Commencement

Remarks

Sunday, May 29, 2016

Dean of the Faculty

by Jonathan Chenette

Like Vassar students, members of Vassar’s faculty ‘graduate.’ For them, we call it ‘Retirement’ rather than ‘Commencement’, but the transition from Vassar to the next phase of life can be similarly significant for those who have spent as many as 5 decades on this campus as for those who have spent an intense 4 years. I share brief tributes to thirteen distinguished faculty members marking their retirement transitions today, representing the many distinguished faculty who have touched the lives of today’s graduates. Please hold your applause until all have been recognized.

Robert Brown, Professor of Greek and Roman Studies

On the Sarah Mills Raynor Chair. Rob received his BA, MA, and PhD degrees from Corpus Christi College of Oxford University and came to Vassar in 1983. Rob’s three books and dozens of scholarly articles range from Lucretius to Caesar. His teaching is erudite, generous, and supportive. He has chaired his department on seven occasions, served on major committees, and worked in the Dean of Studies office as class adviser to several classes in the last decade. Rob’s talents extend to music, as well, as a piano accompanist and a church organist.

Rob, for your literary and linguistic acumen, your music, and your deep humanity, we thank you.

Carol Christensen, Professor of Cognitive Science
In absentia

Carol received her BS from Montana State and her PhD in Physiological Psychology from Stanford. She came to Vassar in 1973 and retires as an inaugural member of the Cognitive Science Department, descended from a multidisciplinary program that in 1982 offered the first undergraduate Cognitive Science degrees in the world. A specialist on behavioral indicators of aging in the human brain, Carol has published in influential journals and served as Chair of Psychology and Director of Neuroscience and Behavior.

Thank you, Carol, for enhancing our understanding of aging and cognition and for your decades of service to Vassar.

Fred Chromey, Professor of Astronomy
In absentia

On the Matthew Vassar, Jr. Chair. Fred received his BS from St. Joseph’s College and his PhD from Harvard, coming to Vassar in 1981 and serving for twenty-six years as director of the College Observatory. His widely-used 2010 text book on observational astronomy, To Measure the Sky, comes out soon in a second edition. His numerous research publications usually include Vassar students as co-authors. Fred also has written dozens of poems for the annual dome parties in the Maria Mitchell Observatory, continuing a tradition begun by one of Vassar’s first faculty members and leading 19th-century astronomer, Maria Mitchell.

Thank you, Fred, for nearly three decades of inspired teaching, poetic musings, and tracking of the night skies.

Dean Crawford, Long-Time Visiting Associate Professor of English
In absentia

Dean received his BA from the University of North Carolina and his Master’s in Creative Writing from Stanford. Since 1988, he has taught creative writing in the English Department and an innovative American Studies course on “Alienation in American Fiction, Film, Photography”. An author of short stories, essays, and a novel, he also published a cultural study and natural history of sharks.

Thank you, Dean, for nearly three decades of inspiring Vassar’s student writers.

Roman Czula, Professor of Athletics & Physical Education
In absentia

Roman received BA and MS degrees from Queens College of the City University of New York and pursued doctoral-level studies at the University of California, Berkeley. He joined Vassar’s faculty as Coach of varsity men's soccer, tennis, and basketball in 1975 and directed the College’s life fitness programs for nearly three decades. He has conducted research on the role of sport in social change and on skin cancer awareness for athletes.

Thank you, Roman, for promoting wellness and athletic excellence at Vassar.

Judith Goldstein, Professor of Anthropology 
In absentia

Judith received her BA from the University of Chicago and her MA and PhD from Princeton, arriving at Vassar in 1976. Her wide-ranging field studies have taken her from Iran to Paris, Jerusalem, and Rome. Her nearly 50 scholarly articles and reviews tackle such subjects as the Jews of Iran and street vendors in Rome. Her captivating course topics have included “Consumer Culture”, “Ethnography and Detective Fiction”, and “The Social Meaning of Fashion.”

Thank you, Judith, for forty years of keen cultural observation and innovative teaching.

David Jemiolo, Associate Professor of Biology

Dave received his BS from the University of Massachusetts, Lowell and his PhD in Biophysics from the University of Virginia. He joined Vassar’s Biology faculty in 1986, and teaches, among other topics, the delectable “Culture and Chemistry of Cuisine.” Dave’s research focuses on regulatory mechanisms in mitosis and on mutations in ribosomal RNA. He has served as President of the scientific research honorary society Sigma Xi, Director of Biochemistry, member of the Premed Advisory Committee, and volunteer judge for the Dutchess County Science Fair.

Thank you, Dave, for your many contributions to science students at Vassar and in the community over the past thirty years.

