More than 1,750 alumni and guests celebrate at ReUnion
A record 1,750-plus people converged on campus for the annual celebration of Union alumni in early June. It was a time to reminisce, reacquaint and explore the campus anew.
It was also a time for giving. Graduates from all ReUnion class years donated more than $1.7 million to the College in the run up to ReUnion weekend. Additional bequests, gift annuities and other long-term gift commitments raised that total to $2.9 million in the days after ReUnion.
Class of 1957 at the 2007 ReUnion
By all measures, the annual celebration of Union alumni was an unqualified success.
The weekend kicked off when 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 House System, the Breazzano House.
A 35th anniversary luncheon brought together the pioneering women graduates of the Class of 1972 on Friday, June 1, the official opening day of ReUnion 2007. (See sidebar)
An Engineering awards reception honored outstanding individuals at Beuth House. The awards recipients were 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 Friday evening more the 80 members of the Delta Phi frtaternity returned to campus to dedicate a new monument featuring a fraternity medallion. The monument marks the site if of the fraternity’s former house on Lenox Avenue, where the medallion hung on the front of the 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.
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 Albert Einstein’s book about the 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.
“Union allowed me to engage in intellectual pursuits that I wasn’t previously able to discover,” Feingold said. “Union gave me the freedom to be well-rounded, the intellectual background to appreciate, explore and enjoy all these different areas of life.”
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.
Across the generations
Erika Schnitzer '08 speaks with the Women of '72
In 1970 Union became co-educational. About 150 women, including about two dozen transfer students, entered Union that year. While the first-year students were certainly brave, I believe the women who transferred to Union and graduated in 1972 were boldest of all.
To kick off ReUnion weekend, five of the first women graduates, known as the Women of ’72, celebrated their 35th ReUnion at a special luncheon. In speaking with these women at the lunch and for a Concordiensis story, I came to see that they were truly pioneers.
ReUnion 2007: Susan Maycock ’72 holds a photo of Union's first cheerleadign team, formed shortly after the first year of co-education in 1970. Maycock's former roommate Kim Flagg Bolz ’72 smiles as the pair enjoyed the Women of '72 lumcheon on Friday.
Susan Mullaney Maycock ’72, a fine art photographer from Santa Fe, N.M., told me: “I truly believe that our generation changed the course of history for women. We opened up many careers to women, we went into the workforce in much greater numbers than any other generation, and we were pioneers in creating meaningful ways to have both careers and family. The decision at Union to create a co-educational institution was one of the building blocks that supported these other changes.”
Before transferring the Women of ’72 had carved out niches for themselves at women’s colleges. They took classes with women, lived with women and socialized with women. Their schools knew what women did for fun.
At Union, this all changed. Though Richmond Hall was designated as a women’s dorm, there were little renovations made. There were no athletics available and an extremely limited number of activities. Many women felt they were virtually ignored by upperclassmen who continued to socialize with women at Skidmore College, then a women’s college.
The women of ’72 showed valor at a time their world was literally changing around them. They not only embraced these changes, but they succeeded in what was a man’s world.
“The second year was much better than the first. The girls and the guys made more of an effort to join activities to meet each other. There weren't quite as many guys trekking to Skidmore every weekend. The guys I met in class were more friendly and curious about the girls on campus,” said Andrea Flagg Bolz ’72.
The College’s decision to go co-ed stemmed from a committee recommendation made in 1967. In 1968, then-President Harold Martin appointed a committee of faculty, chaired by English Professor Carl Niemeyer, to vote on the issue. A survey mailed out in November 1968 indicated that roughly 60 percent of alumni were in favor of the switch. But the committee voted overwhelmingly in favor of co-education, with only one dissenting vote.
Other schools were making, or in the process of making, a similar transition. Colgate University and Wesleyan University had recently become co-ed, and Bowdoin College, Williams College and Amherst College were all considering the change.
As I spoke with the women of ’72, I recognized that Union has come a long way in 35 years. Whereas women studying sciences was a rare sight in 1970, the science departments at Union are now filled with women. Professor Tom Werner told me the chemistry department may soon be composed of mostly women. Countless other changes have occurred over the past 35 years, and I am sure that when I return for my 35th ReUnion, there will be countless more changes on campus and in society that have roots in the advent of equal-opportunity higher education.
