Notes on the formation of character
Following its Greek etymology, “character” refers to a distinctive mark impressed, engraved, or otherwise formed. James Davison Hunter, director of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture at the University of Virginia, has suggested that a person’s character “reflects the affirmation of our commitments to a larger community, the embrace of an ideal that attracts us, draws us, animates us, inspires us.” In his book, The Death of Character, Hunter worries that many of the mechanisms by which commitment to a larger community and character are formed have been seriously weakened in the modern age.
Small liberal arts colleges have a key role to play in awakening a sense of commitment to something larger than self. They are also well positioned to help form character. This belief was what inspired Eliphalet Nott and Joseph Ramée to create the architecture of Union College – arcades encircling a common green and rotunda, a college on a hill overlooking the Mohawk Valley, a community of teachers and learners. They believed that their then-novel campus design offered the ideal architectural setting for forming commitment and character. They were not wrong. Witness the many alumni of the College who carried a sense of commitment to community into their life’s work; witness the Union men and women of character who literally changed the world.
At Union today, we continue to believe that it is our responsibility to help form the character of the students who have come here to live and study. We believe that the formation of character doesn’t simply happen; we believe we have a role to play in its engraving. This is why we have returned Founder’s Day to its original purpose: to remind us all of the inspirational characters of Union’s past. This year, Paul LeClerc, reminded us of the contributions of John Bigelow, Union Class of 1835. Bigelow was author, statesman, publisher and public servant. (See “A career under the laws of Minerva,” page 16.)
As author, he wrote books on historical and political topics as well as biographies and works on travel. As statesman, he served as President Abraham Lincoln’s consul at Paris and minister to France during the years of the Civil War. In that capacity, he is credited with thwarting a scheme to deliver French-made naval vessels to Confederate forces. As publisher, he was joint owner and editor (with William Cullen Bryant) of the New York Evening Post. As public servant, he is regarded as the key person behind the founding of the New York Public Library, a cultural jewel that Paul LeClerc now directs. Bigelow’s life certainly makes for interesting history. More importantly, Bigelow’s life should be an inspiration for today’s members of the Union community. His commitment to purposes beyond individual gain should serve to awaken a noble purpose within all of us.
For similar reasons, the College has developed a program and courses focused on ethics. The Rapaport Everyday Ethics Across the Curriculum initiative aims at helping students understand and ultimately better respond to ethical issues. Thanks to generous support from Michael (’59) and Jo-Ann (Friedman) Rapaport, the Ethics Across the Curriculum initiative has helped ensure that helping students see that the ethical dilemmas and implications confronted in everyday life are not the domain of any one academic department. This should convey an important message: ethical decision making cannot be compartmentalized. This too is about the development of character. (See “Teaching ethics,” page 4.)
We were honored and delighted to host the National Undergraduate Bioethics Conference at Union this spring. The fact that this conference came to Union is testimony to Professor Robert Baker’s stature in this area. It is also evidence of the role that Union can play in leading a national discussion about ethical issues and decision making.
While methods and curriculum have changed, in the beginning of our third century, just as in the beginning of our first century, Union continues to think about character as a commitment to the larger community, and as an embrace of an ideal that attracts us, draws us, animates us, and inspires us.