Lynn LiDonnici, Associate Professor of Religion

Lynn received her BA from Hunter College and her MA and PhD from The University of Pennsylvania, coming to Vassar in 1994. Her early book on The Epidaurian Miracle Inscriptions led to a career-long interest in deciphering and teaching about medical cures and magical inscriptions in ancient Greco-Roman papyrus texts. More recently, she co-edited a volume titled Heavenly Tablets: Rewriting Tradition in Early Judaism.

Thank you, Lynn, for bringing the magic and mystery of ancient texts to life for our students.

Robert McAulay, Associate Professor of Sociology
In absentia

Bob received BA and MA degrees from the University of New Mexico and a PhD from Washington University. His expertise on the sociology of health, deviance, and drug use have made him a key member of our multidisciplinary program in Science, Technology, & Society. Bob arrived at Vassar in 1978 and has served as chair of Sociology for several terms. His dynamic teaching has motivated generations of students to pursue graduate study in his areas of specialty.

Thank you, Bob, for your incisive and inspiring teaching that probes the interface between science and society.

Anne Pike-Tay, Professor of Anthropology
In absentia

Anne received her BS from the College of Mount Saint Vincent and master’s & PhD degrees from New York University, coming to Vassar in 1990. A paleoanthropologist, Anne is co-editor or author of four books and numerous peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, often with student co-authors. Her research seeks clues to the development of modern humans through analysis of teeth and bones of ancient animals. She has served on major faculty committees and, most importantly for today, as class advisor to today’s graduates, shepherding the amazing class of 2016 academically through their sophomore and junior years.

Thank you, Anne, for your quest for clues to the development of modern humans and for your support for the unique and amazing Class of 2016!

Peter Stillman, Professor of Political Science

Peter received his BA, MA, and PhD degrees from Yale, joining Vassar’s faculty in 1970. One of the world’s foremost Hegel scholars, Peter is also deeply interested in political utopias and dystopias, as well as ethics and the environment. His three singly-authored or co-edited books and over sixty peer-reviewed articles often apply political theory to analysis of major events, as do teaching innovations such as a post-9/11 course on terrorism and a course on environmental justice after Hurricane Katrina. Peter helped found Vassar’s multidisciplinary program in Environmental Studies, chaired the Political Science Department, served on major faculty committees, and was long-time faculty parliamentarian.

Thank you, Peter, for your innovative teaching and scholarship and for high-impact faculty leadership over many decades.

Patricia Wallace, Professor of English

On the Mary Augusta Scott Chair. Pat received her BA from Randolph-Macon Woman’s College, her MA from the University of Chicago, and her PhD from the University of Iowa. She joined Vassar’s faculty in 1976 and has served on numerous committees and as co-chair of English, director of American Culture, and Faculty Director of Affirmative Action. Pat has co-edited the “Literature 1945 to the present” section of The Norton Anthology of American Literature, diversifying the voices represented in that influential volume. Her own poems have appeared in PEN America, The American Poetry Review, and elsewhere. An inspiring teacher on Salinger, Native American Studies, Verse Writing, and more, Pat has also been a leader in the pedagogical exploration of contemplative practices for teaching and learning.

Thank you, Pat, for illuminating the riches of modern American literature and for fostering contemplative and supportive learning environments for our students.

Richard Wilson, Professor of Music

On the Mary Conover Mellon Chair. Richard received his BA at Harvard and his MA from Rutgers. An active piano recitalist and accompanist, Richard has made his mark first and foremost as a composer. His catalogue consists currently of about 120 works, ranging from solo compositions of wit and virtuosity to theatrical extravaganzas like his comic opera Aethelred the Unready, about a hapless Anglo-Saxon king. His teaching is legendary. He has received numerous awards and commissions from organizations such as the Naumburg,  Guggenheim, Koussevitzky, and Fromm Foundations. We will miss Richard’s wry and captivating remarks at faculty meetings on such topics as exactly what happened on May 30th, 1968, the date Vassar’s faculty voted 102 to 3 in favor of admitting men.

Thank you, Richard, for your music, your wit, your inspiring and engaging teaching, and your half-century of service to Vassar College.

Will our new emeriti/ae please rise?

You have completed a combined 472 years of service to Vassar College, and we will truly miss you. Thank you for sharing your intellectual and creative passions with generations of Vassar students. Graduates and attendees, please join me in expressing our gratitude.

Chair of the Board of Trustees

by William A. Plapinger ’74

On behalf of my fellow members of the Vassar College Board of Trustees—11 of whom, spanning four decades of Vassar graduates—from the classes of 1967 to 2007—are here today, I am delighted. First, to bring greetings—and gratitude—to all the parents, families and friends who have supported today’s graduates, and second, to offer our warmest congratulations to each of the members of the Class of 2016!