A Q&A session with new Board of Trustees Chairman Frank Messa
Frank Messa ’73 was elected chairman of the College’s Board of Trustees at their meeting during ReUnion weekend.
Messa retired in 2005 as senior vice president for International Strategies of Ayco Co., a financial services and planning firm based in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. that was acquired by Goldman Sachs in 2003.
He succeeds Stephen J. Ciesinski ’70, who has served as chairman since 2002 and has been a board member since 1993. Ciesinski, a Schenectady native who now lives in California, is founder and executive of a number of technology firms. He will remain on the board. Also at the June 2 meeting, Mark Walsh ’76 was elected vice chairman; Dr. Estelle Cooke Sampson ’74, secretary; and Lawrence Pedowitz ’69, general counsel.
"It is certainly a great honor to have been elected Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Union College,” Messa said. “I look forward to working with President Stephen Ainlay to continue to implement the many strategic planning initiatives adopted by the Board of Trustees under the leadership of Steve Ciesinski.”
Messa earned a bachelor’s degree magna cum laude in political science. He was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and was a finalist for the Albert C. Ingham Prize, given to the student in social sciences judged to have done the most outstanding scholarly work.
Frank Messa '73, Board of Trustees chairman
As an alumnus, he has been a member of the Board of Trustees since 1994, and served as general counsel to the board. He serves as co-chair of the You are Union campaign, and was national chair of the Annual Fund. He served as chair of the Trustee Board of Advisors, Terrace Council and 2003 ReUnion. He also chaired the Presidential Selection Committee for Union’s 18th president, Stephen C. Ainlay, and was a member of the Inauguration Planning Committee. In 2003, the College’s Alumni Council recognized his outstanding service by presenting him with the Alumni Gold Medal.
A generous benefactor to Union, Messa and his family have provided funds for the renovation of Frank L. Messa Rink at Achilles Center, the renovation of Schaffer Library, the establishment of the Frank Messa ’73 Endowed Scholarship, and the Steinway Piano Fund for the new Taylor Music Center. He and his wife, the former Colleen Ann Koetzner, have three children, Christopher, Peter and Keri (a senior at Union).
To mark the start of term as chairman, this magazine conducted an extended interview with Messa.
Q: What is your top priority as the new chairman?
A: Without question, the implementation of the new Strategic Plan adopted by the Board of Trustees this spring is the number one priority. It has been quite some time since the College has engaged in serious strategic planning. The process of developing the plan was extremely important. All member groups of the Union College community, including faculty, staff, students, alumni and board members were had input into the process and the final document was collaborative in nature.
With that as a background, I think the final product that emerged is a very representative and important document. The three key components, or the three differentiators, are what make Union unique. The College is small, global and diverse. Secondly, it is committed to the liberal arts and engineering. And third, we inspire innovation and use our history for inspiration. I encourage everyone to read the Strategic Plan. It lays out a broad plan for the future of the College and its many components will be implemented by the community over the next several years.
Q: What did the search for a new president show you about Union’s reputation?
A: The job candidates themselves said a lot about Union College. We were very pleased to have such a large number of applicants from the very top colleges and universities in the country. That tells me a lot. Candidates with credentials such as these would not have applied for the position unless they were convinced of the great prestige and potential of Union. Our search consultant and all members of our committee felt good about that. We all left saying, “Wow, look at the quality of people who are interested in coming to Union College.”
Q: President Ainlay is finishing his first year at the helm of the College. What are his top strengths?
A: He is uniquely skilled. The one thing that came across during the presidential search was that he possesses extraordinary interpersonal and communication skills. You can place him in front of a group of parents, students, alumni, trustees and he’s equally at home and he talks from the heart. You can just tell he’s a natural. He genuinely loves the school and believes in its mission.
One of the difficulties in running a college is that it’s composed of a wide variety of constituency groups that are very diverse: The interests of students, faculty, trustees, alumni, and parents can be very different. It’s a diverse group and very difficult to manage. To find somebody to connect with all those groups is pretty rare. We think we found the best person.
