After several false starts, a strong Alumni Council
The College's first alumni organization – the “Association of Graduates of Union College” – was formed in 1825, the fourth such group in the country (predecessors were Williams in 1821, Brown and Middlebury, both in 1824).
According to the group's constitution, it was founded “for social and literary purposes.” Its first president was John Savage, Class of 1799, the chief justice of New York State, and its second president was John W. Taylor, Class of 1803, the speaker of the House of Representatives. Despite the prestige of the group's leaders, however, its focus on literary activities was too narrow, and it drifted into inactivity after 1830.
After a brief (and unsuccessful) attempt to revive the association in 1842, it found more permanent footing in 1857, when the state legislature incorporated the Union College Alumni Association. In 1871, the Board of Trustees agreed to alumni representation on the board, and the alumni association has nearly always been responsible since then for nominating alumni trustees.
By the early 1900s, the association had become moribund, victim of frequent disputes with various administrations. In 1909, President Charles Alexander Richmond persuaded class officers to accept a new system, and a year later he hired Charles Waldron, of the Class of 1906, to become graduate secretary.
The new Graduate Council (later the Alumni Council) consisted of elected representatives of each of the thirty-five most recent classes, joined by fifteen at-large members. The council set up a number of standing committees to do much of its work, encouraged the establishment of local alumni clubs, and in 1911 launched Union College Monthly, the first in a series of Union magazines. Although the council's activities have changed over the years, its structure is essentially the same as it was when Richmond and Waldron founded it.
Here is your Alumni Council Executive Committee:
Robert Danziger '89/Immediate Past President – Apartment 7D, 245 West 104th St., New York 10025; Robert.a.danziger@citigroup.com; 212-865-4425 (h)
Catherine Hedgeman '96/Secretary – 104 Elkin Court, Delmar, N.Y. 12054; chedgeman@hiscockbarclay.com; 518-439-9894 (h)
Karen Huggins '77/Senior Alumni Trustee – 11 Carrie Court, Niskayuna, N.Y. 12309; kihuggins@aol.com; 518-372-5128 (h)
Michael Newell '74/Treasurer – 1226 Sacandaga Rd., West Charlton, N.Y. 12010; mnewell@idexcorp.com; 518-399-9575 (h)
Jason Oshins '87/President – 18 Downing Place, Livingston, N.J. 07039; oshinsatlaw@aol.com; 973-597-0303 (h)
Charles Roden '60/2nd Vice President – 7 Blair Rd., Armonk, N.Y. 10504; Kiw702@aol.com; 914-273-3133 (h)
Pat Seftel '80/1st Vice President – 3000 Rosendale Rd., Niskayuna, N.Y. 12309; 518-346-1889 (h)