Our wonderful President, Catharine Hill, announced in March that she will step down at the end of June 2017. We plan to spend the next year celebrating her many contributions to Vassar, but I want to say just a few words now.

Cappy has surpassed almost every objective that has been set for her. She led Vassar through and out of the financial crisis, and led Vassar and The Posse Foundation in the creation of the Posse Veterans Program, from which our first veteran is graduating today—congratulations Jack, as well as David! She raised more than $500 million for the College, and has overseen major campus improvements, including the extensive science facilities upgrade.

Cappy has said that the character of Vassar has always been defined by our commitment to equal access, and she has made the College a recognized leader in socio-economic diversity in higher education. I want to express the Board of Trustees’ pride in what the College has accomplished under Cappy’s leadership.

I also want to welcome my fellow alum from both Vassar and NYU Law School—albeit 10 years after me in both cases—the extraordinary Sherrilyn Ifill, as this year’s Commencement speaker.

Sherrilyn, we are deeply honored, and proud, to have you here today.

The primary mission of Vassar College is not humble—“to furnish the “means of a thorough, well-proportioned and liberal education”, which has been defined elsewhere as an “education that empowers individuals with broad knowledge, liberates the mind from ignorance, and cultivates social responsibility.”

The President of Harvard recently pointed out that 55% of world leaders hold humanities or social science degrees and 75% of business leaders say the most important workplace skills involve the ability to analyse, communicate and write, all liberal arts skills that you have developed here at Vassar.

The class of 2016 has included some of the most activist students this College has seen in a long time, perhaps since my own time here during the Vietnam War-era, and Vassar and the world are the better for it!

This is not the world we adults meant to leave to you.

In the political world, candidates can’t stop speaking about our country’s problems, which of course they believe only they can solve.

But as President Obama recently said, things are getting better for most people most of the time.

There have been articles recently—in The Motley Fool by Morgan Housel, on why does pessimism sound so smart, and in The New York Times by Gregg Easterbrook, on when did optimism become uncool—both of which I draw from here.

The conventional wisdom is that optimism has stopped being respectable. Pessimism is now the mainstream.

Housel has suggested multiple reasons for this, including—

  • Optimism appears oblivious to risks, so by default pessimism looks more intelligent.
  • Pessimism requires action, while optimism often doesn’t require doing anything.
  • Pessimism sounds like someone trying to help you, while optimism sounds like a sales pitch.

I don’t mean to suggest that there aren’t great personal and social challenges facing the Class of 2016. In particular, like me, almost all of you will need to get a job to support yourself and, eventually, your family, but with a college degree, especially from Vassar, your chances of doing so are significantly enhanced.

You will soon become Vassar College’s youngest graduates.

All of you have benefited from the generosity of those who came before you through support from the Vassar endowment, and it will now be your turn to join the rest of us in supporting the future of Vassar and its students.

To return to my earlier theme,

  • I am optimistic about you, the great Class of 2016.
  • I am optimistic about your life after Vassar.
  • And I am optimistic about Vassar College itself!

Let me end by urging you to use your Vassar education to create the best future you can for yourself and your world!

Thank you, good luck, and congratulations to all of you!

President of the Alumnae and Alumni of Vassar College (AAVC)

by Missie Rennie Taylor ’68

Today is your day, Class of 2016, to walk through main gate with a diploma, to say goodbye to the treasured memories, and to begin a journey to unexpected and exciting places. Congratulations! And with you all the way is the tightly knit vassar community, a community which will be yours for a lifetime.

Just last month, I was a panelist alongside more recent graduates who were student athletes while at Vassar at the first ever celebration of athletics. The story of one of my fellow panel members, Ethan Zohn, class of 1996, was inspirational and continuing proof of the remarkable Vassar community we are. Ethan played varsity soccer and lacrosse all four years at Vassar and then went on to play soccer professionally in the United States and in Africa, Zimbabwe specifically. During this period, he participated in the CBS TV show, Survivor Africa, and he won! I do not know many winners of Survivor! He took his considerable prize money, and what did he do with it, co-founded a group called Grassroots Soccer, an international organization that uses Africa’s most powerful role models—soccer players and coaches—to educate young people in Africa about HIV/AIDS and making healthy life choices. To date, Grassroots Soccer has reached well over one million adolescents in 50 countries.

That’s inspiration. That is the Vassar story. Look around you. Every one of us has been changed by Vassar. Use this experience to launch a life of impact. Now your journey of unexpected opportunities to impact the world begins with fellow Vassar alums ready to help you as best we can. So welcome to the alumnae/i association of this very special college, which will care for you forever. We take great pride in what lies ahead for you. With over 600 of you graduating today, we now number 39,116 alums…that is a lot of vassar power. Yes. Congratuations!