Oberlin College & Conservatory commencement exercises may 14, 2021 | 9:00 am & 2:00 pm Oberlin College & Conservatory Commencement Exercises may 14, 2021 | 188th anniversary In addition to President Ambar, the following people are sharing the commencement platform: Gordon Deane ’71, Honorary Marshal Motoko T. Deane ’71, Honorary Marshal David Kamitsuka, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences William Quillen, Dean of the Conservatory of Music Donica Thomas Varner, Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, Commencement Marshal senior class speakers Henry Beecher Hicks IV Joshua Emmanuel Rhodes trustee of oberlin college Christopher Canavan ’84, Chair Oberlin College is proud to ofer closed-caption service for the 2021 commencement ceremony. Live, real-time captioning is available via a mobile device browser at go.oberlin.edu/captions using access code Oberlin. For links to translated captions in other common languages, please see page 37. A live audio and video feed of the commencement ceremony is available on the Oberlin College website. Closed captions are also available on the live video stream. Te college’s commencement exercises are being signed for hearing-impaired guests and students. Te signers are from the Cleveland Hearing & Speech Center and are standing on the lef side of the main platform. ADA seating is available. 2 order of exercises President Carmen Twillie Ambar Presiding i | the academic procession Honorary Marshals: Gordon Deane ’71 and Motoko Deane ’71 Procession Marshal: Donica Thomas Varner, Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary Music: The Commencement Brass Ensemble Te outdoor academic procession has its antecedents in the medieval European university. Te procession is designed so that each graduate passes before each faculty member one fnal time before the conferring of the degrees. Te modern academic gown evokes the medieval cappa clausa, a closed cloak typically worn by clerics; the modern hood, worn over the shoulders and down the back, recalls a functioning medieval head garment. In the late 19th century, the Intercollegiate Code was established for American universities, through which academic dress was standardized to convey the degree held, the feld of study, and the university awarding the degree. Accordingly, there are three shapes of gown: the bachelor’s gown is characterized by full, pointed sleeves; the master’s gown is characterized by oblong sleeves, cut away in front to leave a streamer of the sleeve behind; the doctor’s gown is faced with velvet, a likely echo of the clerical tippet, and features bell sleeves adorned with velvet bars. Academic hoods vary in size, shape, and color; they are lined with silk in the ofcial color or colors of the institution that granted the faculty member’s highest degree. Te trim color of the velvet binding indicates the discipline of the degree, commonly including: Philosophy, dark blue; Music, pink; Arts, Letters, and Humanities, white; Education, light blue; Law, purple; Medicine, green; Library Science, lemon yellow; Science, golden yellow; and Divinity, scarlet. Te gown is a symbol of the democracy of scholarship since it covers any clothing indicating rank or status. Te cap has its own traditions. Te frst right of a freed Roman slave was the privilege of wearing a cap, so the academic cap is the sign of the freedom of scholarship. Mortarboards have long been worn, but in recent years sof caps or tams and other colorful headgear have gained favor. An increasingly large number of universities in America have developed unique academic gowns; most of these conform to the basic style of the Intercollegiate Code, although they replace traditional black with school colors and are ofen ornamented with embroidered university seals or emblems. European academic dress adds further diversity and color to the academic procession. Te audience will rise until the procession reaches the stage and is seated. 3 ii | invocation (audience stands) The Reverend David F.H. Dorsey, Multifaith Chaplain to the College and Conservatory iii | greetings Christopher Canavan ’84, Chair, Board of Trustees iv | welcome President Carmen Twillie Ambar Biographical notes on retiring faculty members, as well as the recipients of the Alumni Medal, Distinguished Community Service Award, and Honorary Degrees may be found at the end of this program. v | remarks Henry Beecher Hicks IV, Student Representative from the Class of 2021 (9 AM) Joshua Emmanuel Rhodes, Student Representative from the Class of 2021 (2 PM) vi | the presentation of the alumni medal (video) K. Scott Alberts ’94, President of the Alumni Association candidate for the alumni medal Walter “Walt” B. Galloway ’69 vii | the presentation of the award for distinguished service to the community (video) Motoko Deane ’71, Honorary Marshal candidate for the award for distinguished service to the community Gail Horn Wood ’70 Devoted to service in the Oberlin Community since her retirement from teaching at the Western Reserve School District and the Oberlin Public Schools; service with the Oberlin Schools Endowment Board; president of the board of trustees of the Oberlin Heritage Center and chair of the development committee and tour docent. Te candidate will be presented by James Monroe Professor of Politics and Professor of East Asian Studies Marc Blecher. 