With a wail of bagpipes, and a call to get involved, the College's 209th year got underway
for 559 first-year students.
At the annual opening convocation in Memorial Chapel, President Roger Hull urged students to “think about the broader community” and get involved with community or national service.
“I believe that you and others across the land would welcome the idea of giving something back to the communities or country of which you are a part,” he said. “Not only is service right because it will help this country in war and peace, but it is right because it will help participants develop a sense of worth and provide a measure of satisfaction and happiness.”
David P. Cervone, associate professor of mathematics, received the Stillman Prize
for Excellence in Teaching. The prize was created by David I. Stillman '72, Abbott Stillman '69 and Alan Stillman in honor of Abraham Stillman, father and grandfather, and
is awarded annually to a
faculty member to encourage outstanding teaching.
Dean of Faculty Christina Sorum recognized Dean's List students, whose names appear on a plaque that was unveiled in Reamer Campus Center. Professor Byron Nichols presented the Phi Beta Kappa Prize to Mark W. Weston '06 for excellence in General
Education, and Lawrence J. Hollander, dean of engineering emeritus, presented the Hollander Convocation Musician Prize to Christopher A. Neal '05, who performed a musical interlude on piano, “Bryllupsdag Pa Troldhaugen” by Edvard Grieg.
For the first-year students, the year began several days before the convocation, when hundreds of them wielded brooms, paintbrushes, and shovels as they took to the streets for the ninth annual John Calvin Toll Day.
The College's annual community service day is named for one of the College's first graduates, John Calvin Toll, and is supported by Al Hill '46 and his wife, Perrie. Toll was the great-great-grandfather of Hill, a retired attorney from Buffalo. The Hills created the fund to encourage Union students to undertake volunteer service. Students, College staff and faculty, city leaders and residents, and business owners alike participated in the volunteer cleanup. A number of parks, city-owned properties, and not-for-profit facilities were spruced up.
A block party featuring live music on Jay Street concluded the day as local leaders thanked students for their community service and presented them
with bags containing discounts and offers from area businesses and activities.
Two nights after the convocation, hundreds came together around the Nott Memorial to pay tribute to the victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. President Hull's brief remarks were followed by a candlelight reflection, in which participants encircled the Nott, and the playing of “Taps,” the bugle call composed by Daniel Butterfield, Class of 1849, who rose to the rank of major general in the Union Army.
Losses to the Union family from the attacks included Thomas Duffy '71; Andrew Fredericks '83; Peter Freund '77; Donald Kauth '74; Alexander Steinman '91; Christopher Quackenbush, husband of Traci S. Quackenbush '80; Timothy Haviland, brother
of David Haviland '83; Arlene Fried, mother of Allison Fried '02; and James Patrick, brother of Kevin Patrick, former assistant hockey coach.