffee) and sophomore midfielder Erin Holmes (St. Louis, MO/Corjesu Academy) were both selected to the All-State and UCAA All-Conference second team. Senior defender Carrie Price (Wakefield, MA/Wakefield) was an All-State selection.

The volleyball squad saw three of its players honored as junior Corinn Jordan (New Hyde Park, NY/Herricks) earned a spot on both the UCAA All-Academic and All-Conference teams. Sophomore Sarah Pontius (Oneonta, NY/Oneonta) and freshman
Susan Gestwick (Charlton, NY/Burnt Hills) were both All-Conference picks.

Senior defender David Kahn (Port Washington, NY/Schreiber) headed the list of four men's soccer players who achieved postseason recognition.  Kahn was qualified for the UCAA All-Academic team and was voted to the All-Conference first team. Classmate Elliot Ziebel (West Hartford, CT/Hall), a midfielder, was an All-Academic member while junior forward Graham Lombardo (Bristol, RI/Suffield Academy) was voted to the All-Conference
first team after leading the Dutchmen in scoring with 38 points. Lombardo's 18 goals broke the College's
single-season record of 17 set by Craig Jeffries in 1975 while the 38 points ties Jeffries' single-season standard. Sophomore Peter Devine (Millbury, MA/St. John's) was voted to the
UCAA second team.

Three members of the women's tennis team-senior Kelly Stewart (Aspen, CO/Aspen), junior Megann Denefrio (Blauvelt, NY/Saddle River Day), and sophomore Ann Rutter (Rocky Point, NY/Rocky Point) were all chosen to the UCAA All-Academic team.

Cross country placed four of its members on the UCAA All-Academic team. Junior Jeff Fairfield (Kennebunkport, ME/Thornton Academy), sophomore Katie Beck (Basking Ridge, NJ/Ridge), junior Jennifer Moon (Morrisville,
NY/Morrisville), and sophomore Rebecca Seaman (Poughkeepsie, NY/Arlington) all qualified.

In order to be a member of the UCAA All-Academic team, a
student-athlete must have a cumulative grade point average of 3.2 or higher and be a significant contributor to the team. Freshmen are not eligible.

FALL TEAMS EXCEL

All the individual successes translated into a banner season for the fall teams. Union's eight varsity programs produced an overall record of 70-43-1, for a winning percentage of .623.

Women's soccer headed the field as the Dutchwomen earned their third consecutive trip to the NCAA tournament and finished with a record of 15-3-1. The volleyball team established a school record for wins with its 25-13 mark (breaking the old standard of 24) and was invited to its first-ever ECAC postseason tournament. The Dutchwomen also participated in the New York State Women's Collegiate Athletic Association tournament for the second-straight year.

The football team earned its third consecutive postseason
invitation and won the ECAC Northwest championship to finish at 9-2. The men's soccer team posted its first winning season since 1993 with its 10-7 record and the women's tennis team placed seventh of 16 teams in the state tournament. While the field hockey squad finished with a sub-.500 record (6-10), the Dutchwomen were in every contest, losing six games by only one goal.

Posted on Nov 26, 2001

As readers of this column know, I love to travel. However, between work family, my travel is fairly restricted these days. I did, though, take a week this summer to go to Korea to trek and work out in a dojang, since I have long been a devotee of the Korean marshal art of tae kwon do.

While trekking in monsoon-like rains, I thought back to my last column in which I spoke in generalities of the need for institutions to have the courage to change. Now I would like to be more specific and to state clearly where these changes leave us.

The Plan for Union, which has been discussed in detail in past issues of the magazine, sets forth a number of
objectives that will enable Union to become stronger. When fully accomplished, I believe that we will have a college that is better in every measurable way. Yet it is the two changes in tradition that most concern alums and that are, in my judgment, most essential to our future well-being. In each instance, the
traditions of which they are a part will – and here I want to be as unequivocal as I can be – continue, albeit in modified fashion.

The first of these traditions concerns our residential and social life. As most alums know, the fraternity
tradition at Union goes back to 1825. Fraternities have served a very useful
function to Union over the years and have benefited immeasurably a large number of the student body who were members. But the fact remains that all – all – of the data that we have gathered, and that colleges like Union throughout the Northeast have confirmed with their data, shows that a domination by fraternities is a
major deterrent to students seeking a college like ours. Obviously, there is a
paradox. Since Union has seen a fifty percent increase in applications during
the past decade and has had full enrollment during that time, why should we be concerned? Because the prospective students who are saying that they do not want to go to a college at which fraternities dominate the physical and social life are the best students in the applicant pool. And if we are to attract those students, and in the process move Union forward, we have to address this
issue.

