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March 4, 2021

The Chestertown Spy

An Educational News Source for Chestertown Maryland

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Education Ed Notes

“Thursdays with the Starr Center” Offers Full Slate of Free Virtual Events

March 4, 2021 by Washington College News Service Leave a Comment

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Washington College’s Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience has launched a new series of free virtual events every Thursday, bringing best-selling authors, respected journalists, renowned scholars, talented performers, and a variety of other guests to a wide audience during Washington College’s spring semester.

“Thursdays with the Starr Center” will be eclectic, conversational, and informal. Events will occur Thursdays at 5 p.m., unless otherwise noted. In addition to original events, the series will also feature the events of campus partners like the Black Studies Program at Washington College.

“These weekly events will capture the energy and diversity of the Washington College community,” said Goodheart. “You can come join a lively discussion on history and politics — or just quietly eavesdrop while you’re starting to fix dinner. We hope you’ll return for a regular date with us each Thursday.”

On March 4 at 5 p.m., the Starr Center invites participants to virtually sit down with Starr Center Director Adam Goodheart and acclaimed biographer Neal Gabler, a former Patrick Henry History Fellow at the Starr Center. Gabler will discuss his new book, Catching the Wind: Edward Kennedy and the Liberal Hour. A gripping book of human drama and political history, Catching the Wind does not portray Kennedy as he is so often viewed in popular culture: a reckless hedonist who rode his father’s fortune and his brothers’ coattails to a Senate seat at the age of thirty. Instead, Gabler shows a man racked by and driven by insecurity, a man so doubtful of himself that he sinned in order to be redeemed.

Later in the month, Starr is co-sponsoring two events – March 11 and March 18 at 5 p.m. – with the Black Studies Program at Washington College. March 11 will bring virtual discussions on “Leading While Black,” as alumna Joyell Arvella ’10 fuses her experience of race and gender equity facilitation and reproductive justice in order to disrupt misogynoir and unlearn global narratives that perpetuate colorism, rape culture, and reproductive harm. On March 18, Bucknell University’s Spanish and Africana Studies Professor Nick R. Jones analyzes “black speech” in Spanish theater from the 1500’s through the 1700’s to show how black Africans and their descendants were rendered legible in performative literary texts in the remote event “Speaking While Black.”

April 1 brings political author, journalist, television host, and 2020 election sensation Steve Kornacki virtually to the Starr Center. Kornacki will talk about the 1990’s historical roots of our present-day politics from his book The Red and the Blue, as well as how our current tribalism mentality came to be. In addition to gaining fame recently as NBC’s electoral map guru who barely took a break during election night coverage, Kornacki’s articles have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Boston Globe, and Daily Beast, among others.

For more information about the “Thursdays with the Starr Center” event series, including registration and access, please visit https://www.washcoll.edu/learn-by-doing/starr.

About the Starr Center

Washington College’s Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience explores the American experience in all its diversity and complexity, seeks creative approaches to illuminating the past, and inspires thoughtful conversation informed by history. Through educational programs, scholarship and public outreach, and a special focus on written history, the Starr Center seeks to bridge the divide between the academic world and the public at large.

About Washington College

Founded in 1782, Washington College is the tenth oldest college in the nation and the first chartered under the new Republic. It enrolls approximately 1,450 undergraduates from more than 35 states and a dozen nations. With an emphasis on hands-on, experiential learning in the arts and sciences, and more than 40 multidisciplinary areas of study, the College is home to nationally recognized academic centers in the environment, history, and writing. Learn more at washcoll.edu.

Filed Under: Ed Notes Tagged With: Education, local news, Washington College

WC Kicks Off Virtual Birthday Convocation With a “Service & Celebration” Theme

February 23, 2021 by Washington College News Service Leave a Comment

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Today marks the start of Virtual Birthday Convocation, a special week-long celebration of the outstanding service and accomplishments of honored members of the community. Traditionally held as an in-person academic ceremony, this re-imagined Birthday Convocation format extends the celebration over a full week and more broadly shares the spirit of service demonstrated by the honorees.

The Virtual Birthday Convocation schedule is as follows:

Monday, Feb. 22 – Introduction from Dr. Wayne Powell, Interim President and Opening Remarks from Steve Golding, Chair of the Board of Visitors and Governors and Elizabeth Lilly, SGA President and Class of 2021.

