Celebrating sisterhood in Union's Motto

“We are all brothers and sisters...”

Although Union College’s administration decided to admit women in 1970, the Union motto remained the same for decades. It turned out it was quicker to add sisters to the classroom than to add “sisters” to the motto. It took 45 years, but in 2015, the original motto was altered to recognize that all become brothers and sisters under the laws of Minerva:

“Sous les lois de Minerve nous devenons tous frères et sœurs” (Under the laws of Minerva, we all become brothers and sisters)

In his 2015-2016 President’s Report, Stephen Ainlay explained the decision to alter the motto.

“We respect the tradition of the words carefully chosen by our original trustees, but it’s important that those words now make explicitly clear that Union is a place of inclusion and a shared intellectual mission for all…”

David Harris Union College President Inaugural Speech September 8, 2018

President David Harris, 19th President of Union College:

At his 2018 inauguration, President David Harris underscored the college’s commitment to “brothers and sisters”, as now stated in the school’s motto. He spoke of the bonds of brotherhood and sisterhood, forged on the Union College campus and its community:

At Union College, students, faculty, staff, and alumni are brothers and sisters in our academic disciplines and professional associations; we are brothers and sisters in our fraternities and sororities; we are brothers and sisters in our sports teams and clubs; we are brothers and sisters with those who share our ethnic identities and class backgrounds. We will continue to be brothers and sisters in these and many other ways, but first and foremost and for the rest of our lives, we are brothers and sisters in Union. Brothers and sisters in Union.

- David Harris Union College President. Inaugural Speech, September 8, 2018.

“A Common Seal”

Union College’s Charter of 1795 provided that:

“Trustees shall and may have a common seal, under which they shall and may pass all grants, diplomas and other writings…”

On May 26, 1795, the Board of Trustees formed a committee to secure an official seal for the newly formed Union College. The committee members included Abraham Ten Broeck, Goldsbrow Banyar, Stephen Van Rensselaer and Henry Walton. The committee designed and procured a new seal from Albany silversmiths George and Isaac Hutton that included a motto: “Sous les lois de Minerve nous devenons tous freres” (“Under the laws of Minerva, we all become brothers”).

This seal was used to signify Union College on official documents (most commonly on diplomas) in the form of a wax seal. By the mid-20th century, the seal was regularly printed on Union College catalogs, publications and stationery.

In 2015, the motto surrounding the seal, “Sous les lois de Minerve nous devenons tous freres”, was altered, adding two words: “and sisters.”

“Sous les lois de Minerve nous devenons tous frères et sœurs”
(“Under the laws of Minerva, we all become brothers and sisters”)

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