Posted on Apr 4, 2002

Stanley G. Peschel `52, of Pawling, N.Y., an
entrepreneur whose gifts to the College made possible the Stanley G.
Peschel Computer Center, died March 29. He was 71.

A native of Hudson, N.Y., he studied electrical engineering
at Union.

He received an honorary doctor of science degree from
the College in 1982.

In 1962, he founded Hipotronics, which became
the country's leading designer and manufacturer of high voltage
test equipment. Peschel sold his stake in Hipotronics in 1982, but
soon founded High Voltage Inc., of Copake, N.Y., which designs
and builds lightweight, portable testing equipment for
electrical utilities.

He held about two dozen patents, and designed and
built the Boston Corners (N.Y.) Golf Club.

A 1983 profile in Forbes described him as a
“classic entrepreneur and tinkerer” who landed one of his first
contracts after constructing a prototype from coat hangers.

He once credited his success in design to Union's machine
shop foreman, Walter Mathias, who “taught us to be machinists
and gave us a practical education in designing and building a
product.”

As a student, he was a member of WRUC and a member of Psi Upsilon.

Besides his gift for the computer center, he gave
the College a gift of $2 million in 1998.

Posted on Apr 4, 2002

Shola and Doyin Richards '97 were out of the “Amazing
Race 2” last week, having finished last in the fourth leg of the
CBS reality show.

The twins, both psychology majors who played
basketball, lost time when their vehicle got stuck in an African sand dune.

The twins were known on the show as the “nice guys,”
in contrast to others who were perhaps cast to
generate controversy.

“If you want to be universally liked, the last thing you want
to do is get on a reality television show,” Shola told a reporter.

Posted on Apr 3, 2002

Click here for the full conference agenda.

Schenectady, NY (April 3, 2002) – In a meeting aimed at moving town-gown partnerships to a new level, presidents of more than 30 upstate private and public colleges, joined by Gov. George Pataki, HUD Assistant Secretary Roy Bernardi and other public officials and business leaders, will assemble April 8 and 9 at Union College in Schenectady to explore ways to spur the revival of the Upstate region.

“Upstate Partners: Strengthening the Campus-Community Connection,” as the meeting is called, will be co-sponsored by Union College, the State
University of New York, and the Commission on Independent Colleges and
Universities.

Convened in recognition of the growing civic and economic roles played by
institutions of higher learning in their local communities, the meeting will offer a chance to exchange lessons gained from these efforts.

Even more important, it will explore what more colleges can do not just
individually but in concert, not just locally but regionally. The idea driving
the meeting is for higher education to play a larger role in the entire region.
As a bulletin on the SUNY web site puts it, “The potential has barely been
tapped.”

Over the past decade partnerships between town and gown have been springing up in growing numbers across the country. But the Union meeting, its sponsors believe, points toward an intensity of effort and geographic reach that are unprecedented.

No part of the country would seem to be riper for this kind of effort than
upstate New York. According to the Commission of Independent Colleges and
Universities, an umbrella organization for New York's private colleges, its
member colleges compose the largest private sector of higher education in the world.

And added to this are the resources of the State University of New York, with its 64 academic institutions across the state, which has assigned a high priority to spurring economic growth and vitality.

Union College, the meeting's host, has gained national attention for its
initiatives to revitalize downtown Schenectady, which, according to a recent story in the Albany Times Union, “is experiencing growth not seen since the heyday of General Electric Co. employment.”

To turn the combined resource of public and private colleges into an engine of
growth and vitality is the challenge facing the meeting, one that will draw
Governor Pataki, Assistant Secretary Bernardi, mayors of three of upstate's
largest cities, and top corporate leaders.

The first day will focus principally on civic initiatives and day two primarily
on economic initiatives.