James Hidalgo ’10 entered Union at about the same time Stephen C. Ainlay became College president in 2006. Hidalgo, of New York City, was one of several members of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity who recently gave Ainlay the prestigious Sphinx Award for his efforts to improve campus diversity.
“We, as a chapter, feel that President Ainlay deserved it. From the time that he has come to campus, he has made diversity initiatives a priority and has shown multicultural clubs on campus great support,” said Hidalgo, who serves as the fraternity’s secretary. “He has also been receptive to the issues and concerns of multicultural clubs on campus. He is very accessible as president of the College.”
Alpha Phi Alpha, a historically black fraternity with a 26-year history at Union, also cited Ainlay’s support of the Posse Scholars program, as well as his creation of a senior-staff position that deals solely with campus diversity and affirmative action. The Union fraternity chapter, called Pi Pi, gives two Sphinx awards each year, one to a faculty member and one to a student.
“I am deeply honored and humbled to receive this award,” Ainlay said. “I know the brothers of Alpha Phi Alpha and hold them in high regard. They themselves have made so many contributions to Union. Their judgment that I have contributed to building community and advancing diversity at Union means so much to me.”
The Sphinx Award is given to individuals whom the fraternity believes have rendered the greatest service to the College community. Cybil Tribie ’11, an active volunteer and student leader, was given the student award at a ceremony in late May.
The Posse Scholars program is, under Ainlay’s leadership, entering its fourth year at Union. Posse students earn merit-based tuition scholarships through a process run by The Posse Foundation in Boston, which recruits groups of deserving students from ethnically diverse backgrounds to attend selective schools like Union, Hamilton College and Bryn Mawr College.
In February 2008, Ainlay created the senior director for Campus Diversity and Affirmative Action role and named Gretchel Hathaway Tyson to the position. In September 2008, the College named Karen Ferrer-Muñiz as the new director of Multicultural Affairs. Both roles are aimed at improving diversity on campus and supporting community outreach programs.
“We really value community service and the people who are trying to help the community, especially those who are not in a position to help themselves,” Hidalgo said.
Alpha Phi Alpha focuses on public service, leadership and scholarship. The fraternity claims civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall and nearly all presidents of black colleges as members. There is a network of chapters at U.S. schools stemming from the seminal chapter founded at Cornell University in 1906, which was then the first African-American fraternity in the United States.