University Awards More Than 380 Degrees to Graduates

The University of the South’s 2012-13 academic year came to a close May 10–12 with three ceremonies marking graduation weekend on the Mountain. A Convocation for the Conferring of Degrees was held May 10,  to recognize the 42 students who completed their studies at The School of Theology. The preacher for this year’s commencement service was the Rt. Rev. Robert Christopher Wright from the Diocese of Atlanta.
The second ceremony marking commencement weekend began Saturday morning as the 331 members of the College class of  2013 followed the University faculty into the Baccalaureate Service in All Saints’ Chapel.
Four honorary degrees were presented during the service to David Brooks, David H. Charlton, Jonathan T. Howe, and Lacy H. Hunt II, C’64. Brooks, author and New York Times op-ed columnist, gave the Baccalaureate address and received a standing ovation from students and their families at its conclusion. His talk combined humor, philosophy and appreciation for a liberal education. The talk is available on the University website: <http://news.sewanee.edu/life/2013/05/13/videos-from-commencement-weekend-now-posted>.
Academic processions and the sound of  bells marked the beginning and the conclusion of Commencement ceremony on May 12. The procession of graduating seniors was led by valedictorian Jenny Liles of Little Rock, Ark., and salutatorian Tamás Kubik of Budapest, Hungary. Jonathan Brenes Salazar, an Environmental Studies: Policy major from Monteverde, Costa Rica, was recognized with the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Medallion for character, leadership, and service to the University and the Sewanee community.
Liles, an English and Biology double major, spoke in her valedictory address of the sense of community on the Mountain, of   learning from professors to expect more from themselves, and of  the relationships that show her class that they are not alone. By continuing to embrace the ideals of the University and carrying those values forward, then “wherever we land, wherever we live, wherever we love, we will know that we are not alone. We are Sewanee, and that makes us family.”
The University’s Sewanee School of Letters, which enrolled its first summer master’s degree students in 2006 and granted its first degree in 2009, granted eight Master of Fine Arts degrees, and three Master of Arts degrees this year.
The University awarded 331 baccalaureate degrees (265 Bachelor of Arts and 66 Bachelor of Science degrees). Vice-Chancellor John McCardell left the graduates with his prayer that “the education you have received here and the experience here that set you on your life’s course will, in the words of our beloved baptismal liturgy, mark you as one of Sewanee’s own forever.”
The final event in an eventful graduation weekend came to a close with the faculty and guests lining the sidewalks outside the Chapel, allowing the new graduates of the Class of  2013 to pass through and receive applause, cheers and embraces.