Q: The College’s endowment is at $360 million. What is your assessment of the financial state of Union College?
A: Finances, for better or for worse, are the key driver for almost all of the Strategic Plan initiatives. If you look at the top 50 schools in the U.S. News and World Report rankings and plot their ranking next to their endowment, it’s not a perfect correlation but it’s very close. Money drives an institution. Financial resources are very, very important to the success of the Union College.
We have been extremely fortunate in recent years to have been blessed with exceptional talent on our investment committee. If you look at Union College’s performance compared with our peers over the last one, three, and five year periods, we are in the top quartile of a very prestigious group of schools. The investment committee, chaired by David Henle ’75, has been able to make the most out of an endowment that a few years ago was in danger of falling below $200 million. We’re now at $360 million.
Again, we think that’s a small endowment because we’re comparing ourselves to Hamilton College: $600 million; Middlebury College: $800 million; and Wellesley College: $1.2 billion. Having said that, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of colleges that would love to have our endowment.
There is a strong correlation between the size of endowment and the quality of the educational experience. I don’t care if its terms abroad, scholarships and financial aid, faculty salaries, buildings, maintenance of the campus. All of these things cost money. We are doing our best and we’re confident that we will hit our campaign goal of $200 million while continuing to grow the endowment.
Q: How has your career helped you be a better alumnus?
A: Being in the business world and understanding how organizations work provides a different perspective in terms of how a college runs beyond the classroom: the infrastructure of a school and how important it is to raise money. Colleges also need good governance and policies that take care of the safety, education and health of students.
Also, part of the emphasis, at least with the companies I worked with, is on being a good corporate citizen, and giving back. Underpinning all of the people that volunteer for the Annual Fund is the notion that you are giving back what Union College gave you: a great education, and in almost all cases at a significant discount. All alumni must understand that giving back is an obligation that we owe to the next generation of students.
There are many ways to give back. People can obviously give money; but they can also participate in clubs and other College or alumni organizations. In the business world, we were always encouraged to find ways to give back to the community and this translates perfectly to the Union College experience.
Q: You are obviously going to spend a lot of time on campus, because you live nearby. Are you looking forward to that?
A: I’ve spent a lot of time on campus but in many different roles. I’m here as a parent. I’m here as an alumnus. I am here as a board member. I plan to be on campus a lot but I don’t want it to be intrusive. I’m not here because I am going to try to run the school. We have some very talented people here to do that.
I love being part of the fabric of the Union College community and participating in as many campus activities as possible.
Also, there are a lot of people on campus that don’t know who the trustees are. I think there are many misconceptions about who the trustees are and what they do. The people on the board are very involved, not some detached group. They are dynamic people. They are people like Mark Walsh ’76 and Jason Oshins ’87 and Steve Ciesinski ’70. I think it’s important that the students know who the board members are and what they do. They are really interested, committed people who devote a great deal of time and energy to improving Union College.
Steve Ciesinski had a great idea by having the trustees here during Homecoming and ReUnion to let them interact with the campus community. I hope that by being local I can do that as well.
The irony is that we probably have the most open board and one of the most participatory boards I know of. Very few schools have students on the board, or faculty on the board, or parents on the board. We have a very inclusive board and so I find it somewhat ironic that some people know so little about it.
Q: Let’s talk about fraternities and sororities and civil engineering. Do you get a lot of questions about those topics?
A: Absolutely. As a result of a number of decisions that have been made, many Greeks and civil engineers have been outspoken in their criticism. While the decision relating to civil engineering is unique to Union College, every college in the country has struggled with Greek life issues. A number of prestigious colleges just cut the cord and decided to eliminate their system of Greek life. They bit the bullet; they took a hit on their alumni giving and moved on.
We have a more difficult problem at Union because Greeks are so integral to the culture of this institution. We are the mother of fraternities. The three oldest fraternities in the country were founded here. The majority of people on the board are Greeks and so we struggled with that issue mightily and we like to think we came up with a solution that was the best possible solution for Union College.
