On a day when the roughly 5 million people worldwide born on leap day got to celebrate on their actual birthday, the campus community gathered in Memorial Chapel Thursday afternoon for their own annual celebration: Founders Day.
Rabbi Matthew Cutler, spiritual leader of Congregation Gates of Heaven in Schenectady, was the keynote speaker at Founders Day, which commemorates the 229th anniversary of the granting of Union’s charter by the state Board of Regents.
The event commemorates the 229th anniversary of the granting of Union’s charter by the state Board of Regents. Regarded as one of the first public calls for higher education, news of the charter in 1795 touched off a celebration in Schenectady that spilled into the frontier town’s streets.
Founders Day is much like leap day, President David R. Harris said. It is an opportunity for a reset.
“We pause, and we reflect on where we are and where we’d like to be, and sometimes, like leap day, we course-correct,” Harris said. “It’s a time to appreciate that reset is painful in the near-term, but wise in the long run, unless, of course, your goal is to trick or treat on the summer solstice. We set ourselves on a path, but if we continue down that path, we won’t be where we want to be.”
In his keynote address, Rabbi Matthew Cutler drew inspiration from the script on the roof tiles of the Nott Memorial, which reads, in part, “The Day is Short and the Work is Great.”
That message serves as a beacon in today’s polarized times, Cutler said, offering hope to build conversation and to affirm the sanctity that exists within every living soul to make a space where people can be heard.
“I’m standing in a place where 229 years ago, it was established with that unique vision, the ability to transcend religious denominations, and create a space of learning where people had to be united with the ability to hear and to listen,” said Cutler, the spiritual leader of Congregation Gates of Heaven in Schenectady since 1995.
Yancey Dobbs Miller, a chemistry teacher at Peachtree Ridge High School in Georgia (center), received the Gideon Hawley Teacher Recognition Award. Named for the 1809 graduate of Union who was New York State’s first superintendent of public education, the award recognizes a high school teacher who has had a continuing influence on a Union student. She was nominated by Rajveer Singh ’27 (left). Michele Angrist, the Stephen J. and Diane K. Ciesinski Dean of the Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs (right), presented the award.
“We have a lot of work to do in a very short course of time.”
Cutler touched on the Hamas attack upon Israel on Oct.7 and the subsequent invasion of Gaza.by Israel. He also revisited some of the themes from the College’s Forum on Constructive Engagement last month, which featured Cutler and others members of Schenectady Clergy Against Hate, an interfaith leadership group dedicated to crossing religious and political lines to foster healthy dialogue toward building a strong community.
“We live in a world in which you can believe one thing in one arena, and then be canceled in another arena because of what you believe. We live in a world in which people’s philosophy, theology and political sentiments can be condensed into a two and a half-minute segment on Tik Tok or a post on social media. Wherever you turn, you can get a different perspective, and unfortunately, a different truth.”
He encouraged the audience to recapture the integrity of being and the sense of believing in the goodness of people, and to look for ways to build trust, respect and understanding of each other.
An important step toward that goal, he said, is to begin the work now and not wait for a crisis to happen.
“Reach out to someone who is different and unique in your eyes,” he said. “Realize the ability to forge fellowship and friendship because when push comes to shove, the greatest gift is that friendship in a time of struggle.
“Remember, the day is short and the work is abundant. Use this advice I give you this day as encouragement to go forward. Choose your words carefully. Remember who you are speaking to. Understand the power of your rhetoric. Take care to show empathy, and not destroy just for the sake of destroying. Make a space where you can learn and engage in respectful dialogue and when necessary, show the moral character that you were wrong and change your tone.”
Founders Day included the premiere of a musical composition by Jackson Janney '24 (center), “When David Heard,” performed by the Union College Choir.
At the end of his remarks, Cutler presented Harris with a mezuzah, a small handwritten parchment scroll used to symbolize welcoming and protection.
Also at Founders Day, Yancey Dobbs Miller, a chemistry teacher at Peachtree Ridge High School in Suwanee, Georgia, received the Gideon Hawley Teacher Recognition Award. Named for the 1809 graduate of Union who was New York State’s first superintendent of public education, the award recognizes a high school teacher who has had a continuing influence on a Union student.
Miller was nominated by Rajveer Singh ’27, an interdepartmental major in biology and sociology. He said that Miller’s classroom was “not just a space for learning, but a place of respect and inclusivity. She created an environment where every voice was heard, every opinion valued. She didn’t just teach us what to learn; she taught us how to learn.”
Founders Day included the premiere of a musical composition by Jackson Janney '24, “When David Heard,” performed by the Union College Choir, conducted by Jin Byun, director of music performance. The haunting, somber piece portrays the scene of King David of Israel when he learns about the death of his beloved son, Absalom. The text is taken from the book of Lamentations from the Old Testament. A music major from outside Washington, D.C., Janney leaned into the intersection of literature and music, his main artistic direction, in composing the piece.
The event also featured musical performances by the Union College Orchestra, Union College Jazz Ensemble led by Tim Olsen, professor of music, and the Union College Music Department.
The hour-long celebration opened with remarks from Stacie Raucci, College marshal and the Frank Bailey Professor of Classics; Julie Swidler ‘79, chair of the Board of Trustees; Stephen Schmidt, the Kenneth B. Sharpe Professor of Economics and chair of the Faculty Executive Committee; and Lani Waggoner ‘24, Student Forum president.