Union College was the first college to be chartered by the New York Board of Regents, and was also the first liberal-arts college to offer engineering in 1845.
The motto of Union College is “Sous les lois de Minerve nous devenons tous freres,” or “We all become brothers under the laws of Minerva.” The motto is in French because Union was among the first to introduce French on an equal level with Greek and Latin.
By the mid 1800s, Union was graduating as many students as any other college in America. Along with Harvard, Yale, and Princeton, it was spoken of as one of the big four.
Union boasts some very famous and successful alumni. Some of them are the father of Franklin D. Roosevelt, the grandfather of Winston Churchill, President of the United States Chester A. Arthur, seven cabinet secretaries, 15 United States senators, 91 members of the House of Representatives, 13 governors, 50 important diplomats, more than 200 judges, 40 missionaries, 16 generals, and 90 college presidents, including the first presidents of the University of Illinois, the University of Iowa, the University of Michigan, Vassar College, Smith College, and Elmira College.
The first admitted class at Union in 1795 was divided into 16 groups who were in the “Latin Class,” “Class of History and Belles Letters,” and “Mathematical Class.” Today we would call them freshmen, sophomores, and juniors. At the time, there was no senior class or “Philosophical Class.”
At Union’s annual Steinmetz Symposium, classes are cancelled as more than 300 students present their scholarly research and creative work.
From 1807 to 1845, all Union students had to show competence in Greek before being admitted.
In the early years of Union College, the college president interviewed all prospective students.
Until 1970, students were addressed by faculty as “Mr. ____,” never by first name. But when women were admitted, they strongly objected to being called “Miss ___,” so all students quickly became addressed by their first names.