With the approval of the Board of Trustees, the administration has adopted a meal plan that will affect all students on campus and that was designed by faculty, students, and staff.
After expenses, the plan will generate $300,000 in additional income-or about the amount that would be earned from a $6 million increase in the College's endowment. It was developed by the Student Affairs Council after the Planning and Priorities Committee recommended that every student should be on the meal plan.
All resident students will be required to be on one of three meal plans-fifteen meals, ten meals, or seven meals a week. However, a system of meal-plan credits will allow fraternities and sororities to maintain full meal plans and will provide for a transitional year to give them an opportunity to plan properly.
Janet Anderson, professor of chemistry, is the author of “Polymers and Material Science: A Course for Nonscience Majors,” which appeared in the Journal of Chemical Education (December 1994). The article was based on a course she developed for the General Education laboratory science requirement.
Robert Baker, professor of philosophy, and Martin Strosberg, professor of management, are the coeditors of a book, Legislating Medical Ethics: A Study of the New York State Do-Not-Resuscitate Law. The book grew out of a conference held at the College in 1990, which brought together public officials, researchers, and health care providers to assess the impact of the new law. Partially as a result of the conference, the law was amended.
Joseph Board, Robert Porter Patterson Professor of Government, spent the past academic year as a visiting fellow at Oriel College, Oxford University. He also continued work about the rise and decline of the Swedish welfare state.
Vuk Fatik, associate professor of electrical engineering, delivered papers at the IEEE Mediterranean Symposium on New Directions in Control and Automation and the IASTED International Conference on Modeling and Simulation. All three papers developed an original variational theory that considers the evolution of dynamical processes in reverse directions-past to future and future to past-in order to extend Hamilton's principle to
linear dissipative processes.
Hilary Tann
Hilary Tann, professor of music, had her composition for mixed trio, Of Erthe and Air (for flute, clarinet, and frame drums) performed and broadcast in Ireland by the Concorde Ensemble
in Dublin and Galway. This and other compositions were performed by orchestras from Sacramento, Calif., to Pwllelli, North Wales.
Continuing what has become a Bicentennial tradition
of spectacular events, Reunion Weekend '95 brought the largest Reunion crowd in history to campus.
Director of Alumni Affairs Paul Rieschick '74 said, “The numbers on campus were larger than we anticipated, but all in all things went smoothly, and we are gratified by the number of alumni who expressed their thanks for our efforts.”
More than 2,300 alumni registered for ReUnion, and spouses, children, and guests raised the total number of visitors by several thousand more. They enjoyed seminars, races, a parade with visit
ing dignitaries (Eliphalet Nott, Chester Arthur, William Seward, Robert Toombs, Charles Steinmetz, and Minerva) and grand marshal Bill Huntley '34, the picnic, “Required Chapel,” class dinners, an
ecumenical service, and a piano sing-a-long.
Saturday evening's highlight events included an alumni concert consisting of 125 voices, honoring Professor Hugh Allen Wilson; a spectacular fire
works show put on by Steve Ente '75; and a Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Social sponsored by Bob Holland '62, president of the Vermont company.
“I believe a huge percentage of our alumni and friends went home with a very special feeling about the College,” said Rieschick. “Special thanks are extended to all the volunteers who helped make the weekend such a success, especially the weekend's co-chairs, Bill Allen '59 and Gail Snitkoff '74.”
Five individuals were honored by the Alumni Council. Alumni Gold Medals were presented by Alumni Council President Art Salvatore, Jr. '62 to Gerry Barandes '54 and Karen Huggins '77 for outstanding service to the College (Huggins became the first alumna to receive an Alumni Gold Medal). Jean Collin '76 was the third Gold Medal winner, but she was unable to attend so her medal will be presented to her in the fall.
Professor of Political Science Byron Nichols was awarded the Faculty Meritorious Service Award and Vice President for Campus Life Joe Mammola received a Special Appreciation Award.
Barandes, an attorney in New York City and a member of the College's Board of trustees, was honored for his work with the New York Alumni Club, the Alumni Admissions Group, and the Terrace Council.
