SAS Graduation Events

St. Andrew’s-Sewanee School will host its commencement exercises during the weekend of May 20–22.
The weekend begins with the baccalaureate service at 5:30 p.m., today (Friday), May 20, at the school’s outdoor altar. This year’s baccalaureate speaker will be SAS English teacher Susan Core. The baccalaureate service is followed by a banquet for seniors, their families and guests in Robinson Dining Hall. The final event of the evening is the senior lead-out and Annie presentations in McCrory Hall for the Performing Arts.
At 10 a.m., Saturday, May 21, the school community will gather under the tent at the outdoor altar for Honors Day, a celebration of student achievements throughout the year and major awards recognizing outstanding leadership, service and scholarship. Following the program, guests are invited to a reception in Simmonds Hall. Student artwork will be on display in the SAS Gallery throughout the weekend.
The weekend and the school year concludes on Sunday, May 22, with a commencement Eucharist and commencement exercises, which begin at 10 a.m. under the tent at the outdoor altar. There will be a reception in the Spencer Room.

SAS Class of 2016 Graduation Events

The thirty-two seniors in the St. Andrew’s-Sewanee School Class of 2016 will graduate in commencement exercises during the weekend of May 20–22.
The weekend begins with the baccalaureate service at 5:30 p.m., Friday, May 20, at the school’s outdoor altar. This year’s baccalaureate speaker will be longtime and beloved SAS English teacher Susan Core, who is stepping down from her role this year. The baccalaureate service is followed by a banquet for seniors, their families and guests in Robinson Dining Hall. The final event of the evening is the senior lead-out and Annie presentations in McCrory Hall for the Performing Arts. The Annies, an SAS tradition, is an opportunity for each senior to be honored with an original poem written by a faculty member in celebration of that senior. Events will end on Friday night at approximately 9 p.m.
At 10 a.m., Saturday, May 21, the school community will gather under the tent at the outdoor altar for Honors Day, a celebration of student achievements throughout the year and major awards recognizing outstanding leadership, service and scholarship. Retiring and departing faculty members will also be honored during the ceremony. Honors Day lasts about an hour. Following the program, guests are invited to a reception in Simmonds Hall. Student artwork will be on display in the SAS Gallery throughout the weekend.
The weekend and the school year concludes on Sunday, May 22, with a commencement Eucharist and commencement exercises, which begin at 10 a.m. under the tent at the outdoor altar. The graduation ceremony lasts about 90 minutes. Each senior will be awarded a diploma and receive a parting blessing. Following commencement exercises, there will be a reception in the Spencer Room of Langford Hall.

Sewanee Graduation Events Begin Today

The University of the South’s 2015–16 academic year comes to a close today through Sunday, May 6–8, with three ceremonies marking graduation weekend in Sewanee. Commencement and baccalaureate ceremonies will take place for students from the College of Arts and Sciences, the School of Letters and the School of Theology. Three honorary degrees will be presented during the School of Theology commencement, and four during the baccalaureate ceremony.
Honorary degrees will be presented during the School of Theology Commencement service today (Friday), May 6, to Bruce Eldon Neswick, canon for cathedral music at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Portland, Ore.; Richard Webster, director of music and organist at Trinity Church in Boston; and the Rt. Rev. James Russell Kendrick, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast, who will preach at the service. (See page 4 for more information.)
Charlie Rose, anchor and executive editor of “Charlie Rose” and co-anchor of “CBS This Morning;” John Churchill, secretary of the Phi Beta Kappa Society; Richard Davis, poet, translator, and professor emeritus of Persian at the Ohio State University; and Nashville historian and author William Ridley Wills II will receive honorary degrees during the baccalaureate service Saturday, May 7. Rose will give the baccalaureate address.
A Convocation for Conferring of Degrees is at 10 a.m., Sunday, May 8, in All Saints’ Chapel (tickets required) for the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Letters. The convocation will be shown on closed-circuit TV in McClurg Dining Hall (ticket needed) and in Guerry Auditorium, and will be live-streamed. A luncheon honoring the Class of 2016 graduates will follow.
All three services will be streamed live on the University’s website for those unable to attend.

