Convocation
Whitman College’s annual Convocation ceremony is a calling together of everyone on campus—students, faculty and staff—to mark the beginning of the next academic cycle, and to welcome the incoming class of first-year students into our community.
Convocation took place on Monday, August 28, 2023 at 4 p.m. in Cordiner Hall.
2023 Convocation Video:
2023 Convocation Program
Processional
Kraig Scott, Professor of Music, Walla Walla University; Studio Music Instructor, Whitman College, organ
Welcome and Introductions
Alzada J. Tipton, Provost and Dean of the Faculty
“How Do We Know What Is Possible?”
Rebecca Hanrahan, Associate Professor of Philosophy and Chair of the Faculty
Musical Interlude
Jack Allard ’24, drums
Marina Balasanyan ’24, vocals
Merry Cockroft ’24, bass
Jed Matthias ’24, trumpet
Jonah Panzer ’24, alto saxophone
Philip Ratner ’25, keyboard
Convocation Address: “Living In Interesting Times”
Jakobina “Bina” Arch, Associate Professor of History
Musical Inerlude
Lau’ Paula Evangeline Zion Rose ’23, vocals and ukulele
Opening of the Academic Year
Sarah R. Bolton, President
Recessional
Kraig Scott, organist
Platform Party
Sarah R. Bolton, President
John Cotts, Chair of Division I and Professor of History
Rebecca Hanrahan, Chair of the Faculty and Associate Professor of Philosophy
Helen Kim, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Professor of Sociology
Lydia McDermott, Chair of Division II and Associate Professor of Rhetoric, Writing, and Public Discourse
Mary Raschko, Associate Dean for Faculty Development and Associate Professor of English
Albert Schueller, Chair of Division III and Mina Schwabacher Professor of Mathematics
Alzada J. Tipton, Provost and Dean of the Faculty and Professor of English
Representative, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation
Whitman College Faculty Milestones
Effective with the 2023-2024 Academic Year
Promotion to Professor
Pavel Blagov, Professor of Psychology
Janet L. N. Davis, Professor and Microsoft Chair of Computer Science
Marcus A. Juhasz, Professor of Chemistry
Julia Anne Ireland, Professor of German Studies and Philosophy
Granted Tenure and Promotion to Associate Professor
Jonathan A. Collins, Associate Professor of Chemistry
Marina Ptukhina, Associate Professor of Statistics
Promotion to Senior Lecturer
Jose Cedeno, Head Men’s Soccer Coach & Senior Lecturer of Sport Studies
Matthew Helm, Head Women’s Volleyball Coach & Senior Lecturer of Sport Studies
John Lamanna, Head Men’s Basketball Coach & Senior Lecturer of Sport Studies
Named to Endowed Chair
Brian R. Dott, Robert Allen Skotheim Chair of History
Special Participants:
College Marshal
Helen Kim, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Professor of Sociology
Faculty Marshal
Barry Balof, Professor of Mathematics
Student Marshals (Class of 2024)
Holly Hermanson
Pearl Kim
Kasey Moulton
Coden Stark
Benny Vasconcelos
American Sign Language Interpreters
Cori Jones
Paula Bazinet
Land Acknowledgment:
Whitman College is located on the traditional Cayuse, Umatilla and Walla Walla homelands. We pay our respect to tribal elders both past and present and extend our respect to all Indigenous people today. We honor their stewardship of the land and ecosystem and commit to continuing that important work.
More About Convocation
Academic regalia worn at collegiate ceremonies such as Convocation and Commencement serves two purposes: it lends dignity and color to such occasions and reveals types of academic achievement through different styles of gowns and hoods and varying colors.
The regalia you see today is based on what was worn at universities in the 14th and 15th centuries, especially at Oxford and Cambridge. Late 19th century changes included the assignment of specific colors to signify academic disciplines. Modern academic dress in the United States has remained essentially unchanged since 1895, when it was standardized by the Intercollegiate Code.
Differing styles of gowns represent bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees. The bachelor’s gown has a long pointed sleeve, the master’s has a long closed sleeve with a slit for the arm at the elbow, and doctoral robes have full, bell-shaped sleeves with three velvet bands matching the velvet facing of the gown opening. The velvet on the doctoral gown can be colored to represent a specific discipline, and the gown itself can be black or a color chosen by the institution.
Hoods drape down the back of the gowns and are most commonly used to reflect master’s and doctoral degrees. They are lined in the official color of the institution which conferred the degree, with a chevron used for a second color if needed. The colored velvet binding indicates the academic area to which the degree pertains. For example, white for liberal arts, pink for music, yellow for science, purple for law, red for theology, green for medicine and blue for philosophy.
Caps, all with tassels, can be either the familiar square mortarboard or a rounded or multi-angular floppy style.
Cordiner Hall, a 1,400-seat concert auditorium, bears the name of the late Ralph Jarron Cordiner, a 1922 Whitman graduate who was president and CEO of the General Electric Company from 1950 to 1963. Cordiner Hall features a 3,000-pipe custom-built organ made by the Holtkamp Organ Company and a 9-foot Steinway Model D grand piano.