Fraternities and sororities are welcomed and encouraged to stay as members of the community with the active support of the administration and the board. On the other hand, we felt that the Minerva House System bridged the gap between having no Greek system and having a Greek system that totally dominated residential and social life on campus. The Minerva House System allows fraternities and sororities to continue to function and to be part of the community without having them dominate the campus. Everyone is a member of a Minerva House. Many people are members of a Minerva House and a Greek house. I think that many colleges have come to realize that the integration of academic and social experiences is one of the key issues facing college campuses. We think the Minerva House System is the right answer.
We’ll find out. They’re still in very early stages we’re very encouraged by what we’ve seen thus far. Time will tell.
Q: Tell us about your memories as a student?
A: Like most alumni, I have vivid and pleasant memories of my time as a student. I was part of the last all-male class to be admitted to Union and so the experience was quite different than it is today. The relationships I developed here are, to this day, the most important relationships of my life. I remember getting up at 5 a.m. to deliver the campus mail, as well as, playing touch football, and going to classes, concerts and parties. I still have great relationships with faculty members who taught me the skills that helped me throughout my life.
Of course, the campus has remained beautiful but has undergone many changes. When I attended Union, the theater and the bookstore were in the Nott. There was no campus center, hockey rink, or Olin Building. Despite all of these changes, the character of the school has not changed. After all these years, I still get goose bumps every time I walk onto the campus.
Q: What did you write your thesis on?
A: My thesis analyzed on the impact of social factors on voting behavior. I did a comprehensive study of voting patterns of U.S. senators during the 20th century. The essence of my thesis was that a number of social factors, including, occupation, age, regional affiliation and demographic background, influenced voting in different ways depending upon the nature of the bill. We were in the very early stages of computer analysis and much of the work had to be done using methodology that would be considered archaic by today’s standards. My thesis advisor, Fred Hartwig, was at the forefront of statistical analysis and we worked together for hours to develop a workable model. I am genuinely proud of my thesis and still have a bound copy in my library at home.
Q: As a senior, did you know you were headed to law school?
A: I did but when I went to law school I knew that I didn’t want to practice law.
When I graduated from Albany Law School I took a job with a start-up firm nobody ever heard of. There were 10 employees at the time. It was a financial consulting firm but they only hired people with law backgrounds because they did a lot of estate planning and tax work. I took a job at this firm and spent my entire 29-year working life there. The American Express Company bought our firm in the early 1980s and about 10 years later, a group of senior partners (including me) bought the company back. After ten more years as a private firm, Goldman Sachs bought the firm in 2003. I stayed on for several more years as a senior vice president of international strategies and then retired.
Q: Your daughter Keri will graduate this year. What is Keri’s major?
A: She is a history major who coincidentally has the same faculty advisor, Bob Wells, I had when I entered Union as a history major nearly 38 years ago. She has enjoyed the study of other cultures but it is unlikely that she will pursue a career in the field. As a fellow social sciences major, one of the pieces of advice that I passed along to all of my children was to select and pursue a major in which they had an academic interest even though it did not necessarily translate into a career. Although students in the sciences and engineering typically have a better focus on career direction because of the nature of their course of study, relatively few students know their career direction when they are 20 years old. Schools such as Union excel at teaching skills such as critical analysis, writing and communication. These are skills that translate easily into careers in almost any field. The answer to the question, “Why attend a liberal arts college” is plastered all over businesses and boardrooms around the country.
Q: You are an avid reader. What have you read lately?
A: I love to read and during my entire life I have always been able to stay close to my goal of reading one book per week. I primarily read non-fiction and love history. Recently, I have read biographies of Dante and Albert Einstein as well as a treatise on Italian wine. I am currently reading a fascinating book called The Black Swan about the historical impact of highly improbable events. I am particularly fascinated by books about gifted and passionate people and their ability to use the combination of their intellect and passion to accomplish extraordinary things.
Q: Do you have sort of a favorite Union hero?
A: The recent attention brought to William Henry Seward (Class of 1820) by the book Team of Rivals has highlighted the great accomplishments of one of our most famous alumni and a hero to many not only because of his well-documented political successes, but also because of his opposition to slavery, which ultimately cost him the presidency.
