UCHL 128: Intro to Union College History
Greetings! I am Bry Galloway, a 5th-year senior, majoring in History with a minor in International Relations. I’m a native of Lubbock, Texas and an alumna of Campion Academy in Loveland Colorado. You can usually find me comfortably settled somewhere in the Humanities division, or lurking around Engel Hall waiting for one of the choir rehearsals to start.
This marks the start of my third year writing freelance for the clocktower. Periodically you’ll see an article featuring the uniquely neat history that Union College has, sometimes they will shed light as to who buildings like Engel Hall or Dick Administration are named after and what they did for Union that made them memorable, and before you say it, no it usually isn’t giving a lot of money. But sometimes it is being memorable enough that they raised large sums.
Take for instance the Everett Dick Administration building or as we usually call it the Dick Building. It isn’t named for Dr. Dick because he donated so much money, or even because he is the foremost authority on the history of Nebraska and the Great Plains. When the college needed a new Administration building to be built in the 1970s, they were struggling with raising funding. They had tried campaigns and had gotten little response. This was until Dr. Dick got involved. He was a much-beloved professor, who almost every Unionite had taken a class from for the last three decades. When Dr. Dick began reaching out and asking alumni if they could please donate so that the current generation of Unionites could take classes in a modern building with air conditioning, elevators, and larger classrooms the money began to pour in. In honor of this dedication shown the administration building that was erected in 1975 was christened after him.
Stories such as this, are what I love about Union College. During my first four years here I worked in the Heritage Room of the library and became deeply acquainted with many of this college's best stories, which I’ve learned the current generation usually knows little or nothing about. I hope these articles help bridge the gap between the current Unionites and the Alumni and strengthen our community through one of our greatest bonds: our shared history.
Bry Galloway is a senior studying history.