Huggins, one of the most
active members of the Schenectady Alumni Club, was cited for her numerous
contributions secretary of the Alumni Council, a phonathon worker, a Terrace Council
member, chair of ReUnion, a member of the Trustee Board of Advisors, and a co-host of the Founders Day satellite broadcast.
Collin, former president of the Washington, D.C., Alumni Club, became president of the Atlanta club when she moved there and revitalized the chapter with a number of new activities. In addition to her efforts on behalf of admissions and development, she also has represented the College at three college presidential inaugurations.
The Alumni Council paid tribute to Nichols for his “intellect, wit, and insight,” and honored him for his guidance of the biggest party the College has ever had-the Bicentennial celebration. As
chair of the Bicentennial Steering Committee, “Byron took on the appearance of a coach, encouraging his team to dig deep.”
Mammola was cited for his efforts in preparing the campus for the Bicentennial celebration, the construction of the Yulman Theater, and the restoration of the Nott Memorial.
Parade trophies went to the Class of 1975 for the largest number of alumni in the parade (Anable Cup) and to the Class of 1945 for the highest percentage of alumni in the parade (McClellan Cup) and for the best costume (Van Voast Cup).
The following officers were elected by their classes over Reunion Weekend:
1935 – President: Norman O. Chadbourne; Vice President: George W. Stroebel, Jr.; Alumni Council Representative: Kenneth N. Mathes; Reunion 2000 Co-Chairs: Chadbourne, C. Malcolm Rhoades, and Stroebel.
1940 – President: Robert W. Hanson; Vice President: Nathan Paul; Alumni Council Representative: Philip T. Hill II; Reunion 2000 Chair: Edgar Sandman
1941 – President: Paul Mara; Vice President: Robert Herman; Alumni Council Representatives: Donal Rickard and Alexander Turchick
1945 – President: Edward J. Craig; Alumni Council Representatives: Joseph D. Goldreich and Malcolm D. Horton; Reunion 2000 Co-Chairs: Craig and Chester T. Marvin
1950 – President: George E. Martin; Vice President: Samuel Stein; Secretary: Bertram J. Napear; Alumni Council Representatives: Robert Pletman and Charles Snow; Reunion 2000 Chair: Mitchell Rabbino
1955 – President: Martin Meyer; Vice President: Dominick Carbone; Secretary/ Treasurer: Gustave Umbsen; Alumni Council Representatives: Saul Babbin and Walter Stark; Reunion 2000 Co-Chairs: Lloyd Fallowes and Stark
1960 – President: Charles E. Roden; Vice President: David R Merritt; Secretary: David R
Meager; Treasurer: Lewis T. Buckman; Alumni Council Representatives: Buckman and Roden; ReUnion 2000 Chair: Roden
1965 – President: Gary A. Morris; Vice President: Gary G. Brown; Secretary: Jon Lechevet; Alumni Council Representatives: Brown and Sherwood B. Lee; ReUnion 2000 Chair: John W. Waterbury
1970 – President: M. William Munno; Secretary: Frank
Donnini; Alumni Council Representatives: Donnini and David Seward; ReUnion 2000 Chair: David Gray
1975 – President: Mary Alison Sloat Makarczuk; Vice President: Mark Manus; Secretary: Kipp Kelley Freeman; Alumni Council Representatives: Richard Burrell and Lance Jacobson; ReUnion 2000 Chair: Linda Burns Colmenares
1980 – President: Mirabella Sheppard; Secretary: Patricia Seftel; Alumni Council Representative: Richard DeVall
1985 – President: Paul K. Kurker; Vice President: Amy L. Solomon; Secretary: Jonathan C. Mathewson; Treasurer: Robert A. Israel; Alumni Council Representatives: Joseph Picano and Robert A. Veidman, Jr.; ReUnion 2000 Chair: Picano and Veidman
1990 – President: Cristos Nikolis; Vice President: Karl Hartmann; Secretary: MJ Conley Burke; Treasurer: John Meyer; Alumni Council Representatives: Burke and Hartmann; ReUnion 2000 Chair: Rebecca Whidden
Everyone who works on a college campus finds that the rhythms of the summer are very different from the rest of the year. With students gone and with faculty working on their research, the campus is indeed quiet. For those of us in residence, though, summer provides the perfect opportunity for developing long-range, strategic plans for the institution.