Tuesday, Feb. 23 – Presentation of the Cromwell Award for Innovation in Teaching

Wednesday, Feb. 24 – Presentation of the Joseph L. Holt Distinguished Service Award

Thursday, Feb. 25 – Presentation of the President’s Medal

Friday, Feb. 26 – Presentation of the Alumni Service Award

Each day this week, a new award recipient will be announced and featured in a short presentation posted to a dedicated webpage and also on social media.

We invite the community to follow along each day as the honorees are presented and celebrated.

Filed Under: Ed Notes Tagged With: Education, local news, Washington College

WC Launches Asterisk Initiative, a Project Focused on Bringing to Light the Institution’s Hidden Stories

February 2, 2021 by Washington College News Service 6 Comments

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The Asterisk Initiative – a key component within the larger Washington College History Project – has unveiled the untold stories attached to seven symbols and spaces around campus that reflect the institution’s historic connections to slavery. The goal of this important project is to share the unvarnished truth about the individuals commemorated in these landmarks, as well as celebrate the hidden contributions and sacrifices made by African Americans.

In academic writing, the asterisk symbol is one that tells us to pause and look further, revealing essential context and subtext. The Asterisk Initiative literally makes history visible by placing asterisk-shaped markers on campus landmarks that have deeper stories to tell, including the George Washington statue, William Smith Hall, Hynson-Ringgold House, and Thomas E. Morris Hall (formerly Harford Hall), among others.

The marker that is now affixed to each site includes a QR code directing visitors to a website where visitors will find stories, pictures, videos and a virtual tour of the site itself.

In his video introduction of the Asterisk Initiative, Interim Provost and Dean Michael Harvey shares this: “When we look at the history of our College, the asterisk helps us see where we need to explain more, or where we’ve omitted a vital part of our story. It helps us be more honest, acknowledge our past and maybe build a better future.”

This initial launch features several videos, including the introduction just cited; the story of College Founder William Smith as narrated by Interim President, Dr. Wayne Powell; and a third featuring Adam Goodheart, Director of the Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience, that offers the history of the Custom House, which was built in 1746 and was the home of Thomas Ringgold, an active slave trader in the Chesapeake Region. He was also an early leader in the movement that would result in American independence.

“This is a legacy that we continue to grapple with today,” said Goodheart — noting that the Custom House was both a site of terrible atrocities and of courage and resistance, “one that reflects the deep-rooted paradoxes of America itself. While the worst chapters of this building’s past can never — and should never – be erased, we hope that by writing new chapters we can build a brighter future within these walls.”

Additional videos tied to other Asterisk sites will be released over the next few weeks.

This first group of sites was carefully selected based on the work that the Acknowledge Committee – one of three sub-committees attached to the WC History Project – did to more fully understand the College’s most troubling legacies. Both Smith and Washington –the College’s namesake — were slaveholders, for example, and both are featured prominently and proudly throughout the College. In the case of George Washington, he is in fact part of the College’s DNA.

This project is in no way about revoking the legacies of Smith, Washington, and others who built Washington College, it is instead about facing that history – the good and the bad – head-on and learning from it, in a nod to the overall liberal arts experience offered.

In order to promote further dialogue around this initiative, a special Q&A session with students has been scheduled for February 15, with other sessions to follow for different audiences. There will also be opportunities to make suggestions for new sites that help to further the community’s understanding of the complex individuals that have shaped the College’s history.

The hope now is to augment the project over time with the addition of more sites. A key discovery of this work has been the stories of important contributions to the College by generations of Black students, faculty and staff. Learning about and celebrating those figures in a more meaningful way is a positive outcome of this effort.

About the Washington College History Project

The Washington College History Project takes as its charge the honest and forthright examination of the institution’s troubling historical legacy of racism and the urgent need to acknowledge and reconcile this history in order to dismantle racial injustices in the present moment. The Project has a 3-part mission: to illuminate George Washington’s and Washington College’s historical connection to enslavement and race; to acknowledge this history through public statements and symbolic actions; and to work for change on campus and within campus culture in response to this historical legacy.

This project is sponsored this year by the Richard E. Holstein ‘68 Program in Ethics, which promotes ethics education in the classroom, across campus, and in the community. The program brings figures of national significance to campus to meet with students and lecture publicly about ethical issues in society; sponsors the Holstein Prize in Ethics, awarded each year for the senior thesis that best demonstrates an appreciation for ethics in a chosen field of study; and supports faculty who design or revise their courses to incorporate ethical issues.