John Churchill is secretary (chief executive officer) of the Phi Beta Kappa Society, which has 286 chapters on college and university campuses. He formerly served as the vice president for academic affairs and dean of the college, professor of philosophy and as interim president at Hendrix College. Churchill’s scholarly interests include topics in the history of philosophy and the philosophy of religion. His publications include journal articles in these and related fields, as well as essays in the popular press. Churchill’s professional activities have included service on the board of directors of the American Conference of Academic Deans and as chair of the Council of Deans of the Associated Colleges of the South. Churchill was educated at Rhodes College, at the University of Oxford, where he studied as a Rhodes Scholar and at Yale University.
Richard Davis is a poet, translator and professor emeritus of Persian at the Ohio State University. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. Davis studied English at Cambridge, lived in Iran for eight years and then completed a Ph.D. in medieval Persian literature at the University of Manchester. For 10 years he was professor of Persian and chair of the department of Near Eastern Languages at the Ohio State University. He has written scholarly works on English and Persian literature, as well as eight volumes of his own poetry, and has been the recipient of numerous academic and literary awards. Volumes of his poetry and verse translation have been chosen as books of the year by The Economist (UK), the Washington Post and the Times Literary Supplement (UK). His poems have appeared in many literary journals, including the Sewanee Review.
Charlie Rose is anchor and executive editor of “Charlie Rose,” the nightly program that features in-depth conversations and round-table discussions, and the newly launched “Charlie Rose: The Week,” chronicling the week’s best stories and interviews. He also co-anchors “CBS This Morning” and is a correspondent for “60 Minutes.” Since 1991, Charlie Rose has aired countless hours of interviews with men and women of science, politics, art, business, sports, technology, literature and entertainment. These conversations have made the broadcast a cultural and intellectual archive of our time. Rose has received numerous awards, including the Legion d’honneur, the 2014 Vincent Scully Prize and multiple Emmy and Peabody awards. He was named among the 100 most influential people in the world by TIME magazine. In 2015 Rose received the Walter Cronkite Excellence in Journalism Award. Rose graduated from Duke University and the Duke School of Law.
William Ridley Wills II is a well-known Nashville historian and prolific author. His 22 books include “Lest We Forget: Nashville’s Lost Businesses and their Stories;” “Heritage, Highballs, and Hijinks (Colorful Characters I Have Known)” and “The History of Belle Meade Plantation.” Wills has been called “Nashville’s unofficial historian,” and his insatiable interest in local history led him to write “Touring Tennessee: A Postcard Panorama” based on the 30,000 Tennessee postcards he has collected. Wills won the Tennessee History Book Award in 1991. He has served many charitable, historical, and educational organizations, including the Tennessee Historical Society, the Hermitage, the National Trust for Historic Preservation and Vanderbilt University. Wills was educated at Vanderbilt.

Sewanee Graduation Events Begin Today

The University of the South’s 2014–15 academic year comes to a close today through Sunday, May 8–10, with three ceremonies marking graduation weekend at Sewanee. Commencement and Baccalaureate ceremonies will be held for students from the College of Arts and Sciences, the School of Theology and the School of Letters.

Commencement for conferring of degrees for the 35 graduates of the School of Theology will be in All Saints’ Chapel on Friday, May 8.

The Baccalaureate service will be at 10 a.m., Saturday, May 9, in All Saints’ Chapel; it will also be shown on closed-circuit TV in Guerry Auditorium. Robert M. Gates, former secretary of defense and former president of Texas A&M University, will give the address. 

Commencement ceremonies for the College and the School of Letters will be at 10 a.m., Sunday, May 10, in All Saints’ Chapel. Tickets are required for seating in All Saints’ Chapel and McClurg Hall; tickets are not required to watch the ceremonies on closed-circuit TV in Guerry Auditorium. 

Approximately 350 students are expected to graduate from the College, and nine from the School of Letters. A luncheon honoring the Class of 2015 graduates will follow. 