Summer also provides an opportunity to do other things of import. For six days following our festive Bicentennial ReUnion, I traveled to Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria and Wroclaw, Poland to set up new exchange programs with the American University in Bulgaria and The Technical University of Wroclaw.
Both programs should provide magnificent opportunities for our students to be exposed to other peoples and cultures. Aside from the obvious benefits of living in another country, the exchanges will give Union students the chance to see democracy in its early stages at work. Although the programs will not appeal to everyone, they will give the right Union students a truly wonderful experience.
In Blagoevgrad, for instance, students will be studying in a university housed in former Communist Party headquarters, and they will be residing in one of the country retreats of the former dictator of Bulgaria. Situated less than ten kilometers from the Macedonian border, Blagoevgrad also offers a great jumping-off point for those wanting to examine the roots of Western civilization.
Wroclaw will present students with a very different opportunity. Formerly Breslau, Germany, Wroclaw is a splendid city that has been completely restored. Situated in western Poland, Wroclaw was ceded to Poland by Germany at the end of World War II. In addition to providing Union students with a beautiful and historic setting in which to learn, it will give them also an opportunity to delve into twentieth-century history firsthand.
Four weeks later, I traveled again, this time to Wyoming for six picture-perfect days. No exchange programs, just great Union friends-and wonderful fishing and hiking! Among the joys of this job is the opportunity to meet interesting people. When they are
also interested in Union, our visits are all the more enjoyable for me. In the case of the Wolds John '38 and Jane-and Sy Thickman '44, Union has wonderful friends.
The Wolds, who have established a chair in geology, are among Union's most supportive friends. Each year since I have been at Union, we have managed to get together, sometimes to ski, but mostly to fly-fish. John, a great fly fisherman, and I were able to walk down to Outlaw Cave, the reputed hideout of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and to fish the waters of the middle fork of the Powder River. Yet it was on his Hole in the Wall Ranch, where the Powder River flows, that we had our greatest success.
Success for a fly fisherman is for many measured by the number of fish and by others by the size of those fish. Although we did pretty well on both scores, real success is simply being in great country with wonderful people.
Following those productive days on the Powder River, Sy Thickman picked me up to “go for a walk in the park”-Grand Teton National Park. Having read about the Schenectady to New York City canoe trip last fall, Sy wrote to say that he had a great adventure in Wyoming if I wanted to take him up on it. Never being one to turn down an offer like that, I quickly accepted. The walk, scheduled to be a twenty-mile hike that went from 7,000 to 13,000 feet, was altered somewhat by the fact that a three-mile stretch of the Consolation Loop was still under deep snowpack. Instead, therefore, we simply went for a fifteen-mile stroll in the park.
Along the way, we encountered, among other things, half a dozen moose. Since Newt Gingrich had raised some eyebrows by saying that the reason he went to New Hampshire during the weekend that President Clinton was there to see a moose, we couldn't help remarking on the fact that the Speaker should have gone west to Wyoming, rather than north to New Hampshire. Besides, Wyoming also has a primary, although not the first in the nation.
Sy, who has made a major commitment to Union for an endowed scholarship, and John and Jane Wold certainly refute the argument that those who are not located close to the College lose interest in it. Last I looked, Casper and Sheridan, Wyoming were more than a stone's throw from Schenectady. Yet, the Wolds and Sy Thickman are great supporters of Union in every sense of the word.
Exchange programs in Eastern Europe, and fishing and hiking in Wyoming are hardly everyday occurrences. For me, though, the change of pace of summer in Schenectady gives us a chance to do much-needed planning-and me an opportunity to set up important programs and see good friends.