About Washington College

Founded in 1782, Washington College is the tenth oldest college in the nation and the first chartered under the new Republic. With an emphasis on hands-on, experiential learning in the arts and sciences, and more than 40 multidisciplinary areas of study, the College is home to nationally recognized academic centers in the environment, history, and writing. Learn more at washcoll.edu. 

Filed Under: Ed Notes Tagged With: Education, local news, Washington College

WC Board of Visitors and Governors Begins Search for Next Permanent President

January 29, 2021 by Washington College News Service Leave a Comment

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The Washington College Board of Visitors and Governors (BVG) is launching the search for the next permanent president, with the goal of installing this individual by the beginning of the 2021-22 academic year.

Dr. Wayne Powell was appointed as Interim President in September 2020.  Upon his hiring, it was announced that he would serve in this temporary capacity while the College conducted a search for the right candidate to lead the institution on a long-term basis.

Powell and current BVG Chair, Steve Golding, have jointly recommended that it is in the College’s long term best interest to begin that search now. “Significant strides have been made and will continue to be made over the course of this year towards addressing the College’s near-term issues; but to effectively transition to a long-term investment strategy in the future requires a commitment to stable presidential leadership,” said Powell.

The Board has committed to an inclusive process that strives to be as transparent as possible, within the confines of the confidentiality that potential candidates require.  As was the case with the selection of the current interim president, a search firm will assist in this important process.  Additionally, the Board will be seeking nominations from the campus community and friends in order to cast the widest net possible in the search for the very best individual to lead Washington College.

Further details about the search process will be communicated over the next several weeks.

“Washington College is entering a unique period in its history, and my discussions with Dr. Powell give me confidence that our strengths offer unlimited opportunities for future generations of students who are entrusted in our care to educate,” said Golding. “It will be our singular focus over the next several months to seek an individual who will build on our legacy as a residential liberal arts college, while simultaneously empowering a culture of innovation and thoughtful transformation to lead this great institution into its third century.”

About Washington College

Founded in 1782, Washington College is the tenth oldest college in the nation and the first chartered under the new Republic. With an emphasis on hands-on, experiential learning in the arts and sciences, and more than 40 multidisciplinary areas of study, the College is home to nationally recognized academic centers in the environment, history, and writing. Learn more at washcoll.edu. 

Filed Under: Ed Notes Tagged With: Education, local news, Washington College

The Hodson Trust Grants $3.6 Million to Washington College

January 12, 2021 by Washington College News Service Leave a Comment

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The Hodson Trust, whose generosity has benefitted Washington College students over 84 years, this year has made a gift of $3,667,204 to endow student scholarships awarded by the College and student internships offered by the Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience. Representatives of the Trust presented the gift in a letter to Interim President Wayne B. Powell on Dec. 14.

“We are exceedingly grateful to The Hodson Trust for the unwavering support of Washington College,” said Powell. “In the midst of this challenging year, this gift and the continued belief in our College and the liberal arts experience are more meaningful than ever before. We thank the trustees for their faith and their generosity.”

This year’s donation provides $3,167,204 to The Hodson Trust Merit Scholarship endowment and $500,000 to partially endow the Starr Center’s Explore America Summer Internship program. The Explore America program matches dozens of students with full-time, fully paid summer internships reserved for Washington College undergraduates at an array of leading cultural institutions and nonprofits. Those locations include five different Smithsonian museums, the National Archives, the National Constitution Center, the Library of Congress, the Apollo Theater, the National Park Service, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the LGBTQ National History Archives, the U.S. House of Representatives, and many others. In addition to providing paid jobs and valuable experience, Explore America introduces Washington College students to mentors who sometimes change the course of their lives. Quite a few recipients have been hired upon graduation at the places where they interned.

“This program makes Washington College unique, since I don’t know of any other small liberal arts college that offers anything similar,” said Adam Goodheart, the Starr Center’s Hodson Trust-Griswold Director. “Over the past decade, Explore America has flourished to the point that last summer, we were able to award almost 30 internships, at 23 partner institutions, to students from a wide range of majors. We’re grateful for The Hodson Trust’s generosity, which will fund at least five internships when fully vested and builds a foundation for the program to thrive and grow.”

The Hodson Trust is the College’s largest single benefactor. Starting with a grant of $18,191.12 in 1935, the Trust has given Washington College more than $80 million. The Trust that was established in 1920 by the family of Col. Clarence Hodson benefits four Maryland educational institutions:  Washington College, Hood College, St. John’s College of Annapolis, and The Johns Hopkins University. Hodson, who received the honorary degree Doctor of Laws from Washington College in 1922, served on the College’s Board of Visitors and Governors from 1920 until his death in 1928.

