A record 1,500-plus people converged on campus for the annual celebration of Union’s graduates which ran from Thursday through Sunday. It was a time to reminisce, reacquaint and explore the campus anew.
On Thursday, President Stephen C. Ainlay and the Board of Trustees dedicated Breazzano House, honoring David J. Breazzano ’78. In March, College officials announced that Breazzano, co-founder and principal of an investment management firm, made a $2 million gift to his alma mater. In honor of the gift, the College decided to rename Orange House, one of seven in the Minerva system, the Breazzano House.
A 35th anniversary luncheon brought together the pioneering women graduates of the Class of 1972 Friday in Upper Class Dining Room at Reamer Campus Center. Those attending included Susan (Mullaney) Maycock, Margaret “Meg” (Patterson) Green (who organized the event), Camile (Avakian) Price, Mary John Boylan and “Kin” Andrea (Flagg) Bolz. (Read more)
An Engineering awards reception honored outstanding individuals at Beuth House. The awards recipients are Jonathan Comeau, '97, electrical engineering, principal electrical engineer for Tyco Electronics; Richard Fateman ’66, computer science, professor of computer science at University of California at Berkeley; Lisa Freed ’86, civil engineering, a civil engineer and landscape architect for Brown & Brown; Lawrence Hollander, dean of engineering emeritus at Union College; Ivan Kaminow ’52, electrical engineering, retired scientist with Bell Labs; and Samuel Tolkoff ’96, civil engineering, director of business development for Foster-Miller, an advanced robotics and health sciences firm.
A lecture and conversation with mystery crime writer Kerrie Ticknor Droban ’87 was held at Emerson Auditorium in the Taylor Music Center as the culmination of the Alumni Writers Series. Droban also led an informal discussion about her work in Wold House.
On Saturday, the College honored four alumni and one faculty member at the Alumni Convocation. The Alumni Council presented the Alumni Gold Medal to Lee Davenport ’37, Joseph Hinchey ’47 and John Temple ’67, all former Trustees of the College. New York City Attorney Mark Zauderer ’67 received the Eliphalet Nott Medal, which recognizes the perseverance of alumni who have attained distinction in their field. Hilary Tann, the John Howard Payne Professor of Music and internationally recognized composer, received the Faculty Meritorious Service Award. (Read more)
Also on Saturday, Aaron Feingold ’72, a cardiologist in Edison, N.J. and collector of historical artifacts, presented two historical treasures to the College at the Terrace Council and Ramée Circle Society Reception. Feingold gave President Ainlay a first edition of Einstein’s “Theory of Relativity” and an original manuscript that was part of a four-part lecture that Charles Proteus Steinmetz, Union professor of engineering and renowned scientist, gave on Einstein’s theory. The Steinmetz manuscript, dated November 1921, corresponds with Einstein’s trip to America in 1921. Einstein visited Steinmetz in Schenectady that year, the same year he won the Nobel Prize in physics.
Other highlights of ReUnion included a get-together with an award-winning brewer; a chemistry symposium; a seminar on the politics of war; the dedication of Becker Library; a production of Aristophenes’ great comedy, “The Birds”; soccer and rugby games; and the traditional Minerva footrace, alumni parade and Saturday night fireworks.
Throughout the weekend, four of the College's most prized possessions, plates from the "Elephant Folio" edition of The Birds of America collection of engravings by John James Audubon, were on display on the first floor of Schaffer Library.
For complete details, visit www.union.edu/reunion