If the Battle of Gettysburg was the Civil War's turning point, Little Round Top
(in which nine Union “alumni” participated), was Gettysburg's crucial
moment. The battle, tactically, was unremarkable – a Union brigade arrives
on a hill minutes before larger Confederate forces come to seize it. The Union brigade barely holds on but a second brigade arrives and drives back the Confederates. This action keeps the Union army from being outflanked, and the next day Pickett's failed charge becomes a household word….
By 4 p.m. on July 2, 1863, the Federal army held the high ground outside of Gettysburg but was on the defensive. An
ill-conceived attack near Little Round Top, against larger Confederate forces, was disastrous, leaving the hill undefended. By controlling the strategic hill, the Confederates could push north, creating a domino effect on other Federal positions, or
swing east to begin encircling the entire Union army.
Spotting Confederates moving forward, a Union general commandeered Col. Strong Vincent's 1,200-man brigade ' (consisting of the 44th New York, 83rd Pennsylvania, 20th Maine, and 16th Michigan regiments), ordering them to Little Round Top. They arrived, out of breath, about 4:30 p.m., only ten minutes ahead of the first of 2,400 Confederates. [With the
possible exception of the tiny window of opportunity at Midway in 1942, when American planes caught Japanese fighters refueling and sank four aircraft carriers, few minutes have been more decisive in American military history.]
Vincent quickly placed his four regiments one-third of the way down the steep, rocky hill so the Confederates at the bottom would be in the open while his troops were protected by trees and rocks as they fired downhill. Not yet seeing the enemy, Vincent sent out skirmishers including the 44th New York's Company B2 with Moses H. Bliss '57, Charles E. Sprague '60, and James F. Knowles '68. The skirmishers had gone only
a short distance when, out of the woods at the foot of the hill, came 1,200 men from John Bell Hood's Texas Brigade, the creme de la creme of Lee's great army.
John Foster Knowles
The Confederates launched two attacks, getting within yards of the Union lines, but heavy Federal fire drove them back behind large boulders on the lower slope. This was a classic Catch 22the defenses were so strong that the Rebels began fighting “Indian-style,” shooting down dozens of Federal soldiers, including perhaps John Butler '62, who was seriously wounded.
Other problems quickly developed. Part of the 44th and all the undersized, 150-man 16th Michigan were in an open area, taking heavy casualties. Those Confederates not pinned down, reinforced by another regiment-altogether perhaps 600 men-began moving toward the 16th. As the Rebel attack gained strength and confidence, the outnumbered 16th began to crumble. Shortly after 5:30 its colonel fled with forty men. Seeing this gap between the 44th and the 16th, Vincent quickly shifted two of the 44th's companies, again linking the regiments, and himself circled to the rear to prevent others from running away.
Here Vincent ran into Sprague. At Union, Sprague was Phi Beta Kappa, gifted in languages (he knew eight), and gave the salutory address in Greek. Now he was just another casualty, a bullet through his shoulder. Staggering to the rear, Sprague screamed and cursed at the fleeing men of the 16th. In 1910 Sprague wrote:
“The 16th seemed to be retiring in some confusion. I turned toward them and commenced to exhort them to stand…. I was bleeding profusely and very likely a little
delirious; my waist belt had broken and I was trying to hold up both my trousers and my wounded arm (which seemed to weigh a ton) with my right arm. The men of the 16th stared at me curiously, but I think what they saw was someone behind me,
Vincent coming up on foot with his wife's little riding whip in his hand. [Vincent] touched me lightly with his left hand, saying, `That will do, Sgt. Sprague; I'll take hold of this.' …he happened to know my name from the old chaplain of the 83rd who graduated from Union College. (I wish I could
remember his name.)… [Vincent] went to driving the men of the 16th back into line with the little whip and that was the last …I saw him.”
James H. Robinson
Minutes later, Vincent was mortally wounded. “This is the… fifth time they have shot at me,” he gasped, “and they have hit me at last.”
