Union College's Alumni Council honored three of their alumni and one faculty member during the college's recent reunion weekend.
Charles E. Roden '60, Peter K. Smith '70 and Patricia L. Seftel '80 were granted Alumni Gold Medals. Peter Tobiessen, professor of biology was given the Faculty Meritorious Service Award. The awards, presented at the Alumni Convocation by Alumni Council President Jason Oshins and Union President Roger Hull, cited the trio for their support and leadership as alumni.
The citations for each read as follows:
Charles E. Roden '60
It's wonderful when an alumnus who has gone on to a successful career comes back to show the next generation of students how to follow in his footsteps.
When you signed on to the Eliphalet Nott society to counsel students, faculty and graduates about entrepreneurial initiatives, it was only the latest in a series of commitments you have made to make Union stronger.
An economics major and treasurer of your fraternity, Phi Sigma Delta, it was clear early on that you were destined for a distinguished career in the financial field. Since your days as an undergraduate you have been affiliated with a number of brokerage houses. With a master's in economics from New York University, you have risen to the top management level of several firms including your present position as managing director of fixed income for Josephthal, Lyon and Ross.
You have worked tirelessly as class president, ReUnion chairman, and class agent. You have been an ambitious recruiter of promising students — including your stepson Roger Smith '94 — and you and your wife, Leslie, have welcomed a number of new Union students and families into your home for freshman sendoffs.
Finally, you have generously supported the College with a number of gifts including the Sam and Roslyn Roden Endowed Scholarship in honor of your parents. And fortunately for Union, you have not been shy about suggesting to classmates that they follow your example.
Charles, it is a pleasure to recognize you for all that you have done for Union College. The Alumni Council is proud to present you with this Alumni Gold Medal, citation and certificate.
Peter K. Smith '70
Peter, it's easy to take the campus chimes for granted. Their beautiful sound ringing out across campus is as much a part of the place as the Nott Memorial. Few of us – campus veterans and newcomers alike – actually realize that the chimes, the soundtrack of our campus, don't just happen.
Which is where you come in. You have dedicated much of your student and alumni careers to ensuring that the chimes are a part of the Union campus. You have climbed the narrow stairs to the cramped belfry to provide special music for dozens of campus milestones. And you have helped to cultivate the next generation of chimers to carry on the tradition.
Your role with the chimes is typical of much of your involvement with the College. You go about your business, often out of public view, to make sure that the traditions that your father, Alanson Page Smith '27, enjoyed live on.
You have served as past president of the Alumni Council and a member of its various committees. You were integral to the Bicentennial celebration of the College, serving on both the planning committee and the committee for external relations. An active alumnus who organized the Fulton-Montgomery Club, you have also found time to work on the Terrace Council and a number of phonathons. You also have been a key player in keeping alive the traditions of your fraternity, Sigma Phi.
Your energy has helped the Johnstown-Gloversville area as well. As a prominent attorney, you have contributed greatly to your community. The Johnstown Planning Board, First Presbyterian Church, Wells Nursing Home, United Way, Fulton County Arts Council, Foothills Youth Services – all have benefited from your time and expertise.
Peter, we owe you a debt of gratitude for years of providing Union's soundtrack and keeping our traditions alive. Thank you. The Alumni Council is pleased to present you with this Alumni Gold Medal, citation and certificate.
Patricia L. Seftel '80
Pat, if we had to find the quintessential alumni volunteer, we would have to look no farther than Patricia L. Seftel of the Class of 1980.
Never more than a phone call away and happy to take on any task, your list of involvements reads like a chronicle of Union College alumni activities: Bicentennial celebration volunteer, Class and ReUnion volunteer, executive committee member and first and second vice president of the Alumni Council, executive committee member of the Schenectady Alumni Club, member of the Sarasota (Fla.) Alumni Club, and ad hoc committees galore.
Typical of your ambitious lifestyle, you pursued your bachelor's in psychology while your three kids – Laura, Suzanne and Joshua – were still in school. But you always made it a point to be there when your kids got home from school. And you did your studying late at night and on weekends while your supportive husband, Leroy, took the kids skiing. It took you eight years to get your degree, but you clearly enjoyed the experience as much as your professors enjoyed having your … well, experience, in the classroom.
A registered nurse with years of experience, a master's in health counseling from Post College plus a degree from Union is a rare person indeed. Ellis Hospital was fortunate to have you join them as a counselor after you graduated from Union. Before you “retired” you helped untold numbers of people in ways you can only imagine.
Of your tireless commitment to the College, you once said, “It's not an effort, it's more of a pleasure. I've done well by Union.”
Union College, Pat, has done very well by you.
Pat, in recognition of all that you have done for Union, the Alumni Council is proud to bestow upon you this Alumni Gold Medal, citation and certificate.
Peter Tobiessen, professor of biology
Peter Tobiessen, professor of biology at Union College was given the 2005 Faculty Meritorious Service Award from the college's Alumni Council.
Peter, since joining the faculty in 1970, you have been known as a popular and energetic professor with a keen interest in introducing the wonders of biology to your students.
Besides all your work in the classroom, you have long been active in promoting undergraduate research. You are a frequent mentor to students during the academic year and in summer research projects. You have hosted a number of students for research – and a little fishing — at your Adirondack camp.
You have also cultivated a passion for bringing math and science to youngsters, women and minorities, work for which you received the Community Service Award from the Hudson-Mohawk Association of Colleges and Universities.
With your colleague and fishing buddy Tom Werner, you have done a great deal to advance clean water, doing extensive testing of local waterways with Union students.
You have been a frequent teacher of the popular Illustrated Organism course, which integrates biolgy and art. You were the administrator of the College's first Howard Hughes Medical Institute grant in 1993, which created programs to attract students to careers in science. So successful was that program, that it helped to set the stage for a second HHMI grant that is having a great impact at Union today. You have been co-director of a summer institute to expose teachers and students to advanced research and enrichment programs.
Finally, Union has been doubly blessed by the Tobiessens. We suffered a loss a few years back when your wife, Joanne, retired as director of the Career Development Center. Thankfully, you have chosen a longer route to retirement.
Peter, it is a pleasure to recognize you for all that you have done for Union College over the years. The Alumni Council is proud to present you with this Alumni Gold Medal, citation and certificate.