In dealing with this matter we did not choose the easy route that most of our Northeast counterparts followed by banning fraternities. Instead, we are creating a house system that will
provide all students with an enriched social life and, at the same time, enable fraternities to continue the tradition begun in 1825. Yes, a number of the fraternities that will be moved from the center of campus will clearly and obviously have a different residential experience. However, their fraternal organization, and all fraternities, will continue. At their best, fraternities can be a very positive part of the Union community, and we will do our part to help them succeed.

Engineering also has a long and
rich tradition at Union. Beginning in 1845, when Eliphalet Nott brought civil
engineering to Union, we have been engaged in an effort to bring the liberal arts and engineering closer together. When I challenged Dean of Engineering Bob Balmer to refocus our efforts in engineering – a challenge that, if successfully developed, will provide a comparative advantage for us vis-à-vis our competitors – he proposed the concept of converging technologies. And, since knowledge is increasingly occurring at the intersections of disciplines, I felt that his idea made great sense.

Basically, with converging technologies we will continue to offer computer systems, electrical, and mechanical engineering degrees, while exposing students to the concepts of bioengineering, mechatronics, and nanotechnology, through the interaction of biology, chemistry, physics, and ethics with engineering. At the same time, given the fact that we were putting a disproportionate amount of our
resources into engineering, I felt that we could not afford to deal with the
need for more full-time faculty in engineering by adding greater resources to the engineering division. For this reason, we will phase out civil engineering, thereby meeting our need without adding resources. It is important to note that we will spend no less than we are now spending on engineering and that we will raise $9 million to renovate our engineering facilities and to provide for
enhanced programmatic support.

Neither of the changes in tradition – the fraternity or engineering
traditions – should be perceived as anything other than changes. Although some have said that changes in the fraternity system and engineering program are simply precursors to their abolition, nothing could be further from the truth. Not only is change not tantamount to abolition, but change is essential if Union is to marshal its resources in the most effective way. Neither of these decisions will be popular. Just, though, as it is not always popular to do the right thing, so it is not always right to do the popular thing. Union as an institution
is more important than any one of its individual parts. However, in this
instance, the fraternity and engineering parts that concern so many alumni will continue to be significant pieces of the College's fabric for the foreseeable future.

Posted on Nov 26, 2001

The Civil War was the bloodiest conflict in American history, with more casualties than in all previous wars combined.

Those who lived through this national calamity were required to display extraordinary courage and endurance. Many did that and more, with little fanfare or recognition:

“We expect to have to fight our way in some places but our Regiment being 1060 strong we don't fear. Should anything happen to me you and Ned are authorized to pay what you know I owe even if it is necessary to sell out but I am in hopes that I will return Safe. Nearly all went to Confession to Father Mooney and are prepared for the worst, I write this at 7 and we march at 8 A.M. Good Buy All. Pray for Me.”

These words are contained in a letter to brothers James and Edward and sister Margret from Union Army Captain William Butler as he set out for battle in Virginia in 1861. His legacy to us is a collection of recently found letters that give a unique personal view of the war.

The documents are a gift to the College's Special Collections from distant relative Gioia Ottaviano of Schenectady. She had found them wrapped in a pillowcase in her uncle's Wisconsin farmhouse attic, along with Butler's sword. Most of the 150 letters and other documents between 1859 and 1864 are from Butler to his family.

William Butler was born in 1831 in New Castle, Ireland. We learn from a tattered indenture certificate that as a thirteen-year-old, he was apprenticed to merchant James Leara, of Clonmel, “to learn his Art, and with him (after the manner of an Apprentice) to dwell and serve from the first day of April 1844 unto the full end and term of seven years.” From this certificate, we also learn that William was the fourth-youngest son of Edmond Butler of Bohernagaul, in the County of Tipperary.

By March 1, 1859, we realize that Butler was living in New York City, since it was on this date that he joined the 69th Regiment, 4th Brigade, 1st Division of the Militia, as a lieutenant. Judging by his letters, at least two brothers and a sister were living in New York as well. Discharged that August, he reenlisted as a captain in November. Discharged once more in September 1862, the following month he reenlisted again. In January 1863, he began signing his letters “Major William Butler.”

