The Frank Bailey Prize
Presented to Ilan Levine
By President Stephen C. Ainlay
The recipient of the Frank Bailey Prize is selected by the faculty and the prize is awarded annually to the senior deemed to have rendered the greatest service to the College in any field.
The recipient of this year’s Bailey Prize has made an enormous contribution to the Union campus and community. In letters of nomination, our Bailey Prize recipient is described as “thoughtful, passionate, and motivated” and, as one person notes, “[this] has certainly served Union well.” Our Bailey Prize recipient is also described as an “exemplary” student; a student with an impressive academic record and a student with very high self-expectations.
Our Bailey recipient is known to challenge himself and to set the bar high. As evidence, during one summer he rode his bike across country and, the following summer, he kayaked solo down the Mississippi River. Throughout his Union experience, our Bailey recipient has similarly challenged himself to do his best in his academic pursuits and been equally tenacious in his efforts to improve the lives of students and the College as a whole. As a student, he was awarded the prize for the best senior thesis in the History Department; as a student leader, he’s provided essential leadership.
Our Bailey Prize recipient served as President of the Student Forum. In this capacity, he demonstrated grace and intelligence, representing the student body well at major ceremonial gatherings, such as Convocation and Founders Day. In this capacity, he participated (along with his colleagues) in our search for a new Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty, insuring a strong student voice in this key hire. He also helped provide a strong student voice in our discussions around dining at the College. As President, our Bailey recipient led the Student Forum to work with local restaurants to provide discounts to students in order to enrich student lives and support local establishments. Similarly, he led the Student Forum to work with CDTA (the local bus company) to make it easier for students to get around our city and region – benefitting students and our surrounding community. As President, our Bailey recipient worked with his fellow Forum members to introduce the ZIP car program, both making travel easier for students and advancing the College’s strategic emphasis on sustainability. And as President, our Bailey recipient worked with fellow Forum members to gather our entire community together, in solidarity, to speak out against and stand with the victims of oppression, harassment, and persecution.
It is in recognition of his efforts to change our community for the better, his high standards for himself and for Union College, and his focus on advancing the interests of both students and the College’s strategic priorities that we present Ilan Levine with the Bailey Prize.