For the first time in recent
history, faculty and graduates are making their way through the campus
centerpiece – the Nott Memorial – in the processional and recessional at
Commencement.
The idea came from William Finlay,
professor of theater, who suggested the change to President Roger Hull. Finlay
produced a play about Eliphalet Nott, president of Union from 1804
to 1866, who implored early graduates to make their lives in what was then the
uncharted west. Even the plan of Union's campus,
designed by Nott to open toward the west, reflects his vision.
“Symbolically, what I'm hoping for
is that our graduates will be following [Nott's] advice and go out into the
world to chart their lives and discover themselves.”
No stranger to choreography,
Finlay says that this production has one interesting challenge: “In all my time
in theater, I have never done a production where none of the participants have
rehearsed,” he said. “It's like having a wedding without a rehearsal.”
The Nott Memorial, named for the
early Union president, was completed in 1878 and fully restored in time for the
College's Bicentennial in 1995. A rare example of Victorian High Gothic
architecture, it is on the National Register of Historic Places and one of the
most memorable buildings in American higher education.
'Robot Rivals'
Two graduating seniors, Adam
Retersdorf and Marissa Post, are becoming celebrities in the robot world. The
two mechanical engineering majors, along with junior Jason Fishner,
recently took the championship trophy in “Robot Rivals,” a television contest
that requires college and university teams to design and build robots that can
do tasks like harvest a crop, rake leaves, play hockey and navigate a maze. The
show airs on the DIY Network.
Shorter ceremony
Today's ceremony will be shorter
than usual, thanks in large part to the fact that 150 graduate degrees were to
have been awarded on Saturday at the commencement of the Graduate College of
Union University. GCUU, launched this year as an independent institution, used
to be known as the Graduate Management Institute and degrees were awarded
during Union's Commencement.
Grads far and near
The 492 students in the Class of
2004 include nine from Schenectady, and two
– Jonathan Goossen and Aung Naing – from Singapore.
Senior class gift
About 75 percent of the members of
the Class of 2004 gave a total of nearly $5,000 toward a gift to the College.
The gift will be used to update the projection and sound systems in the Reamer
Campus Center Auditorium.