The Nott Memorial, the emotional and architectural centerpiece of Union, is taking center stage in the College's new logo.
“To find a distinctive look for the College, we needed to go no farther than one of the most recognizable symbols in higher education,” said Dan Lundquist, vice president for admissions and financial aid. “Like no other symbol, the Nott — in all its quirky grandeur – captures Union's distinctive mix of tradition and innovation.”
The new logo has been added to the College's website, where it is accompanied by a style guide (available to on-campus users only) that explains various uses and includes downloads of the logo and related typography.
The new logo was a result of work by a committee of students, faculty, and staff with input from a range of constituencies. Committee members, with Lundquist, were Ramsey Baker, associate director of athletics; Peter Blankman, director of communications and publications; Davide Cervone, associate professor of mathematics; Donna Davenport, general merchandise buyer for the College Bookstore; Jeremy Dibbell '04; Tom McFadden, College librarian; and Mike O'Hara, director of development. The committee worked with graphic designer Maria Holdren.
The committee formed about a year ago in response to an earlier design that some said was too abstract to convey the distinctiveness of the Nott Memorial. One of the committee's main goals was to develop a design that conveys the College's distinctive centerpiece in a clean, elegant graphic that would be easy to reproduce. The new logo replaces what some have called “the wavy Nott,” an image adopted as part of the College's Bicentennial Campaign more than a decade ago.
The Nott Memorial, a rare example of Victorian High Gothic architecture, is on the National Register of Historic Landmarks. Restored for the College's Bicentennial in 1995, it incorporates many eclectic elements of architectural styles, religions, and rationalism. The seal of Minerva, the Greek goddess of wisdom, will continue to be used for official College documents such as diplomas, transcripts, and program covers.
Robert Kennedy brings environmental message to campus
In addition to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, the campus was host to another prominent political name in February, when Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., spoke on “Our Environmental Destiny.”
Speaking to a standing-room-only audience in the Nott Memorial, Kennedy stressed two themes-that the environment is best protected by the involvement of the people most directly affected by damage to it, and that short-term economic growth can wreak long-term environmental damage.
Kennedy is chief prosecuting attorney for Hudson Riverkeeper, senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council, and president of the Waterkeeper Alliance. He has been involved in a range of environmental concerns, from helping indigenous tribes in Latin America and Canada negotiate treaties protecting their homelands, to helping negotiate a watershed agreement for New York City.
During his presentation, he linked historical, spiritual, economic, and health-related imperatives for the wise stewardship of the environment. He also emphasized that even the so-called “little people” can successfully fight industrial polluters, as did a community of shad fishermen on the Hudson River.
His appearance was the first in a series that brought outstanding environmentalists to campus. Later speakers were Orrin Pilkey, a professor at Duke University who has done extensive research on coastline geography, and Richard Bopp, an RPI professor who specializes in contaminant issues, such as PCBs in the Hudson River. Sponsors of the series included the Environmental Studies program and the Environmental Awareness Club.
Ethics team finishes sixth of forty
The College's Ethics Bowl team finished sixth out of forty teams at the National Ethics Bowl Competition, held in Cincinnati in February.
The Union team defeated Milliken University, Western Michigan University, and the U.S. Air Force Academy before bowing to the University of Montana in the quarterfinals. Indiana University was the overall winner.
This was the second time Union has participated in the national competition. Last year's team also made it to the quarterfinals.
Representing Union were Nell Alk '06, English major; Nat Brown '06, history and philosophy; Justin Geist '04, psychology and political science; Jason Tucciarone '05, biology and philosophy; and Jaime Wemer '04, political science and philosophy. Other members of the team, who competed in the Northeast regional competition at Williams College, were Noah Eber-Schmid '06, political science and philosophy; Jeff Marshall '05, philosophy; and Heidy Sanchez '07, political science.
The team was sponsored by the College's Philosophy Department and coached by Michael Mathias, visiting assistant professor of philosophy. Union is to host the regional competition next year.
Ethics Bowl combines the excitement of a competitive quiz with an innovative approach to education in practical and professional ethics, Mathias says. A moderator poses questions to teams of three to five students based on cases supplied in advance. One case, for example, asked them to consider the ethical obligation of a photojournalist who takes a picture of a starving child. Another case considered a worldwide ban on DDT, a highly-effective insecticide that has also been shown to threaten some species of birds. Another dealt with the role an employer should take in providing health insurance to employees.
The Ethics Bowl was held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics. After competing, students met practitioners, professionals, and scholars for discussion of issues in practical and professional ethics.
“It was great to see the enthusiasm of our students in talking with others from around the country about ethical issues,” Mathias says. “For all the good we did in the competition, the value of the preparation they put into it was just great.”
New faces
Dan Detora joins the College as director of dining services. A native of North Andover, Mass., he earned a bachelor's in management from Roger Williams University. Before joining Union, he was responsible for directing a number of hospital food services, most recently as general manager of food service at Charlton Memorial Hospital in Fall River, Mass.
Thomas P. Boland, Jr., who joins the College as the new Catholic chaplain, earned his bachelor's degree in political science from Holy Cross and his master's in divinity from Harvard University. He is a Ph.D. candidate in theology at Boston College, writing his dissertation on the development of Catholic social teaching on the death penalty. He also serves as assistant director of New Yorkers Against the Death Penalty.
Todd Clark, the College's new director of residential life, earned his bachelor's degree in finance and management from Virginia Tech and his master's in college student personnel from Western Illinois University. A native of New Jersey, he has held positions in the residential life programs at Kansas State University, Virginia Tech, and Louisiana State University.
