Interim President James Underwood was the keynote speaker at the College's 212th Commencement Sunday.
Underwood, who has more than 40 years of service to the College, has been Interim President since Roger Hull stepped down June 30. Stephen C. Ainlay will take over as the College's 18th President June 15.
Underwood received an honorary doctorate degree during the ceremony at Hull Plaza. In the event of heavy rain, the ceremony will be moved indoors to the Frank L. Messa Rink at Achilles Center.
Approximately 500 students in the Class of 2006 are expected to receive their degrees that day. The student address was given by Sarah Bills; the valedictorian is Mark William Weston. The co-salutatorians are Fatima Mahmood and Marisa Sara Zarchy.
“There is no other member of the Union community that I would rather hear at my graduation than Professor Underwood,'' said senior Francisco Ferrer, a member of the commencement committee. “His service to the College is remarkable. He cares about Union. Whether you are listening to him in class or at an event, your ears are always open because you want to hear what he has to say. He makes you feel good about being a Union student.''
Underwood, 68, has been a member of the College's faculty since 1963, serving in a number of capacities including dean of faculty from 1988 to 1994, chair of the political science department from 1978 to 1984, chair of the social sciences division and director of the General Education program.
In 2002, he received the Faculty Meritorious Service Award from the College's Alumni Council.
He has been a consultant to the Subcommittee on Executive Reorganization in the United States Senate and to the New York State Education Department. He also has served on Congressional staffs as a recipient of an American Political Science Association Congressional Fellowship.
Underwood is the co-author of Governor Rockefeller in New York: The Apex of Pragmatic Liberalism in the United States, and he has published articles in Policy and Congress and the Presidency. He has written and lectured extensively on former New York Governor Mario Cuomo. His article, “Lincoln: A Weberian Politician Meets the Constitution,” was published in the June 2004 issue of Presidential Studies Quarterly.
His entry on William H. Seward, Union Class of 1820 and Lincoln's secretary of state, was published in the Encyclopedia of the American Presidency.
A graduate of Franklin and Marshall, Underwood received his M.P.A. and Ph.D. from Syracuse University. He is a member of the American Political Science Association and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
A native of Irwin, Pa., he and his wife, Jean, live in Niskayuna.
For a complete schedule of commencement events, go to www.union.edu/Commencement