All three services will be streamed live on the University’s website for those unable to attend.

Honorary degrees will be presented to the Rt. Rev. Robert Skirving, bishop of the Diocese of East Carolina, and to the Most Rev. Thabo Cecil Makgoba, the Anglican archbishop of Cape Town, who will also preach during the May 8 School of Theology Commencement service.

In addition to Gates, Mary Moore Dwyer, president and CEO of Institute for the International Education of Students; F. Robertson Hershey, headmaster of Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Va.; and Jefferson Allen McMahan, C’76, White’s Professor of Moral Philosophy at the University of Oxford, will receive honorary degrees during the May 9 Baccalaureate ceremony. 

Spring Arts & Crafts Fair

The Sewanee Arts and Crafts Association’s May 2015 Fair will be from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday, May 9, at Shoup Park on University Avenue in Sewanee. This event is free and open to the public. Exhibitors will include:

Bob Askew, painting; Matt and Linda Barry, plants; Katherine Becksvoort, handmade books, journals; Tracy Boswell, jewelry; Natasha Brunton, jewelry;

Ginny Capel, baked goods; Susan Church, woodworking; Phyllis Dix, painting, draped figures; Reilly Earle, woodworking; 

Sandy Gilliam, photography; Burki Gladstone, pottery; Mary Beth Green, wax-painted boxes; Marcus Hilder, blacksmith; Connie Hornsby, art quilts, hand-dyed scarves; Dennis Jones, jewelry; 

Jasper King, chainsaw carving, homemade canned goods; Bill Knight, handmade wooden toys; Marjorie Langston, lampwork glass beads; 

Randy McCurdy, dried flowers in stained glass; Mary McElwaine, silverplate flatware jewelry, concrete yard art; John Malaspino, woodworking; Becky Miller, handbags, homemade bread; Christi Ormsby, clayware; Ben Potter, cut metal artwork;

Claire Reishman, pottery; Louise Richards, needlework, crochet;Darlene Seagroves, quilts, hummingbird feeders; Jeanie Stephenson, bronze sculpture; 

Ron Thomas, glass and copper sculpture; Merissa Tobler, pottery; and Ron Van Dyke, yard art.

This event is sponsored by the Sewanee Arts and Crafts Association.

SAS Commencement Weekend May 15–17

On Sunday, May 17, St. Andrew’s-Sewanee School will graduate the Class of 2015 at the school’s Outdoor Altar. 

The year-end festivities begin with the Baccalaureate service at 5:30 p.m., Friday, May 15. The Baccalaureate speaker will be Nontombi Naomi Tutu, race and gender justice activist. Following the service, seniors and their guests will proceed to the senior banquet in the Robinson Dining Hall.

The evening ends with the Senior Lead Out and Presentation of the Annies in McCrory Hall for the Performing Arts. The Lead Out and Annies are both traditions from SAS parent schools Sewanee Military Academy and St. Andrew’s School and are a combined event. At McCrory Hall, seniors and their escorts will ascend the stage for the presentation of their Annies. The Annie presentation celebrates each senior in a unique way with an original poem and/or limerick about them and a handcrafted clay medallion, produced by SAS faculty members.

Saturday, May 16, is Honors Day. The Honors Day ceremony will be at 10 a.m. at the Outdoor Altar. Honors Day is an annual celebration of achievement, service and leadership in the upper school. An exhibition of student work will be in the Art Gallery in Simmonds Hall. A reception will be held in Simmonds Hall after the ceremony. Students’ creative work will be on exhibit in the adjacent SAS Gallery at that time and throughout the weekend.

The Commencement Eucharist and exercises begin at 10 a.m. on Sunday morning. Following the service and the official closing of the school year, there will be a reception in the Spencer Room in Langford Hall.

University 2015 Commencement Weekend Events Set

The University’s 2014–15 academic year comes to a close May 8–10 with three ceremonies marking graduation weekend on the Mountain. Commencement and Baccalaureate ceremonies will be held for students from the College of Arts and Sciences, the School of Letters and the School of Theology. Two honorary degrees will be presented during the School of Theology Commencement and four, during the Baccalaureate ceremony.

