CAS Honors Ceremony 2012

Faculty, students and their families gathered in Ira Allen Chapel on Friday, May 18th to recognize the outstanding achievements of seniors from all departments in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Interim Dean Joel M. Goldberg (pictured at left) presided over the ceremony along with Interim Associate Dean John P. Burke who recognized students joining Phi Beta Kappa, and Interim Associate Dean David Massell who acknowledged those students who had successfully defended their Honors thesis.

Biology Chair Jim O. Vigoreaux (pictured at right), who recently was appointed for a five-year term as the Breazzano Family Green and Gold Professor in the Department of Biology, was the guest speaker.

For the first time, seniors who had written and defended their Honors thesis were asked to come forward to collect their Honors certificate and then gather in front of the stage for a group picture. Though not every senior was able to attend, seeing all the students standing together was a reminder of how many CAS students reach this level of academic accomplishment.

Following the Honors thesis recognition, students receiving departmental awards were called to stage. Below are a few pictures from that part of the ceremony:

English Professor Valarie Rohy (and soon to be Chair of the English Department) handed out awards to the following five students (listed in alphabetical order): Scout Hutchinson, Cassandra Jenis, Jonathan Roketenetz, Nisha Lata Shanmugaraj, and Theodora Ziolowski.

Professor James Burgmeier, Chair of Mathematics, presented the "Outstanding Senior in Mathematics" award to Elizabeth Sander. Ms. Sander was also the recipient of the "Hannah Howard Prize for Outstanding Achievement in the College of Arts and Sciences," which was announced at the College's Commencement ceremony on May 20th.

Click here to see a PDF of the program.

Once the ceremony had ended, faculty, students, and their guests celebrated the afternoon's event at a dessert reception next door at Billings.