Hodson, who grew up in Somerset County, Maryland, founded the Beneficial Loan Society to make small loans available to working-class Americans at affordable interest rates. This groundbreaking business grew into the Beneficial Corporation, one of the largest consumer finance companies in the United States. An initial investment of $100 grew over the ensuing decades into a trust that has awarded more than $250 million to the four beneficiary institutions. For more information, visit www.hodsontrust.org.

This story can also be found here: https://www.washcoll.edu/live/news/the-hodson-trust-grants-3.6-million-to-Washington-College.php

About Washington College

Founded in 1782, Washington College is the tenth oldest college in the nation and the first chartered under the new Republic. With an emphasis on hands-on, experiential learning in the arts and sciences, and more than 40 multidisciplinary areas of study, the College is home to nationally recognized academic centers in the environment, history, and writing. Learn more at washcoll.edu. 

Filed Under: Ed Notes Tagged With: Education, local news, Washington College

Two New Trustees Bring Business Expertise to Board of Visitors and Governors

December 10, 2020 by Washington College News Service Leave a Comment

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The Board of Visitors and Governors of Washington College has welcomed two new members to its ranks: Hugh Sherman of Athens, Ohio, and Elizabeth Wareheim, Class of 2013, of Baltimore.

Hugh Sherman is Dean of Ohio University’s College of Business, which is consistently ranked as one of the top 50 public undergraduate business colleges in the country. He holds a master of business administration from Northeastern University, as well as a doctoral degree in strategy from the Fox School of Business at Temple University.

Following a 22-year career in business, Sherman moved into academia in 1999, first directing the MBA program at Athens University as Assistant Dean. He subsequently rose into a number of critical leadership positions, including Chair of the Department of Management Systems, Associate Dean of Operations and Strategy, Associate Director of the Voinovich School for Leadership and Public Affairs, and Assistant to the University Provost for Strategic Planning. He currently serves as a Senior Fellow at the Voinovich School, providing strategic oversight of economic development and leadership programs.

Hugh Sherman and Elizabeth Warehime

Elizabeth Warehime, a former business management major with a minor in sociology, recently earned her MBA from Loyola University Maryland. Sellinger School of Business.  She began her career as a Marketing and Research & Development Coordinator for Snyder’s-Lance “Snack Factory” brand in Hanover, Pennsylvania, and then spent five years as Associate Insights Manager for the parent company.

Last year, Warehime directed a $1 million grant to Washington College from the JHC Foundation, a Warehime family foundation. The gift establishes the Warehime Fund for Student Excellence in Business, which, when fully matured, will provide the department $50,000 a year to support student research, entrepreneurship, professional networking, and other initiatives to complement the department’s curricular offerings.

Those initiatives may include: student participation in professional conferences and other experiential learning activities; start-up funds for student entrepreneurial projects; and a Warehime Fellows program.

About Washington College

Founded in 1782, Washington College is the tenth oldest college in the nation and the first chartered under the new Republic. With an emphasis on hands-on, experiential learning in the arts and sciences, and more than 40 multidisciplinary areas of study, the College is home to nationally recognized academic centers in the environment, history, and writing. Learn more at washcoll.edu. 

Filed Under: Ed Notes Tagged With: Education, local news, Washington College

Virtual Dia de los Muertos Celebration and Concert Set for November 4

November 1, 2020 by Washington College News Service Leave a Comment

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In honor of the Mexican holiday “Dia de los Muertos” or Day of the Dead, the Washington College World Languages and Cultures Department is hosting a concert by local artists Fredy Granillo and Sergio Cillo and showcasing student work on this tradition that’s been completed in Spanish classes.

The event is scheduled for November 4th at 5 PM. Sponsored by The William James Forum and the World Languages and Cultures Department, this program is free and open to the public.

Register for the event here.

Celebrating the Day of the Dead with music is a way to both mourn the dead and send a message of hope to the entire community during these difficult times.

The songs being performed by Fredy Granillo and Sergio Cilla are from Latin America and they are songs of mourning and of hope, celebrating both life and death.

