# Union College

> Union College is a private, nonsectarian liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York, founded in 1795 as the first college chartered by the New York State Board of Regents. It is best known for pairing a classic liberal arts education with full ABET-accredited engineering programs - a combination it pioneered in 1845 - and for running on a distinctive three-term (trimester) calendar. With roughly 2,000 undergraduates, small classes, and a campus laid out by French architect Joseph Jacques Ramee in 1813, Union counts a U.S. president, a Nobel laureate, and generations of engineers and scientists among its graduates.

- **Founded:** 1795
- **Headquarters:** Schenectady, New York, United States
- **Founders:** Dirck Romeyn (Founding advocate / community leader), John Blair Smith (First President (1795))
- **Team size:** About 940 employees; roughly 220+ faculty, with about 97% holding the top degree in their field
- **Products:** Undergraduate liberal arts education, Engineering programs, Trimester (three-term) calendar, Terms abroad and international programs, Minerva Houses
- **Notable:** First college chartered by the New York State Board of Regents (1795)., First liberal arts college in the U.S. to offer engineering (1845)., Known as the 'Mother of Fraternities' - three of the oldest American fraternities were founded on campus.

## Products & services

- **Undergraduate liberal arts education** — 58+ majors and minors across humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences, with the option to design interdisciplinary majors.
- **Engineering programs** — ABET-accredited majors in Bioengineering, Civil, Computer, Electrical, Environmental, and Mechanical Engineering - unusual for a liberal arts college.
- **Trimester (three-term) calendar** — Three ten-week terms (Fall, Winter, Spring) that structure coursework and make a full term abroad easy to fit.
- **Terms abroad and international programs** — Study-abroad terms and mini-terms across dozens of countries, tied to the trimester schedule.
- **Minerva Houses** — A residential and social-house system that organizes campus life, events, and community across the student body.

## Achievements

- First college chartered by the New York State Board of Regents (1795).
- First liberal arts college in the U.S. to offer engineering (1845).
- Known as the 'Mother of Fraternities' - three of the oldest American fraternities were founded on campus.
- Campus designed as a unified plan by French architect Joseph Jacques Ramee in 1813.
- Eliphalet Nott served as president for 62 years, the longest college presidency in U.S. history.
- Graduated the 21st U.S. President, Chester A. Arthur, and Nobel laureate Baruch S. Blumberg.
- Ranked around No. 44 among National Liberal Arts Colleges in the 2026 U.S. News edition.

## Latest updates

- **2025-07** — Elizabeth Kiss became Union College's 20th president on July 1, 2025.
- **2025-06** — David R. Harris stepped down as president on June 30, 2025 after leading Union since 2018; Harris House was dedicated in May 2025.
- **2024-09** — Union announced President Harris would step down at the end of the academic year, opening a presidential search.

## Links

- Website: https://union.edu
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/school/union-college
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/unioncollegeny
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/UnionCollege
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unioncollege/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/unioncollege/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/union-college
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-13