On Wednesday, Aug. 23, students, faculty and staff gathered at Murchison Lane Auditorium for Sweet Briar’s 101st Opening Convocation. It was a time to welcome the Class of 2010, 16 new faculty members and two Fulbright Scholars, and to celebrate the scholastic achievements of 25 returning students.
Even before the faculty — clad in formal regalia —filed into the auditorium, the campus mood-shift marked by the students’ arrival was evident. Returning students waved and shouted at old friends across the room. First-year students arrived with new friends and roommates, looking a little anxious and no doubt wondering what the year would bring.
Following the opening remarks and invocation, SBC President Elisabeth Muhlenfeld introduced new faculty and Fulbright Scholars and then turned over the podium to Jonathan Green, dean of the College. The dean who, as he puts it, hasn’t “fulfilled the traditional dean-ly duties of austere oppression,” was greeted by the students with “whoop-whoops” and rousing applause.
“My mission is to support the academic program and the students’ engagement in it,” Green said later. “It is nice to know that is appreciated.”
In his turn at the podium, Green emphasized the “rich intellectual and experiential qualities” possessed by each member of the Sweet Briar community, citing as examples faculty and staff who were using their talents to make an impact, both locally and globally.
“Every one of us brings a unique and valuable set of talents and experiences to the College,” Green said. “It is our responsibility to share these gifts with others and to recognize and appreciate what they have to offer us.”
Green also digressed momentarily for a good-natured rant aimed at students. “Eliminate the word ‘like’ from your conversations,” he said, evoking knowing chuckles from the audience. “Do not qualify unique. It means singular. You cannot be very, really or kind of the only one. Answer emphatically. Statements inflected like questions are not convincing, nor do they flatter the speaker. Cite, cite, cite. Text and ideas that are used without attribution are stolen property.”
He encouraged students to make the most of their Sweet Briar experience by going to classes and attending as many events as possible. “Our calendar is overflowing with cultural events, varsity athletics and riding competitions, speakers, outdoor programs, and a wide variety of activities,” he said. “The only activities you will regret are those you miss.”
Taking the podium next, keynote speaker Eric Casey — recipient of the 2006 Excellence in Teaching Award — first joked about his struggle to come up with the “verbal confection of wisdom and whimsy” that would do justice to the students and professors for whom he has great respect. As he recalled great speeches from past convocations and mulled over the dangers of plagiarism, the well-liked assistant professor of classics sat at his computer, suffering from writer’s block.
“I then walked away from my computer to learn more about Middle Egyptian, the ancient language of hieroglyphs, and then it hit me,” Casey said. “There were perhaps a few small additional things I could say.
“Teachers not only measure their own success by the thoughts, accomplishments and intellectual bravery of their students. In fact, the very barrier between a teacher and a student is more fluid than you might think.
"I would put forward today that a good teacher must also be a good student [and] that the inquisitive and attentive perspective of a student should and most often does continue long beyond the acquisition of a cap, gown and degree.”
Casey, who spent the summer zealously researching Egyptian literature and culture for an upcoming class at Sweet Briar, couldn’t resist imparting some of his discoveries. Specifically, he quoted an ancient text: “It is the man of integrity who is the possessor of true wealth, and in the court, he conquers like a crocodile.”
In his closing remarks, after questioning what this and a second crocodile-related text implied, Casey charged the students to “go conquer like a crocodile!” to which the students cheered enthusiastically.
In her remarks, President Muhlenfeld gave a history lesson, comparing the Class of 2010 with the one that passed through Sweet Briar’s gates in the fall of 1906. One hundred years ago, 51 first-year students arrived at Sweet Briar. There were 15 day students and 36 boarders. Dressed in heavy long skirts and lace-up boots, most had scarcely been away from home.
“Few of them were well prepared for a college curriculum, even though what was regarded as ‘college level’ in 1906 would, in most disciplines, seem elementary to us,” she said.
In stark contrast, the 210 first-year students that arrived this week in shorts, T-shirts and flip-flops, are “exceedingly well prepared students from across the nation and abroad,” she said.
Unlike their predecessors, most of which could not imagine having a career, today’s Sweet Briar student is expected to make an impact on the world. “…we know that almost all of you will, after graduation, go into the world and make a difference,” Muhlenfeld said.
“In one-hundred years, one thing we have learned over and over is that Sweet Briar is a launching pad for those who impact change. In decade after decade, students who studied here have made their mark on the world.”
The following academic awards were presented to returning students at convocation:
Academic Prizes:
The Emilie Watts McVea Scholars
(Awarded to the highest-ranking member of each class)
Jennifer Leigh Summerfield ’07
Natalie Ann Batman ’08
Mary Spears Dance ’08
Rachel E. Gotwalt ’08
Sarah Byrd Hall ’09
The Alumna Daughter Scholarship
(Awarded to an alumna daughter who has demonstrated the traditions of sound learning and social responsibility)
Emily Collins Wiley ’07
The Mary Kendrick Benedict Scholar
(Awarded to an upper-class student in recognition of high academic standing and personal integrity)
Laura Jane Schaefer ’07
The Jean Taylor Meyer Memorial American Poets Prize
(Awarded to a student for outstanding achievement in poetry)
Sarah Elizabeth Ansani ’08
The Laura Buckham Book Award
(Awarded to a rising junior for excellence in French)
Nicole Marie Levesque ’08
The Julia Sadler de Coligny Award
(Awarded to outstanding majors in music or English in alternate years)
Rachel Elena Reynolds ’07
The Gill Scholars
(Awarded to a rising junior or senior for her achievements in the environmental sciences or studies program and for her interest in protecting the environment)
Lindsey Susan Cline ’07
Megan Cathreen Maloney ’08
Laura Jane Schaefer ’07
The Milan Hapala Scholarship
(Awarded to a junior majoring in international affairs or government and wishes to study in the Czech Republic)
Rebekah Ann McSpadden ’07
The Kenmore Merit Scholar
(Awarded to a student who has maintained a 3.3 grade-point average and who is recognized by the faculty of the government program for academic excellence)
Mary Spears Dance ’08
The Rebecca Tomlinson Lindblom Award
(Awarded to a student or students who demonstrate academic excellence in philosophy and religion as well as in the application of their principles to daily living)
Irene Marie Garrett Maslanik ’07
The Manson Scholar
(Awarded to an upper-class student of high academic standing who shows qualities of leadership and who makes a constructive contribution to student life)
Heidi Lynn Trude ’07
Irene Mitchell Moore Scholars
(Awarded to students who intend to pursue careers in public service with a goal of fostering the habits of effective citizenship engagement)
Laura Lee Crews ’07
Jessica Anne Gregg ’09
The Rickards Scholar
(Awarded to one or more rising sophomores who best demonstrate potential for leadership, academic excellence and community involvement)
Sarah Byrd Hall ’09
The Shakespeare Prize
(Awarded to a student who distinguishes herself in the field of English)
Christina Shaheen Moosa ’07
The Mary MacKintosh Sherer Scholars
(Awarded to a rising junior who is a leader and a scholar and who demonstrates the outgoing and cheerful qualities associated with Mary MacKintosh Sherer)
Megan Cathreen Maloney ’08
Mary Katherine Tipton ’08
The Sweet Briar Fine Arts Scholar
(Awarded to a senior who best demonstrates great promise as an artist and a scholar)
Caitlin Elizabeth Cashin ’07
The Loren Oliver Award in Studio Art
(Awarded to a senior studio art student who excels in creative productivity and promise)
Kylene Hayslett ’07
– Story by Suzanne Ramsey, SBC staff writer