It strikes me that on our own campus, we are surrounded by names of modern-day Union College heroes that should be known to students. The names Reamer, Yulman, Taylor, Beuth, Breazzano and Viniar,among others, are more than just names on buildings. They are the names of some of our most successful alumni who have generously given back to the school they love. Every chance I get, I tell the stories of these alumni and as board chairman, one of the initiatives I will support is to encourage the understanding and celebration of the accomplishments of Union alumni across the generations. It should be a source of enormous pride for the entire Union community.
Q: Do you travel internationally a lot?
A: I have traveled quite a bit internationally but my first love is Italy. As the grandson of Italian immigrants, I am enormously proud of my Italian roots. Like many other second-generation Italians, I never learned how to speak Italian. When my grandparents came over to the United States they wanted to become Americans and they didn’t want their children to speak Italian. They wanted them to learn English.
I’m the first person from my family to graduate from college, so I always wanted to learn Italian. The very first day of my retirement, I enrolled in Italian classes at Skidmore College – not the adult education classes but the standard language classes offered by the college. Most of the students did not quite know what to make of me, but I have now completed four semesters of Italian. I am not quite fluent but I continue to improve every day. I am sure my grandparents would be proud. I travel to Italy at least once per year and I am currently looking to buy a home in Firenze. Culturally and educationally, I feel as if I have come full circle.
Let us know: The Union College magazine is seeking alumni who have served in the U.S. military in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001. Send us a message at magazine@union.edu and include basic details about your service in the Middle East.
U.S. Marine Lt. Brent Filson '03.
During an evening foot patrol on Oct. 22, 2006 in Anah, Iraq, shrapnel from a roadside bomb ripped through the lower right leg of U.S. Marine Lt. Brent Filson ’03. A second Marine under Filson’s command suffered a similar leg wound and two others sustained minor injuries in the attack. The patrol was aborted and the injured soldiers were rescued by Humvee and later flown by helicopter to a military hospital. That marked the start of a long road to recovery.
Shortly before dawn about eight months after being wounded, Filson stands, with the help of a halo cast, near the confluence of the Hoosic and Green rivers in his hometown, Williamstown, Mass. He is fly fishing with his longtime girlfriend, Rebecca Joffe-Halpern, and childhood friend, Rufus Wyer. He casts the line and drags it over the mingling current of the two small rivers that cut through the Taconic Mountains. Fly fishing has been a kind of therapy in Filson’s long recovery from a wound that, without recent surgical advances, would have led to an amputation.
“I have been forced to sit on my butt for the last seven months. It is a huge change going from being 100 percent engaged to just doing nothing in a small little town in Massachusetts,” Filson said. “Fly fishing is something that can be relaxing. It is something to do, something to keep me occupied, something to look forward to.”
U.S. Marine Lt. Brent Filson '03 casts a fly fishing line into the Hoosic River in Williamstown, Mass.
Filson is one of a group of Union College graduates who have served, often as officers, in the U.S. military in Afghanistan and Iraq during the last six years. Among them are former U.S. Navy Lt. Thomas “Toby” Proctor ’98, who served as a tactical coordinator aboard surveillance planes flying over Iraq in 2002 and aboard combat missions in 2003. U.S. Navy Lt. Zac King ’00 served aboard the USS Bataan and USS Gettysburg during three deployments to support military action in Iraq and Afghanistan. U.S. Army Cpt. James Bascom ’96 has served as a civil affairs officer in Egypt and as an intelligence officer in two separate stints in Iraq. Mike Gifford ’97 was a military police platoon leader from May 2003 to July 2004. U.S. Army Spc. Caleb Bower served in a food and water supply yard for a year before graduating in 2006.
That’s a partial snapshot of a group of soldiers that make up another link in a chain of alumni service in U.S. wars that dates back to the War of 1812 and continues through World War II and the Vietnam War. Filson is also one of more than 12,000 soldiers who – as of early July – had been wounded and unable to return to duty since Operation Iraqi Freedom began in March 2003, according to the U.S. Department of Defense.
During his recuperation in Williamstown, the Union College magazine conducted several interviews with Filson, who will turn 27 in November. He gave a matter-of-fact account of the Improvised Explosive Device (IED) attack and subsequent recovery. It happened on the last day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which in 2006 was a violent period in Anah, a city in the Al Anbar province along the Euphrates River located to the northwest of Baghdad. Filson’s platoon, part of Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, had in previous weeks led two operations aimed at finding insurgent hideouts and weapons caches but was on a routine patrol on Oct. 22.
