The Commencement Exercises of the Academic Year 2020–21 Dickinson
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The Commencement Exercises of the Academic Year 2020–21 Dickinson College Sunday, May 23, 2021 Two O’clock The Commencement Exercises he first Dickinson College Commencement exercises were held Clerical gowns were worn by the earliest faculty but disappeared T in the Presbyterian church on the town square, and the occasion early in the 19th century. Curiously, students at Dickinson adopted was something of a public holiday. Professors and students marched the academic robes at Commencement before faculty, who did not in procession, first from the college buildings in Liberty Alley and appear in gown and hood until the procession of 1904. Previous then from our present campus. Each graduate gave proof of his generations of graduating seniors were distinguished only by their learning by delivering an address in Latin or English, a practice that affiliation with one of the literary societies—the red rose of Belles continued through most of the 19th century. In later years, music was Lettres or the white rose of Union Philosophical. During today’s introduced as a restorative between orations, and as the number of ceremony, graduating seniors who studied abroad during their graduates increased, the final oratory was reduced to one guest Dickinson careers wear the flags of their host countries on their speaker, rewarded with an honorary doctorate. academic gowns. The gowns worn by participants hearken back to the monastic In the college’s early days, a Latin ritual was included in the robes of the Middle Ages. The hood—worn by clergy and students Commencement ceremony, beginning with an inquiry by the for warmth in drafty halls—was retained in specialized cases, such president to the trustees: “Placetne vobis, viri admodum generosi, ut as academic distinction. In the United States, an intercollegiate juvenes, qui cursum suum in hoece collegio nuper peregerunt, ad commission in 1893 adopted a uniform code requiring bachelors’ baccalaureatus in artibus gradum nunc admittantur?” To this one and masters’ gowns to be made of cotton poplin or similar material, trustee solemnly answered for all: “Placet.” The president completed while silk or rayon is used for doctoral robes. Bachelors’ gowns have the ceremony with words similar to those used now in English. The pointed, open sleeves hanging to the knee, and masters’ gowns have early diplomas also were in Latin and bore the signatures not only closed sleeves, with the arm brought through a slit at the elbow. of the president but of every professor under whom the candidate Doctors’ gowns have velvet facings down the front and full, bell- had studied. shaped sleeves, each trimmed with three bars of velvet. The black The first Dickinson honorary degree was an M.A. awarded to mortarboard cap is standard in the United States; doctors may wear Nathaniel Randolph Snowden in 1790. Through most of the 19th a gold tassel, but all others wear black. century, masters’ diplomas were awarded to all alumni who, three The hood is lined with silk in the official colors of the institution years after graduation, had given some evidence of being established that granted the highest degree held by the wearer, while the color of in life—a sort of confirmation of the first award. (Once a generally the velvet border indicates the field of study within which the degree accepted practice in American colleges, this no longer prevails.) The was awarded. Some of the latter designations are as follows: white, earliest honorary doctorates, awarded in 1792, were in divinity. arts and letters; scarlet, divinity; purple, laws; golden yellow, science; Distinguished alumni have been so honored from an early date, dark blue, philosophy; light blue, education; brown, fine arts; pink, including Roger Brooke Taney, LL.D., 1831; James Buchanan, LL.D., music; green, medicine; orange, engineering. With the duplication of 1842; Spencer Fullerton Baird, D.P.S., 1856; Moncure Daniel Conway, college colors, some universities have authorized the use of an entire L.H.D., 1892; and Zatae Longsdorff Straw, Sc.D., 1937. robe of a distinctive color, and others place an insignia on each side of the front. Order of Exercises The Remarks of the President of the College Margee M. Ensign President The Phi Beta Kappa Recognition Tara Vasold Fischer ’02 President, Alpha Chapter of Pennsylvania Dean of Academic Advising and College Dean The Presentation of Awards and Prizes The Constance and Rose Ganoe Memorial Award Presented by Maggie Wilson President of the Class of 2021 The James Fowler Rusling Prize The John Patton Memorial Prize The William F. Hufstader Senior Prizes Presented by President Ensign The Announcement of the Elected Young Alumni Trustee John E. Jones, III ’77, P’11 Chair, Board of Trustees The Presentation of the Sam Rose ’58 and Julie Walters Prize at Dickinson College for Global Environmental Activism Varshini Prakash Co-founder and executive director of Sunrise Movement Presented by Espoir DelMain ’21 – 