Honorary degrees will be presented to the Rt. Rev. Robert Skirving, bishop of the Diocese of East Carolina, and to the Most Rev. Thabo Cecil Makgoba, the Anglican archbishop of Cape Town, who will also preach during the May 8 School of Theology Commencement service.

Robert M. Gates, former secretary of defense and former president of Texas A&M University; Mary Moore Dwyer, president and CEO of IES Abroad (Institute for the International Education of Students); F. Robertson Hershey, headmaster of Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Va.; and Jefferson Allen McMahan, C’76, White’s Professor of Moral Philosophy at the University of Oxford, will receive honorary degrees during the May 9 Baccalaureate ceremony. Gates will give the Baccalaureate address during the service.

On Sunday, May 10, a Convocation for Conferring of Degrees will be at 10 a.m. in All Saints’ Chapel (tickets required) for the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Letters. A luncheon honoring the Class of 2015 graduates will follow.

All three services will be streamed live on the university’s website for those unable to attend.

Mary M. Dwyer is president and CEO of IES Abroad, the Institute for the International Education of Students, one of the nation’s oldest and largest nonprofit study abroad program providers, offering more than 125 programs around the world. She was the lead researcher on a 50-year longitudinal impact study to measure the effect of study abroad on student’s academic careers, personal growth, careers, and language and intercultural development. She is active in efforts to advance international education policy and practice and is a frequent speaker in the field, including topics such as study abroad trends, outcomes assessment and evaluation systems. Prior to joining IES, Dwyer was a faculty member in the College of Medicine at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She holds a bachelor of arts from Mundelein College, a master’s degree in educational leadership and a doctorate in public policy analysis from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Robert M. Gates served as the U.S. secretary of defense from 2006 to 2011. Before becoming secretary of defense, Gates was the president of Texas A&M University (2002–06). Gates spent nearly 27 years as an intelligence professional with the Central Intelligence Agency. He was deputy national security adviser for President George H. W. Bush from 1989 to 1991, and served as director of Central Intelligence from 1991 until 1993. In 2011 President Barack Obama awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America’s highest civilian honor. Gates received a bachelor’s degree from the College of William & Mary, a master’s degree from Indiana University, and a doctorate in Russian and Soviet history from Georgetown University. He was installed as chancellor of the College of William & Mary in 2012.

F. Robertson “Rob” Hershey is the 11th headmaster of Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Va., serving in that role since 1998. Hershey began his independent school career at Woodberry Forest School, where he taught history and economics; he later served in many other roles, including assistant headmaster and associate headmaster. Hershey has led several campus renewal projects at Episcopal. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Williams College and a master’s of education from the University of Virginia.

Jefferson Allen McMahan, C’76, is White’s Professor of Moral Philosophy at the University of Oxford. McMahan has written and lectured extensively on the metaphysics of death and the ethics of killing. A significant portion of his work is dedicated to the re-examination and revision of traditional just war theory using contemporary ethical theory. McMahan earned a bachelor of arts in English at Sewanee and then did graduate work in philosophy at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, as a Rhodes Scholar. He received a doctorate in 1986. He was previously on the faculty at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Rutgers University. His publications include “The Ethics of Killing: Problems at the Margins of Life,” “Killing in War” and “The Morality of Nationalism” and “Ethics and Humanity.”

Sewanee’s Academic Year Comes to a Close

The University of the South’s 2013–14 academic year comes to a close May 9, 10 and 11 with three ceremonies marking graduation weekend at Sewanee. Commencement and Baccalaureate ceremonies will be held for students from the College of Arts and Sciences, School of Theology and School of Letters.

Commencement for conferring of degrees for 2014 graduates of the School of Theology will be at 10 a.m., Friday, May 9, in All Saints’ Chapel. Honorary degrees will be presented to the Rt. Rev. Mark Allen Bourlakas, the Most Rev. David Chillingworth and David J. Hurd Jr. during the School of Theology Commencement.