“We tried to stay in the middle of the street as much as possible because the IEDs are on the side of the road. As a matter of fact, if I was on the sidewalk, I probably would have been dead. The IED was embedded in a wall so there was no way anyone could have seen it. It was about 15 meters away from me when it went off. The exit wound was pretty large from the shrapnel going in and coming out again. I was losing a lot of blood. My bones were shattered. What I didn’t know at the time was that the veins were actually destroyed.”
Filson was flown by helicopter from Anah to a U.S. military hospital in the Iraqi city of Balad, just north of Baghdad. After undergoing emergency surgery including a vein graft to re-establish circulation, he was transported to a U.S. military hospital in Germany and a few weeks later flown to the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. near Washington, D.C. He remained there until early December, when he returned to western Massachusetts. On Aug. 30 Filson was set to travel to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. to have the halo cast, which looks like scaffolding attached to his lower leg, removed. Then, he begins six to eight weeks of physical therapy followed by a new military assignment. If possible, he’d like to return to Iraq and lead Marines.
While in the Bethesda facility last November, Filson was visited by a group of friends from Union including Dennis Quandt ’03, Will Howe '02, Brian Demichele ’03 and Adam Malinowski ’03.
“It brought [the war] home. It made it a lot closer. It definitely makes you think about why we are over there and what we are doing,” Quandt said.
Filson’s father, Brent F. Filson, is a U.S. Marine veteran and well-known speaker and author on effective on leadership communication. He has written 23 books including Executive Speeches: 51 CEOs Tell You How To Do Yours and The Leadership Talk: The Great Leadership Tool. His father and mother, Magalis, live in Willamstown, home to Williams College. Filson’s two older brothers, Sean Rush Filson and Adam Filson, are a U.S. Marine officer and Army National Guard major respectively. Sean Rush Filson is a 1992 graduate of Bates College and was featured in that college’s magazine for his voluntary service in Afghanistan in 2004.
At Union, Filson was a psychology major. He transferred to the College after two years at Dean College in Franklin, Mass. He credited Union’s psychology courses with helping him manage relationships among his platoon in Iraq. Filson completed his first tour of duty in Iraq from March 2005 to September 2005 and was four months into his second tour when he was wounded.
The leading-edge surgical techniques employed to save Filson’s leg have left him with an uncertain future. Doctors simply don’t know how well he will recover, because most soldiers with his wounds lose their legs to amputation. The other Marine wounded by the IED explosion on Oct. 22, 2006, Lance Cpl. Thomas "Cody" Surber, of Martinsville, Va., had his lower right leg amputated.
“I definitely consider myself one of the lucky ones,” Filson said. “I have much more respect for Vietnam veterans now. They had nowhere near the same medical care and had a different welcome home.”
At Union’s 213th Commencement ABC World News anchor Charles Gibson gives 500 graduates advice on the bedrocks of an ethical life
ABC World News anchor Charles Gibson, a familiar face to millions, officially became part of the Union College community at the College’s 213th Commencement in mid June.
Mike Mastroianni's mortarboard: “Dream Big”
“Were it not for this institution, I would not be here,” Gibson told students, families and friends gathered in Hull Plaza on June 17, which was also Father’s Day. He recounted that his father, Burdett Gibson, Class of 1923, married his roommate’s sister.
Gibson outlined five ethical imperatives for students: compassion, honesty, fairness, trustworthiness and respect for others. Gibson addressed about 500 students and hundreds of friends and family gathered on the walkway in front of Schaffer Library.
“If those things are not the bedrocks of your life, you will suffer from their absence in time. And, I would wager, you won’t much like yourself,” he said. “As you leave here, you need to know what it is you stand for – because out there, the choices are not going to be easy. You will find times when you’ll be asked to choose between your values and expediency.”
He added, “You have a good solid base. And you have a Union education. It served my father well, and it will do the same for you.”