4 viii | the conferring of honorary degrees (live and video) President Ambar candidate for the honorary degree of doctor of fine arts Renata Adler Author, journalist, staf writer for the New Yorker; contributor to Vanity Fair, the New York Review of Books, Harper’s, the Atlantic, the New Republic; former chief flm critic for the New York Times. Te candidate will be presented by Frederick R. Selch Associate Professor of Musicology James O’Leary. candidate for the honorary degree of doctor of music John Harbison Institute professor at MIT, recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship and a Pulitzer Prize; conductor and composer-in-residence with numerous orchestras and festivals. Te candidate will be presented by Assistant Professor of Voice Kendra Colton. candidate for the honorary degree of doctor of humanities Michael J. Sorrell ’88 Te longest-serving president in the 149-year history of Paul Quinn College, nationally regarded for his eforts to remake higher education in order to serve the needs of under-resourced students and their communities. Te candidate will be presented by Trustee Patricia Shanks ’63. candidate for the honorary degree of doctor of fine arts Peter Baker ’88 Chief White House correspondent for the New York Times, political analyst for MSNBC, former journalist with the Washington Post, author, and panelist on PBS’ Washington Week. Te candidate will be presented by Robert S. Danforth Professor of Politics Eve Sandberg. ix | commencement address Peter Baker ’88 5 x | remarks President Ambar xi | the presentation of the class of 2021 President Ambar Listed are students from the college and the conservatory who were enrolled in courses needed to complete degree requirements as of Spring 2021; students who have completed requirements since May 2020; and students who have 12 or fewer credits to complete for their degree. Tis does not constitute the ofcial list of graduates for 2021. Te ofcial list will be made available by the registrar afer June 30, 2021. 6 candidates for degrees the conservatory of music Presented by Dean William Quillen the degrees of Wenqin Yi Amer Hasan bachelor of music Dazhou, People’s Republic of Chicago, IL and master of China Georgia John Heers music in choral Greer, SC conducting the degree of bachelor of music Scott Joseph Heinz Jedidiah Lee Rellihan Oberlin, OH Nicolas Diego Alvarez Raymore, MO Claudia Grace Hinsdale Greer, SC Poughkeepsie, NY the degrees of Colin Robert Anderson Juntai Huang bachelor of music Upper Marlboro, MD and master of Guangzhou, Guangdong, music in historical Ernest McIntosh Atkinson Jr. People’s Republic of China Kingstree, SC performance Aadam Ibrahim Olivia Victoria Bentley Addison, IL Tigran Buniatyan Cincinnati, OH Oberlin, OH Dian Jin Mercer Kingman Bristol Shanghai, People’s Republic of the degree of Colorado Springs, CO China master of music Andrés Felipe Carrero Sungeun Kim in historical Leander, TX Seoul, Republic of Korea performance Katherine Naomi Danforth Josephine Yoonji Lee Zuguang Xiao Indianapolis, IN Glendale, CA Xiangyang, People’s Republic of Atlee Daniel SungKyung Lee China Fort Worth, TX Seoul, Republic of Korea the degree of Matthew Reed Dion Gabriela Linares artist diploma Somerset, MA Albany, CA Ian Bernard English Tomas Jonathan Litchev Christopher James Archer Lafayette, LA Dillon, CO Houghton, MI Isaac S. Fenner Jiaqing Luo Niki Khabbazvahed Oakland, CA Wuhan, People’s Republic of Tehran, Iran Mathea Goh China Hanlin No Wang Singapore, Singapore Ellie L. MacPhee Guiyang, People’s Republic of Greenville, SC China Herdís Mjoll Gudmundsdottir Reykjavík, Iceland Phoebe Mapes-Frances Yizhang Wang Sr. Newton, MA Qingdao, People’s Republic of Simone M. Hammett-Lynch China Aurora, CO Charlotte Jane Maskelony Arlington, VA Chi Wai Wong Emily Barbour Hancock Tuen Mun, Hong Kong River Hills, WI Shannon Mustard Moray, Scotland 7 Cordelia Lindsey Mutter Timothy Kenwood Voet Piermont, NY Sacramento, CA Mayumi Naramura Ziyi Wang Oberlin, OH Linyi, Shandong Province, Nicole Maria Odreman- People’s Republic of China Valenciano Caroline Elisabeth Wolfe Miami, FL York, PA Yeajin Park Haoying Wu La Palma, CA Chongqing, People’s Republic of Vincent Vinh Pham China San Diego, CA Jiaqi Yu Anne