It is doubtful that any academic year in the College's history opened with such a mixture of anticipation and despair.
On Tuesday evening, September 4, hundreds of faculty, staff, and students crowded into Memorial Chapel for a joyous opening convocation that celebrated academic achievement. A week later, faculty, staff, and students came quietly to the chapel for a somber prayer service shortly after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
And less than a week after that, the campus was stunned by the death of a student as the result of an automobile accident, and shortly afterwards, the chapel again filled with those seeking solace.
The convocation
At the opening convocation, President Hull reviewed the highlights of what he called a “transformational year” and discussed how the College will build on those accomplishments.
A major achievement of the 2000-2001 academic year, he said, was the adoption of The Plan for Union, which is based on the clear understanding that Union's academic mission must shape every element of its institutional planning.
“Our essential aim is to cultivate and nourish in our students the knowledge, intellectual skills, and habits of mind they must have if they are to succeed as active, self-aware, and critical members of the complex world they will inherit,” the president said. “The Plan for Union will strengthen, dramatically strengthen, our ability to fulfill our mission.”
He cited a number of achievements from last year, including a stronger applicant pool, expansion of the Union Scholars program (an enriched program for outstanding entering students), continued growth in the College's international efforts (Ireland, Australia, and Vietnam have been added), the opening of the Ralph and Marjorie Kenney Center that enables students to be more involved in the community, the balancing of the budget for the twelfth straight year, the second most successful fundraising year in Union history, and the renovation (thanks to Bill Grant '49) of the former Alpha Delta Phi fraternity building into Grant Admissions Center.
He said the College will build on those achievements in a number of ways, such as adding twenty new faculty positions while continuing to attract the best faculty through a more competitive sabbatical plan, flexibility in course loading, and more faculty development funds for participation at conferences and in professional organizations.
He said that two important aspects of The Plan for Union required some hard decisions: the implementation of a house system and the proposed refocusing of engineering on converging technologies.
In the case of social and residential life, he said the College is putting in place a house system that will enable all Union students to have a first-rate social experience. “To achieve this goal, following two years of intensive study by faculty and student committees, we recommended, and the Board of Trustees concurred, that the fraternity houses at the heart of the campus should be incorporated into the house system, that the fraternities should be relocated into appropriate housing elsewhere on campus, and that $20 million should be devoted to attain the desired result,” he said. “The result will be, I believe, an exciting program that will benefit the Union community as a whole and students in particular.”
With engineering, which, he said, has been an “important element of our identity” since 1845, the challenge is to use the College's resources in the best possible fashion. “Given that knowledge is converging and is increasingly occurring at the intersections of disciplines, we will develop, and we are developing now, curricula that cross the boundaries of liberal arts and engineering,” he said.
“Years from now, those of you who are now students will return to this campus for ReUnion or Homecoming, or perhaps to bring a child here for an admissions interview,” the president said. “You will see the numerous successes of The Plan for Union. We are fortunate, in 2001, to be part of an institution whose roots go back to 1795 and whose best days are ahead.”
At the convocation, Professor of Political Science Byron Nichols received the Stillman Prize for Excellence in Teaching. Nichols came to Union in 1968 and remembers being challenged by his students to defend his classes as “relevant” to Vietnam, Civil Rights, and the threat of nuclear holocaust. “It was a breathtaking beginning to a teaching career,” he recalls.
One student who nominated Nichols for the award wrote, “His reputation for being a tough grader made him almost intimidating, but by the second class I knew that he was genuinely concerned about us as students. (He) challenged us to think for ourselves, to have strong opinions, and most importantly to be able to back them up.”
The prize was established by David Stillman '72, Abbott Stillman '69, and Allan Stillman in honor of Abraham Stillman, father and grandfather.
September 11
It was a Tuesday morning that looked like most other beautiful fall days on campus, students chatting in front of the Reamer Center, a few catching a last look at their readings before classes, staff members tending some plantings. But as news of the terrorist attacks spread, members of the campus community walked about in stunned silence; many made cell phone calls to learn more or check on loved ones.
Classes for the day and a number of sports contests were canceled, the American flag was lowered, an impromptu service of prayer was held in Memorial Chapel, and
students, faculty, and staff all over campus gathered in front of television sets.
Within two days, the Office of Communications, which oversees the College's web site, had established an online alumni check-in service. In the first week, more than 4,000 alumni sent messages of reassurance and condolence. Here are just a few:
“I work in midtown. Before we were evacuated, I watched Tower 1 collapse. As we left the building, I saw a scene of total chaos, people sobbing, waiting in lines for payphones, running up from downtown. It was the scariest moment in my life.”
“I feel very far away here in Baton Rouge. I had to explain the devastation to my terrified third graders, but otherwise I'm fine.”
“I know that here in Toronto, this event has consumed the thoughts of everyone. The firm that I work for is raising funds specifically for the families of firefighters who died when the WTC collapsed.”
“I hope that all of those Americans who have lost a loved one are able to find comfort in knowing that the rest of America is grieving, too.”
“I was just getting used to life away from Union, and then 9/11 came along. Now, the only place I want to be is back with the truest group of friends I'll ever know. Miss you all. Stay safe.”
“The Japanese have been sympathetic, but for me, it's life as usual over here, which makes it difficult to grasp the enormity of this event and how it has affected everybody in the States.”
On campus, the Alumni Relations and Dining Services offices joined to sponsor “Message in a Bottle,” in which those buying a bottle of Union College water could write a message to a rescue worker. Within days, more than 6,000 bottles had been purchased. Near the Reamer Campus Center, students, faculty, and staff wrote their thoughts on large banners.
On the Saturday of Homecoming, the College held a candlelight vigil to remember four alumni who are presumed lost in the World Trade Center attack: Thomas Duffy '71, Donald Kauth '74, Andrew Fredericks '83, and Alex Steinman '91.
Mark Stokes
The football team, after considerable discussion, played its game Sept. 15 against visiting WPI. But then, a short time later, the team confronted tragedy again when Mark Stokes '03, a defensive end, died from injuries he received in a car accident.
Mark had returned home to New Milford, N.J., after the WPI game to be with high school friends who had been affected by the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. Mark was traveling alone early Sunday morning when his Jeep flipped several times on Route 17 North, according to police in Ramsey, N.J. He was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital in Suffern, N.Y., where he died Monday, Sept. 17, of head injuries. A sociology major, he took most of his classes in sociology and economics, and his friends remembered him as a gentle, unassuming person who made friends easily. He is survived by his parents. A memorial service was held on campus on Sept. 25.