Prior to Gibson’s speech, President Stephen C. Ainlay, in his first Commencement ceremony, presented Gibson with an honorary doctor of humane letters degree. Later, citing a “remarkable act of generosity,” Ainlay announced that Gibson helped College officials establish a scholarship in memory of his father. The eponymous award will be given each year to a student in financial need.
Richard Sorabji, President Stephen C. Ainlay and Charlie Gibson at the 2007 Commencement.
“We are so pleased that today you join your father and uncle (Charles D. Gibson, Class of 1920) as members of the Union family,” Ainlay said.
In appreciation, Ainlay gave Gibson a copy of the 1923 Union Yearbook and a framed copy of Burdett Gibson’s Yearbook entry. Noting that the elder Gibson was cited for “coming out of the most overwhelming situations unscathed,” Ainlay said, “I hope he passed along his secret to you.”
Gibson, 64, was introduced by his good friend, Trustee Emeritus Phil Beuth ’54. Beuth, a retired television executive, helped launch Gibson’s anchoring career by hiring him to co-host ABC’s Good Morning America in 1986.
Charlie Gibson and Phil Beuth '54 at the 2007 Commencement.
“Our paths crossed about 21 years ago when he satisfied our need for an interesting, intelligent, curious and credible host of Good Morning America, a position that he embraced and enhanced. It was like we found the Energizer bunny and he had a Jeopardy-quick mind,” Beuth said. “He has brought ABC News a brand of credibility that carried with it a message that he continues to deliver now every night, and that message is: It’s all about the news folks, it’s not about Charlie Gibson.”
In his remarks, Ainlay underscored that members of the Class of 2007 “have walked the same pathways as did many illustrious graduates,” from Abraham Lincoln’s Secretary of State, William Seward, Class of 1820, to MacArthur “genius” and public health researcher Sue Goldie, Class of 1984. [See Ainlay’s speech in sidebar.]
Before the ceremony began, Ainlay, Gibson and another featured guest, noted classicist and scholar Richard Sorabji, arrived on campus in a 1914 Duplex Drive Brougham Detroit Electric Automobile once owned by Union Professor and Electrical Engineering wizard Charles Proteus Steinmetz.
Sorabji, professor emeritus of philosophy at King’s College London and former associate professor at Cornell University, received a Doctor of Letters. He urged students to turn to ancient philosophy for suggestions on “how to deal with problems and how to deal with life.”
Karyn Amira, a political science major and psychology minor from Newton, Mass., gave the student address. Amira, whose father, Stephen, was a member of the Class of 1971, had enthusiastic praise for the Class of 2007’s achievements, including environmental advocacy, fundraising for cancer and autism, and the launch of the Dutch Oven, which she called “perhaps the funniest publication at any college or university.”
Ainlay closed Commencement 2007 ceremonies by paraphrasing a charge to students issued by Union’s first president, John Blair Smith, more than two centuries ago: “As you leave this place, do so ready to live a useful life.”
Excerpt from President Stephen C. Ainlay's Commencement speech
After today, you join the legions of those who have graduated from Union College. Hopefully you carry with you memories, friendships and commitments that will literally last your lifetime. As I’ve traveled the United States this year – visiting alumni clubs in New York, Boston, San Diego, San Francisco, Naples, Fla., Dallas, Houston, Philadelphia, Chicago and other great cities – I have been struck by the hold that four years at Union has on people. Fifty years from now, I think I can safely predict that some of your best friends still will be members of the Class of 2007. Indeed, in times of both joy and sorrow, you will likely pick up the phone (or whatever communication device exists then) and talk to one of your classmates. That is part of the legacy of Union in your lives.
Over the past four years, you have walked the same pathways as did many illustrious Union graduates: Abraham Lincoln’s Secretary of State, William Seward (Union Class of 1820); our 21st U.S. President, Chester A. Arthur (Union Class of 1848); the designer of the first New York subway system, Solomon Deyo (Union Class of 1870); the inventor of the laser, Gordon Gould (Union Class of 1941); Nobel Prize winner, Baruch Blumberg (Union Class of 1946); the head of morning and late night programming for ABC, Phil Beuth (Union Class of 1954); the winner of an Oscar for Best Picture, Robert Chartoff (Union Class of 1955); the winner of a National Book Award, Andrea Barrett (Union Class of 1974); and MacArthur “Genius” Award recipient, Sue Goldie (Union Class of 1984).