The 69th Regiment, nicknamed the Fighting 69th by Confederate General Robert E. Lee, was established in 1851 by Irish immigrants in New York City. During the Civil War, the 69th was known for the length of its service and number of engagements in which it was involved. It led all regiments from New York State in killed and wounded.

Butler's war letters begin in 1861, while sailing to Annapolis on a troop ship, then marching on foot the forty miles to Washington. Some months, he wrote almost daily, documenting everyday concerns of Civil War soldiers: life, death, health, clothing (boots especially), money, and liquor. These accompanying excerpts are transcribed unedited.

We know from his last letters that Butler was shot and wounded in battle near Petersburg, Va., on June 16, 1864, and, from an official notice, that on or about Aug. 15, 1864, he died in the U.S. Hospital in Annapolis, Md. But for readers 137 years later, his letters bring history to life. Says Ellen H. Fladger, head of Special Collections, “The letters make compelling reading for students and Civil War researchers alike. This is a fine, compact collection of primary source material.”

Civil War letter excerpts from William Butler

June 7, 1861

“I'm still in good health thank god no attack yet although we are sleeping every night with our clothes on and muskets beside the men after working nearly all day, finishing our food last night we were pretty sure of an attack. The alarm was sounded at 12 and 2 at night. If we were only allowed to rest at night we would soon have this place finished.”

June 27, 1862

“I have tasted of the new made Brandy. I think it will do very well. I think it has a little too much taste of rum but that I think won't hurt it. If I am not asking too much I would like that jar or any portion of it. Say if you can get four or six of them jars and make a small box, by the fourth of July in order to give my boys a drink on that occasion.”

July 7, 1862

“I see by the papers that the Irish Brigade had to take a good share of fighting, I am sorry for some of those I know who are killed or wounded.”

July 15, 1862

“I am in good health but the flesh is coming off a little. Some days here is terrible hot. This day is fearful.”

January 29, 1863

“I was in bed when the orders came. We left the Camp before 12 O'clock that night. Marched about six miles when the Cavalry met the Pickets of the Rebels. The Artillery soon began to work, Our Regiment was moved close to the Artillery but the good shelter from the firing by being placed in a wood but several trees and limbs of trees came down around us and our Regiment lost 6 killed and about 10 wounded. My horse acted first rate he never moved an inch and I assure you them big ones came as close to where I was standing as any one would wish.”

May 8, 1863

“A flag of truce was recognized from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. last night for the purpose of burying the dead and bringing in the wounded.”

May 28, 1863

“You could hardly know me with my coat white with dust and dirt and torn with bushes and laying down at night, and as for my bearded face and hair you would hardly see my eyes at all.”

March 12, 1864

“The guerrillas are keeping pretty quiet. It is not safe to go far from Camp without a guard. The principal duty I have is to visit the different Posts along the Railroad for Seven miles, every fourth day. Those guerrillas are sometimes seen in the miles between each Post. A few days ago they took two of the 155th Regiment who was coming to get three horses shod. They have not been heard of since and of course the horses are gone.”

Posted on Nov 26, 2001

A unique partnership between Union and Hobart and William Smith Colleges, both traditional leaders in faculty-led off-campus programs, was launched this year.
The partnership is a way to cost-effectively send more students to more locations, offer pre-departure orientation programming for students, and find ways to link returning students' international experience with campus intellectual life.

It's also expected to increase the pool of engaged faculty, achieve administrative efficiencies, and serve as a model for other institutions. The partnership was funded in 1999 by a $400,000, four-year Andrew W. Mellon Foundation grant.

The partnership has received a $192,676 award from the U.S. Department of Education to enhance a study-abroad program in Hanoi, Vietnam, to be launched next spring. The program is one of several in which both colleges have a converging curricular interest. It will benefit from distance-learning resources; additional support and training for faculty to adapt and develop resources for use in distance learning; training of three peer counselors on each campus; and some additional faculty development.

The partnership is also involved in the Brazil program (Portuguese, women's studies, Latin American studies); the Galway, Ireland program (Irish studies, and other disciplines at the National University of Ireland, Galway); the Kenya program (African studies and Swahili), and the Rennes program (French language, literature, and culture).

The partnership aims to improve the experience of study abroad through four international cultural assistants, students on each campus who've been trained in cross-cultural facilitation at The School for International Training in Brattleboro, Vermont.