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Ceremonies and Events Salute Graduates
Graduation celebrations around campus last Saturday honored students in a variety of programs. The Isenberg School of Management held its first-ever graduation celebration, and the School of Nursing, the Stockbridge School of Agriculture, the Graduate School and the ROTC program continued their annual traditions. The Graduate School ceremonies took place in the Mullins Center, where about 1,300 graduate degrees were awarded. More than half of those eligible to receive degrees attended, as did nearly 5,000 well-wishers. Alumnus Evan S. Dobelle, president of Trinity College in Hartford; longtime South African freedom-fighter and former member of that country's parliament Ahmed M. Kathrada; and alumnus Bruce M. Penniman, the 1999 Massachusetts Teacher of the Year, were given honorary degrees. Kathrada, who was the event's guest speaker, said he accepted his award on behalf of his fellow prisoners on Robben Island, where he spent most of his 26 years as a political prisoner. The Stockbridge School of Agriculture held its 78th commencement in Bowker Auditorium. Students in six fields of study received the 107 associate's degrees. Jeffrey B. LaFleur, a 1988 Stockbridge alumnus who also has a B.S. in Plant and Soil Sciences, gave the main address. LaFleur, executive director of the Cape Cod Cranberry Grower's Association in Wareham asked the graduates to fight agricultural illiteracy. "We need to educate people about agriculture," he said. Chancellor David K. Scott, who also addressed the graduates, quoted George Washington, saying, "I know of no pursuit in which more real and important service can be rendered to any country than by improving its agriculture." He added, "I suspect that comment is still true today, even in the Information Age." Nearly 1,000 people attended the School of Nursing's Pinning and Hooding ceremony in the Fine Arts Center Concert Hall. The crowd watched four doctoral and 42 master's students being hooded and most of the 154 undergraduate nursing students eligible for the honor receiving pins. Nursing school pins have been a tradition in the profession since the 19th century. "The heart is impressive even when we reduce it to its mechanical functions," Scott told the graduates. "But when you consider it as the source of human feelings, its power infinitely transcends its physical construction. Suddenly, 'heart' becomes the reason you make many choices, including the one you made to go into a profession as challenging as the practice of nursing." Guest speaker Barbara Guthrie, assistant professor and research scientist at the University of Michigan School of Nursing, encouraged the graduates to accept the challenge of being a positive force in all they do. The Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) held a joint Army-Air Force commissioning ceremony in Bowker Auditorium. Two cadets were commissioned as second lieutenants in the U.S. Air Force, and 11 were commissioned as second lieutenants in the U.S. Army. More than 100 family and friends attended. The commissioning address was delivered by Col. Martin M. Mazick, commander of the 439th Airlift Wing, at Westover Air Reserve Base in Chicopee. "Serve with an open mind," he said. "Never stop learning. Be open to new ideas." Scott told the cadets, "We salute you and honor you for the choice you have made to serve your country." The audience broke into spontaneous applause when Lt. Col. Kevin Kelly, commander of the campus's Army ROTC, said, "We would not enjoy the American way of life without these young men and women." With a full house in the FAC Concert Hall, the Isenberg School of Management honored its soon-to-be graduates. Nearly 400 students participated in the ceremony, observed by a crowd of nearly 2,000. Eugene M. Isenberg,'50, who received an honorary doctorate at the Commencement ceremony Sunday, addressed the graduates, as did Mzamo Mangaliso, associate professor of Management, and graduating senior Joe Ruggeri. |
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