From all outward appearances, Union College in Schenectady and Excelsior College in Albany have nothing in common. Union is a 210-year-old institution with an architecturally striking campus, a rich academic history and a long list of distinguished alumni. Excelsior is 34 years old, has no physical campus to speak of, and its students, who are mostly working adults, go to classes online.
But in terms of leadership, the two colleges have one thing in common: They have been led in recent years by men of extraordinary vision. And now both leaders will be stepping down at the end of June.
Roger Hull, president of Union for the last 15 years, will leave to devote his energies to helping grade school children prepare for college. C. Wayne Williams, president of Excelsior for 18 years, will retire. They will leave behind institutions that are much stronger today than they were when they arrived.
Mr. Hull will leave behind a reinvigorated Union College that has grown in academic stature and enrollment during his tenure. The endowment has grown and the college's image has been burnished. Several new buildings have made the campus more imposing than ever. And older buildings have been restored, including the jewel of the campus, the Nott Memorial, which stands as a testament to Mr. Hull's aesthetic and historic values.
Yet as much as Mr. Hull treasured Union's past, he never lived in it. Instead, he brought 21st-century ideas to campus — requiring all of Union's incoming classes to devote one day of service to the community, for example, and renovating a neighborhood on the campus' west side. He forged close ties between Union and community officials, too. One of his ideas: a community center that pairs local children with Union tutors. And he forever demolished the myth that the interests of town and gown must be in conflict. Because of his leadership, Union and Schenectady are better off today than they were 15 years ago. Whoever follows in his path must keep that partnership alive.
Mr. Williams came to Excelsior College when it was known as Regents College, and when its image was that of an external degree program of the state Board of Regents. Today, largely because of Mr. Williams' leadership, Excelsior is recognized as the nation's oldest and most respected distance learning institution in higher education. Its best known programs are those in nursing, but in all there are 31 undergraduate and three graduate offerings, with fields as diverse as nuclear technology and electronics engineering. And there are more than 100,000 alumni.
Like Mr. Hull, Mr. Williams was focused on the future, and what it could mean for his college. He also demolished a myth — namely, that a classroom must always be defined by four walls. Mr. Williams understood that in today's computer age, a classroom can be just a mouse click away, and as portable as a laptop. Whoever follows in his path must be just as visionary, and just as committed to academic excellence.