Fredy Granillo is a Salvadoran musician, painter and ceramist.  He graduated from El Salvador’s Autonomous National University in 2012 with a degree in ceramics.  After performing with the Andean style band Yarabi between 2003 and 2008, he has become a dedicated singer-songwriter.  He recorded his first album ‘Todo Esta Normal’ (Everything is Normal) in 2012.  He has  performed in El Salvador, California, New York, and the D.C. area.  Fredy lives with his wife and son in Chestertown, Maryland.

Sergio Cilla, originally from Argentina, is a teacher of English, specialized in ESOL. He has been part of the artistic arena for over fifteen years, as a member of a vocal group, and participating in shows as a singer, dancer and actor. Today, he lives and works in and from the United States and writes short stories for an arts website.

Traditionally honored between October 31 and November 2, Day of the Dead, or Día de Muertos, marks a time when families gather together to remember and honor their deceased loved ones. A sacred, joyous time, Day of the Dead traditions include food and flowers, visits with family members, prayers, and stories about those who have died.

Day of the Dead began as a traditional Mesoamerican celebration in southern Mexico meant to guide the spirits of departed loved ones in the afterlife. Today, the holiday is observed throughout the country and includes Christian influences.  The many traditions associated with Day of the Dead are an important way of keeping families strong as they remember ancestors and their stories.

Founded in 1782, Washington College is the tenth oldest college in the nation and the first chartered under the new Republic. With an emphasis on hands-on, experiential learning in the arts and sciences, and more than 40 multidisciplinary areas of study, the College is home to nationally recognized academic centers in the environment, history, and writing. Learn more at washcoll.edu. 

Filed Under: Arts Notes Tagged With: Arts, Washington College

Virtual Exhibit by Jason Patterson: On the Black History of Kent County and Washington College

October 24, 2020 by Washington College News Service Leave a Comment

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An important two-year long project will be officially unveiled with the virtual opening of On the Black History of Kent County and Washington College, an exhibition by Starr Center Frederick Douglas Visiting Fellow Jason Patterson that presents a curated chronology of African American experience locally from the 1780’s to the present.

The launch is scheduled for October 27 at 7 PM and features a talk by Patterson, who will guide attendees through the virtual gallery experience, speak about the history, figures, themes and artistic processes explored. The talk will be followed by a Q&A.

The exhibition is an art and history project that addresses the African American history, and the historical impact of white supremacy in Kent County, Maryland and at Washington College, and is the result of a year-long collaboration between Patterson, Kohl Gallery, and The Starr Center.

“I am very excited for people to see this two-year long project,” said Patterson. “I hope it will be an important contribution to the redemptive work the college has begun in addressing its past.”

Register in advance here.

Patterson’s body of work focuses on African American history and highlights the role the past has in cultivating our current political and social conditions in the United States. Patterson’s practice is research-based, with the majority of his studio time dedicated to that research to ensure that the historical and social narratives presented are well represented.

Patterson’s work is based on archived images and historical texts, emphasizing the original medium. The work investigates the different ways images, in varying forms, structure the way we visually comprehend our history and define our present.

The virtual exhibit will be featured on the Chesapeake Heartland website and will be unveiled at this event. Patterson’s artist talk is supported by a Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Speaker grant. The exhibit, talk, and associated events are supported by a Chesapeake Heartland Fellowship and organized by Kohl Gallery.

Founded in 1782, Washington College is the tenth oldest college in the nation and the first chartered under the new Republic. With an emphasis on hands-on, experiential learning in the arts and sciences, and more than 40 multidisciplinary areas of study, the College is home to nationally recognized academic centers in the environment, history, and writing. Learn more at washcoll.edu. 

Filed Under: Arts Notes Tagged With: Arts, local news, Washington College

Washington College Announces Revision to Spring 2021 Semester Plan

October 19, 2020 by Washington College News Service 3 Comments

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Washington College today announced that all students are invited to return to campus for the upcoming spring semester. This represents a change from the initial announcement, which capped the number of students at 450 and prioritized those limited spots for first-year students who had not yet experienced life on campus.

The revised housing model has one student per bedroom/per suite, along with a reserve of 10% of available beds for quarantine and isolation space. The single factor allowing for the increased capacity is the sharing of fixtures within suites. Previously, the plan accounted for one student per suite only, in order to fully eliminate sharing of bathroom fixtures in suites. By lifting that one restriction and instead proceeding with limited sharing — while still housing all students in single rooms – the College is able to invite back all students plus maintain the 10% reserves for quarantine.