Just when all seemed lost, another Union regiment suddenly appeared on the Confederate left. Only yards from victory, the Rebels had to change direction to face Col. Patrick O'Rorke's 450-man 140th New York coming over the crest of the hill. O'Rorke's adjutant, Porter Farley '61, later wrote:
“A great basin lay before us full of smoke and fire and literally swarming with riderless horses and fighting, fleeing and pursuing men… The wild cries of charging lines, the rattle of musketry, the booming of
artillery, and the shrieks of the wounded were the orchestral accompaniments of a scene like hell itself…. O'Rorke did not hesitate… `Dismount,' he said, for the ground before us was too rough to ride over. We
sprang from our horses and gave them to the sergeant major. O'Rorke shouted, `Down this way, boys!' and following him we rushed down the rocky slope…. [where O'Rorke] was shot in the neck and dropped instantly dead.”
Hand-to-hand fighting followed. The 140th, crazed at O'Rorke's death, surged on, linking up with Vincent's men, not stopping until the Rebels had fled down Little Round Top. With this, and the arrival of three new regiments (including the 146th New York with Benjamin Franklin Wright '62 and James Henry Robinson '68), the battle should have ended.
But just about the same time, two additional Confederate regiments, under a William Oates, reached the opposite side of little Round Top and attacked Joshua Chamberlain's 20th Maine, with Lt. Samuel T. Keene '56.
Outnumbered two to one, Chamberlain's regiment held its ground against four determined assaults. Oates called the 20th's fire “so destructive that my line wavered like a man trying to walk in a strong wind.” About 7 p.m., with his men out of ammunition, Chamberlain led the 20th Maine in a bayonet charge that drove Oates's men off the hill.
The day's fighting had finally ended. Dressed in their flannel uniforms, heavy and sticky with sweat and caked with the grime of gunpowder, eyes watery from acrid smoke, stomachs turning from the sights and smells of
the littered field, the Union men realized they had won.
But for the wounded, the worst was just beginning. At field hospitals, doctors were sorting them into those likely to survive who did not need
surgery; those who might survive but needed surgery; and those whom only the clergy could help-including Sprague.
Left to die, Sprague defied the odds to write later:
“Most of this is still very clear in my mind, as also the terrors of that night in the old stone house. I heard every tick and every stroke of the old clock as I lay in [a] bedroom; rows of men of all ranks and of both armies covered the floors; each one seeming to have his own peculiar groan or cry…. On the night of the third I was carted in anguish somewhere to the south, was soaked all night, and on the morning of the Fourth found close by me the old Chaplain of the 83rd who saved my life with a tumbler of whiskey.”
By the morning of July 3, Vincent's brigade had left Little Round Top. Robinson, Wright, and Farley's regiments
remained and they witnessed Gettysburg's outcome.
“No language [Farley wrote] can exaggerate the mighty storm of shot and smoke and sound which for nearly two hours filled the air. Many caissons were blown up on both sides [with] an occasional explosion much louder than the rest and huge columns of smoke rising…. We saw [Pickett's charge] up to the point where they came into actual collision with our lines and there the hills and trees hid them for us. Then succeeded a few minutes of the most exciting suspense, while we waited for the verdict from this trial by battle… [but] at last the well-known cheers of the Union troops broke out upon the air.”
After Little Round Top
Samuel T. Keene '56, an officer, was shot in the chest by a sniper a year later. He died in the arms of a good friend, who married his widow.
Moses Hawks Bliss '57 was wounded twice after Gettysburg. Little more is known about him. He died in Pasadena, Calif., around 1905.
Charles E. Sprague '60 survived but his left arm was thereafter useless. Sprague became a banker, helped develop a “universal” language, was active in veterans affairs, and served on Union's Board of Trustees. He died in 1911.
Porter Farley '61 left the law to practice medicine. He wrote extensively on the Civil War, coming back to Schenectady when Union honored its veterans in 1915.
John Butler '62 became a missionary and died in China in 1885.
Benjamin Franklin Wright '62, an officer, was captured in 1864 and spent a year in a Confederate prison. In 1895 he was a school principal in St. Paul, Minn.
James F. Knowles '68 became a minister holding sixteen pastorates in seven states. He died in 1909.
James H. Robison '68 was captured with Wright and sent to the infamous Andersonville prison. He became a minister, and was active in Veterans affairs, attended Union's 1915 ceremonies, and became his class president. He died in 1923.
