On Friday, May 20th, Dean Bill Falls welcomed the students, the department chairs and directors, and families to the CAS Awards Ceremony in Ira Allen Chapel. (picture 1). This year's guest speaker was Joel Goldberg, Associate Dean and Professor of Chemistry (picture 2).
Students who successfully defended their honors thesis were presented with certificates of recognition (picture 3), and awards were handed out to students receiving departmental awards (picture 4).
Along the way to a reception that immediately followed the proceedings, families and friends gathered to celebrate (picture 5). Faculty, including professor of Japanese Kyle Ikeda (on the left) and professor of German Dennis Mahoney (on the right), talked to guests at the reception (picture 6). Faculty, students, families, and friends mingle at the reception in Billings. (picture 7)
A pdf of the program is available here.
On Sunday, May 22nd, despite a threat of rain, graduating students lined up on the Bailey-Howe/Davis Center green for the Main Ceremony and processed to the University Green behind the College of Arts and Sciences banner carried by this year's banner bearer, John Marchinkoski (pictured). This year the College had two new Faculty Marshals, professors Julia Perdrial (Geography) and Jennifer Sisk (English) (pictured), along with Lawrence Rudiger (Psychological Science) and Gretchen VanSlyke (Romance Languages and Linguistics).
The College was pleased to announced the winner of the Hannah Howard Prize at this year's commencement ceremony. The Hannah Howard Prize is awarded annually to the student with the highest grade point average in the College while enrolled on a full-time basis. This year the recipient was John Marchinkoski (pictured at left). John, a native of Wallingford, VT, is graduating with a double major in History and English. In 2014, John left UVM to study abroad in St. Petersburg, Russia. His interest in Russia informed an independent research project he conducted with Professor Nicole Phelps on Russian economic history and the US Consular Service in the Russian Empire. In History, John has received both the Paul D. Evans Outstanding Senior Award and the History Department’s Best Senior Essay Prize for his paper “Profit, Ideology, and Guilt: A Brief History of IG Farben.” In English, he has won the Samuel N. Bogorad Memorial Award for the Outstanding Senior in English. John has also been a volunteer English teacher and is a member of Phi Alpha Theta (the History honor society) and Phi Beta Kappa. The future looks bright for John, who will be moving to Washington D.C. shortly to begin a job as a researcher and background investigator for a major government contractor.
Dean Falls also recognized Professor Joel Goldberg and presented him with a certificate for the twelve years he has served the College as both Associate Dean and Interim Dean. His leadership has been nothing short of extraordinary. He has been a strong advocate for the liberal arts and sciences and has worked tirelessly to ensure that we remain focused on the academic success of our students and the support of our faculty. Associate Dean Goldberg will leave the Dean’s office at the end of June and return to the faculty and chemistry department. He and his brilliant, quick wit will be sorely missed.