In benchmarking other colleges’ efforts to return students to campus and following best practices as laid out by various departments of health, three conditions essential to safely reopening campus were identified. They are:

  • House every student in a single room
  • Have sufficient space available for quarantine and isolation
  • Have a robust testing plan, to include both gateway testing and regular surveillance testing throughout the entire semester

Even with this revised housing model, the Washington College spring plan accounts for all three of these conditions, in addition to a large number of other equally important safety measures and protocols. These include but are not limited to: Physical/social distancing measures, enhanced cleaning protocols campus-wide, required daily use of an app for symptom attestation, mandatory face coverings (indoors and outdoors) on campus, mandatory flu shots for all returning students and heavily restricted visitor and travel policies.

This decision was made in close consultation with the Kent County Health Department and in accordance with guidance issued recently by the Institutes of Higher Education (IHE) in Maryland Department of Health’s Guidance for Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs).

Decisions about many services and other campus operations will be announced much closer to the start of the spring semester. These decisions remain contingent upon where things fall within the Key Indicators Chart that is currently in development and the Alert Level at which the College is operating within at any given time.

Founded in 1782, Washington College is the tenth oldest college in the nation and the first chartered under the new Republic. With an emphasis on hands-on, experiential learning in the arts and sciences, and more than 40 multidisciplinary areas of study, the College is home to nationally recognized academic centers in the environment, history, and writing. Learn more at washcoll.edu. 

Filed Under: Ed Notes Tagged With: Education, local news, Washington College

Washington College 237th Commencement Exercises Set to Premier on October 17

October 17, 2020 by Washington College News Service Leave a Comment

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The official premier of the College’s 237th Commencement Exercises is set for Saturday, October 17 at 10:30 AM. This event marks the institution’s first-ever virtual Commencement ceremony, a response to COVID-19 and the pandemic that has left its mark on much of 2020.

The virtual ceremony link will be posted here.

Despite the virtual format, the elements included in the ceremony are in keeping with a traditional commencement. Among other things, there will be greetings from select speakers, such as Ryan Zwier, the 2020 senior class speaker, and Steve Golding, the Chair of the Board of Visitors and Governors.

Sylvia Acevedo, former CEO of the Girl Scouts of the USA delivers the keynote address and will be awarded with an honorary degree, Doctor of Public Service. Two Alumni Citations will be presented to Judith Lynn Brucker ’86 and John Dimsdale III ’73. Interim President, Dr. Wayne Powell, will preside over the ceremony. The new name of Harford Hall — which was selected by the 2020 graduates – will also be announced.

The highlight of the ceremony will be the public conferral of degrees. Dr. Powell will officially confer the degrees earned and Interim Provost and Dean Michael Harvey will individually present each graduate. The virtual ceremony showcases a slide that includes each graduate’s name, photo and key activities.

Official Program for the 237th Commencement Exercises

In an email address to the Class of 2020, Harvey had this to say about what it means to receive a college diploma: “…represents an incredible achievement on your part: You navigated four years of living on your own, meeting all kinds of people, building relationships and friendships, learning new skills, trying and sometimes failing, learning how to succeed, gaining confidence, finding your voice, and discovering your passion.”

The virtual format does also offer viewers who log into a YouTube account the opportunity to post comments as the Commencement proceeds, giving spectators the chance to virtually cheer and send support to the graduates. Comments will stay up on the page.

All of the graduate awards normally announced in the ceremony were previously presented in a virtual ceremony held in May, but the commencement awards will be highlighted again. One other change is that the Alumni Association’s Distinguished Teaching Award was presented at First-Year Convocation in August, instead of during Commencement.  Dr. Alisha Knight was the recipient of that award.

The ceremony is pre-recorded, which was an intentional decision made for a few key reasons, including eliminating any potential technical issues that might disrupt the ceremony. It will be posted on Saturday 10/17 at 10:30 AM and remain there for an extended time so families, friends and others may watch it at their convenience.

Over the past two weeks, the College has been running a countdown that included “20 Things to Love about the Class of 2020” and photos of a “Wild Gus Chase” around campus, as Gus failed to read his invitation and had to search high and low for the ceremony. The countdown and his adventures are featured on the graduation webpage as well (spoiler alert: he found it!).

Founded in 1782, Washington College is the tenth oldest college in the nation and the first chartered under the new Republic. With an emphasis on hands-on, experiential learning in the arts and sciences, and more than 40 multidisciplinary areas of study, the College is home to nationally recognized academic centers in the environment, history, and writing. Learn more at washcoll.edu. 

Filed Under: Ed Notes Tagged With: Education, local news, Washington College

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