Spirits soared and so did many graduation caps Sunday, blown or thrown off students' heads during what Interim President James Underwood termed “the second coldest Commencement in 43 years.”
Despite the autumn-like winds and chill, the day offered a sunny affirmation of Union's most spectacular attributes: a community of distinguished, enthusiastic teachers and learners, a beautiful campus and an environment that promotes lasting friendships as a strong foundation to pursue anything in life.
In his keynote address at Union's 212th Commencement ceremony, Underwood (whose own academic headgear wasn't immune to the caprices of weather) urged the day's graduates to start where they are, carry their humanity with them, listen to their inner voices – and occasionally, shut off their cell phones.
Some 500 undergraduates paraded under the colonnades in front of Schaffer Library to receive their degrees while friends and relatives cheered from their seats in Hull Plaza in the shadow of the Nott Memorial.
There were 77 graduates from the greater Capital Region and 15 from Schenectady. Seven foreign countries were represented.
“I do hope you will reach deep inside and find something that will enable you to say what a student athlete at Union wrote as being her or his to top ‘natural high': ‘knowing you could not put more into it either mentally, physically or emotionally,'” Underwood said. “Always try to get the natural high.”
Underwood, 68, also received an honorary doctorate degree during the ceremony. He has more than 40 years of service to the College, including as dean of faculty, political science department chair, Social Sciences Division chair and General Education program director.
He gave Union's newest graduates a vivid look at the company they have joined by becoming Union College alumni.
“When you leave here, you should not forget that you are graduating from a place that may have produced more leaders or achievers and innovators per graduate than any other college in the nation,” he said. “Whether the field is politics, business, education, literature, the arts, science, engineering, journalism or the military, Union graduates have been in the forefront.”
He cited many noted alumni, from President Chester Arthur, Class of 1848, and Lincoln Secretary of State William Seward, Class of 1820, to National Book Award winner Andrea Barrett '74; public health researcher Sue Goldie '84, a MacArthur “genius grant” recipient last year; and filmmakers Robert Chartoff '55 (co-producer of “Rocky,” “Raging Bull” and “The Right Stuff”) and Phil Aldrich Robinson '71 (director of “Field of Dreams”). Aldrich, Underwood noted, was a student of his and a former Commencement speaker.
In advising students to “carry with you your humanity,” Underwood echoed longtime Union College President Eliphalet Nott's charge to graduates to “shed happiness around you and banish misery before you.”
A noted scholar as well as teacher, Underwood has published articles in Polity and Congress and the Presidency. He has written and lectured extensively on Seward and former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo.
A poised Sarah Bills of Granby, Conn., who early in the Commencement ceremony led the Garnet Minstrelles in singing the national anthem, gave the student address.
“Life isn't measured in standardized testing and high school rankings, but in experiences and by the people and community that surround you,” Bills said in her enthusiastic praise for Union's close-knit community. “I feel incredibly lucky to have been a part of this intelligent, witty, outgoing and fun-loving group of people who are as driven to learn and succeed as they are to enjoy themselves in the process.”
Mark William Weston of Bedford, Mass., achieved the honor of Class of 2006 valedictorian, while Fatima Mahmood of Clifton Park, N.Y., and Marisa Sara Zarchy of Kildeer, Ill., shared salutatorian honors.
A Webcast of the Class of 2006 Commencement ceremony is available at http://www.union.edu/Commencement/webcast.php.