Walking the same pathways they walked, joining the same community that they joined, has been your privilege as a student at Union College. After today, this too becomes part of Union’s legacy in your life. And, it becomes your obligation.
Now it is your turn to realize your dreams; now it is your turn to invent things that will improve people’s lives; now it is your turn to lead institutions, both for profit and nonprofit; now it is your turn to mend lives and heal wounds; now it is your turn to educate; now it is your turn to take responsibility for the welfare of the communities in which you will live. Now, in short, it is your turn to make a difference.
I closed my inauguration ceremony last fall by reading a charge issued to Union students by the first president of Union College, John Blair Smith. I close today’s Commencement ceremony and send you on your way, by paraphrasing President Smith’s words, which continue to reverberate over the now two centuries since he issued his charge: “As you leave this place, do so ready to live a useful life.”
Best wishes to all of you, and Godspeed.
Snapshots from the Class of 2007: Two high-achieving gradutes talk about Union and what's next
Valedictorian Jonathan Young
As a high school senior choosing a college, Young thought the perfect fit was 3,000 miles from his southern California home.
Four years later, Young came tantalizingly close to perfection.
The 21-year-old biology and economics major got straight A’s, except for an A-minus during his term abroad in China between his sophomore and junior year. Young’s academic prowess earned him the title of valedictorian for Union College’s Class of 2007.
“I have really enjoyed my time here at Union,” said Young, who lives in Walnut, Calif., with his parents, Robert and Antonia, and younger sister, Jocelyn. “The College offers tremendous opportunities in research, as well as extra-curricular activities.”
Young is a member of several honor societies, including Phi Beta Kappa, Sigma XI (scientific research) and Omicron Delta Epsilon (economics). He presented his thesis at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research and took second place at the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Science Research.
At Union, he won the Stephen F. Leo, M.D. Prize and the Elias Peissner Prize for top pre-med student and economics student, respectively. He also received the Rosenthal Prize, given to a pre-med student by the Biology Department for excellence in academics and contribution to the College community.
He credits his two thesis advisors, Brian D. Cohen in the Biology Department and Younghwan Song in the Economics Department, for much of his success.
“They sacrificed many long hours to help me get where I am today,” he said.
Young is returning west to attend medical school at UCLA in the fall. Even so, Union won’t be far from his thoughts.
“I’m excited to go back home, closer to my family, but I loved my four years here,” Young said.
Saluatorian Leigh Ann Holterman
For Leigh Ann Holterman, the path to high grades was clear from day one of her first year at Union.
“I made sure I was on top of my work. I spent a lot of time figuring out what needed to get done, and I got it done,” Holterman said. “I also paid attention in class, and I really threw myself into the work and learning process.”
But class work is just one side of Holterman’s life at Union.
The psychology major also had a range of other interests, like starting a student-run babysitting service for College faculty and staff; booking comedians, including The Daily Show’s John Oliver, to perform at Memorial Chapel; and working as an Admissions interviewer senior year. And as a French minor, she completed a term abroad in fall 2005 at the University of Rennes 2.
“I am grateful that I had the chance to do it all at Union," Holterman said. “I think it gave me a good, strong background in different areas, so when I go out into the real world, I will be able to pick and choose from those experiences. And also, it was a lot of fun getting to know different people.”
Holterman was the 2007 Lisa S. Gerhan Memorial Award winner, given to a Union student who shows academic excellence, a commitment to the field of psychology and the potential for future contributions to the field.
She is now working as a research assistant at the Burlington, Vt., offices of Macro International, Inc., a research and consulting firm. Holterman plans to pursue a doctoral degree in industrial and organizational psychology in the fall of 2008.
The Washington Post did a news obituary on Ralph A. Alpher, a distinguished professor of physics and astronomy who was one of the pioneering architects of the Big Bang model for the origin of the universe.
Alpher taught at Union from 1986 to 2004 and was the director of the Dudley Observatory.
To read the complete obituary, click here (registration may be required).