2 – The Conferring of Honorary Degrees Esther T. Benjamin CEO and executive director of World Education Services (WES) Presented for the honorary degree of Doctor of International Education David McCormick CEO of Bridgewater Associates Presented for the honorary degree of Doctor of International Relations Eric H. Holder, Jr. Former U.S. Attorney General under President Barack Obama Presented for the honorary degree of Doctor of Justice Administration The Commencement Address Eric H. Holder, Jr. The Conferring of Degrees in Cursu The college hosted a series of three Graduate Recognition Ceremonies on Saturday, May 15. Seniors selected the ceremony of their choice and will appear in alphabetical order within each ceremony. Seniors who were unable to attend were asked to submit a photo. As seniors departed the platform, each received a gift on behalf of the college from Board of Trustees Chair John E. Jones, III ’77, P’11 and Alumni Council President Albert Masland ’79. Margee M. Ensign Neil B. Weissman President Provost and Dean of the College Assisting: George H. Stroud Vice President and Dean of Student Life “Rainbow Connection” from The Muppet Movie by Paul Williams & Kenneth Ascher. Euphonium played by Kira Ousey ’21. The Ringing of the Denny Tower Bell Wheel and Chain members of the classes of 2021 and 2022. The Alma Mater Performed by the Dickinson College Choir under the direction of Professor Amy Wlodarski, with accompaniment performed and produced by Assistant Professor Greg Strohman. Noble Dickinsonia Alma Mater, tried and true, Noble Dickinsonia, Oft our hearts shall turn to you, Noble Dickinsonia, How each ancient classic hall, fondest mem’ries will recall, Sacred is each gray old wall, Noble Dickinsonia. Words by Horatio C. King, Class of 1858 Mr. King, who practiced law in Brooklyn, N.Y., received the Congressional Medal of Honor in 1897. – 3 – Honorary Degrees Eric H. Holder, Jr. Eric Holder has served in Before his service as attorney general, Holder maintained a government for more than 30 wide-ranging investigations and litigation practice at Covington & years, having been appointed to Burling LLP in Washington, D.C. He rejoined the firm in 2015, various positions requiring U.S. where he is currently a partner practicing litigation, public policy Senate confirmation by three and government affairs and white collar defense and investigations. U.S. presidents. In 1988, Holder is a graduate of Columbia College and Columbia Law President Ronald School and holds bar admissions in New York and the District of Reagan nominated him to be a Columbia. superior court judge for the District of Columbia. President Bill Clinton nominated Holder to serve as U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia in 1993. Confirmed by the Senate later that year, he became the first African American to head the country’s largest U.S. attorney’s office. Holder made community outreach a priority, establishing a domestic violence task force and forging partnerships with local law enforcement and civic groups. He also worked to reduce gun crime. In 1997, Holder was named deputy attorney general, a post that gave him the opportunity to expand on the initiatives he had launched as U.S. attorney. From 2009 to 2015, Holder served as the 82nd attorney general of the United States. He is the first African American to hold that position, and his six-year tenure makes him the third-longest- serving attorney general in U.S. history. Shortly after he was confirmed, Holder delivered a controversial but fortuitous Black History Month speech to his justice department staff, saying the United States continues to be a “nation of cowards” in the way it confronts and understands issues of race, and he placed a “special responsibility” on the justice department to lead change. As the nation’s top law enforcement officer and head of the Justice Department, Holder advocated for civilian trials for terrorists and investigated the New Orleans Police Department because of allegations of misconduct during Hurricane Katrina. In 2014, Time magazine named Holder to its list of 100 Most Influential People, noting he had “worked tirelessly to ensure equal justice,” a sentiment echoed by fellow Obama Cabinet member Lisa Jackson, who served as EPA administrator. In a livestreamed conversation for Apple’s 2020 Worldwide Developers Conference, Jackson said Holder’s “most notable attribute is his unwavering commitment to social justice.” Jackson, now vice president at Apple, is the 2013 recipient of Dickinson’s Rose-Walters Prize. In that same conversation, she and Holder discussed the current state of race in America, which Holder described as a “generational racial awakening,” that will be “led by young people.” He also called for a “new level of civic engagement.” – 4 – Honorary Degrees Esther T. Benjamin David McCormick As a global executive in the David McCormick’s career has public, private and civil society straddled the worlds of military, sectors for more than 25 years, government, finance, Esther Benjamin has led business philanthropy and business.