Roger Hull, president of Union College, took the stage at his last Commencement to advocate for a mandatory two-year national service program. But until Congress passes such a measure, he said, Americans should serve voluntarily.
Hull, who steps down June 30 after 15 years as Union's president, received an honorary doctor of civil laws degree and gave the main address at a ceremony in which 488 Union students received their diplomas.
“It is time for Congress to put a mandatory service program in place, a program that would allow each person to decide how he or she would serve for a two-year period,” Hull said. “In the interim, it is time for more Americans to serve voluntarily.”
Hull told the graduates he traces his conviction for community service to his grandfather, Ludwig Stern, a political refugee of Nazi Germany. Stern, a co-founder of a small political party and leader of a paramilitary group that fought the Nazis, wrote in 1959, “To love father and mother is not enough. To have a wife and children is not enough. In addition, every man must love his country, work for his community in one way or another. Be a politician, but an honorable one. Then and only then have you the right to be proud.”
“I have sought to make the communities of which I have been a part better,” Hull said. “And, whenever possible, I have encouraged the same attitude in my sons and in the young men and women at the colleges I have served.
“Make a pact with yourself to serve your community, state, and nation and tackle the next stage of your journey with passion, accountability, compassion, and truthfulness. Then and only then, as my grandfather said, will you have the right to be proud.”
Hull, who often worked side-by-side with Union student-volunteers, leaves a legacy of community service at Union. In the last academic year, more than 1,200 students volunteered for 18,883 hours and raised $78,225 for non-profit programs and events including tsunami relief, Relay for Life (a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society), and the annual fall John Calvin Toll Day of Community Service, which Hull started in 1991.
Union's Kenney Community Center coordinates 11 programs, including Big Brothers Big Sisters, Girls Inc., America Reads, Homework Center and Skills Development Program, Rotaract Club, Union Community Action Reaching Everyone (U-CARE), and Science and Technology Entry Program (STEP).
A native of New York City, Hull earned his B.A. degree from Dartmouth College, his law degree from Yale Law School, and his master's degree in law and his doctor of juridical science degree from the University of Virginia.
From 1967 to 1971, he was an attorney with White & Case in New York City. In 1971, he became special counsel to Gov. Linwood Holton of Virginia, responsible for the administration's legislative program. Three years later, he joined the National Security Council's Interagency Task Force on the Law of the Sea as a special assistant to the chairman and deputy staff director.
In 1976, Hull joined Syracuse University, where he served as vice president for development and planning and as adjunct professor of international law. He served as president of Beloit College for nine years and was inaugurated as the 17th president of Union College in the fall of 1990.
Hull will be remembered by the Union College community for his commitment to five key areas:
— integrating the liberal arts and technology;
— enhancing academic, social and residential life;
— increasing international education;
— expanding undergraduate research;
— encouraging community service.