The Baccalaureate Service will be at 10 a.m., Saturday, May 10, in All Saints’ Chapel, and will also be shown on closed-circuit television in Guerry Auditorium. Attorney and philanthropist Florence Davis will give the Baccalaureate address.

Commencement ceremonies for the College and School of Letters will be at 10 a.m. Sunday, May 11. Tickets are required for College commencement seating in All Saints’ Chapel and McClurg Hall; however, the ceremony will also be shown on closed-circuit television in Guerry Auditorium (no ticket required). Approximately 350 students are expected to graduate from the College.

Wayne W. Anderson, Florence A. Davis, Anthony C. Gooch, C’59 and Jonathan Green will receive honorary degrees during the May 10 Baccalaureate ceremony.

More information about the honorary degree recipients follows:

Wayne W. Anderson is the founding president of the Associated Colleges of the South, serving in that role since the consortium began in 1991. Sixteen national liberal arts colleges and universities—including Sewanee—across 12 southern states make up the Associated Colleges of the South (ACS). 

Anderson’s leadership is often cited as a key component of the consortium’s success in serving its 30,000 students and 3,000 faculty members, strengthening academic programs and broadening opportunities for students. Anderson was formerly president of Maryville College, Illinois Wesleyan University and the Alabama Association of Independent Colleges and Universities.

Florence A. Davis is president of the board of directors of the Starr Foundation, one of the largest private foundations in the U.S. and among the top sponsors of financial aid at Sewanee, having contributed more than $1.8 million. 

A graduate of Wellesley College and New York University School of Law, Davis began her career in private practice and then served in a number of positions at Morgan Stanley. She was vice president and general counsel of AIG. She is a trustee of New York University and the NYU School of Law; a director of the International Rescue Committee, the Institute for Judicial Administration and the Eisenhower Fellowships, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Anthony C. “Tony” Gooch, C’59, is a retired attorney who practiced for more than 40 years at international law firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton. 

He established and supports the Klein Family Scholarships, which were conceived of by his late wife, Linda B. Klein, and provide full financial support for talented Hungarian students to study at Sewanee. The Institute for International Education awarded Gooch the 2012 Europe Award for Excellence. He has served Sewanee as a regent, a member of the University Board of Trustees and as a member of the executive board of the Associated Alumni. He was the 2013 recipient of the Crawford Alumni Service Award.

Jonathan Green is an internationally acclaimed artist who is considered one of the most important painters of the Southern experience. Green’s best-known approach to painting may be termed “narrative realism.” His work reflects the everyday life of African-Americans in the low-country, capturing and recording his life experiences and the rich cultural heritage of the Gullah community. 

Green is a frequent speaker on the role of the artist in preserving culture and our places in history. 

His paintings can be found in major museum and cultural collections, and he has received numerous awards for both his work and his civic contributions.

University Commencement Weekend Preview

The School of Theology will hold the Convocation for the Conferring of Degrees at 10 a.m., Friday, May 9, in All Saints’ Chapel. During the service, the School of Theology will bestow three honorary degrees and recognize 31 students, who will receive a variety of degrees and certificates. The recipients of the honorary degrees are the Most Rev. David Chillingworth, bishop of the Diocese of St. Andrews, Dunkeld and Dunblane, who will also preach; the Rt. Rev. Mark Allen Bourlakas, C’85, T’12, bishop of the Diocese of Southwestern Virginia; and David J. Hurd, professor of church music at the General Seminary. 

A luncheon in McClurg Hall will follow the service and will honor the class of 2014 seminary graduates, their guests, families, faculty and staff. The convocation service will be streamed live. 

The University Baccalaureate Service will be at 10 a.m., Saturday, May 10, in All Saints’ Chapel. The service also will be shown on closed-circuit TV in Guerry Auditorium and will be streamed live. Wayne W. Anderson, Florence A. Davis, Anthony C. Gooch, C’59, and Jonathan Green will receive honorary degrees during the ceremony. Attorney and philanthropist Davis will give the Baccalaureate address. 

The honorary degree recipients have distinguished themselves in education, philanthropy and the arts. Anderson is the founding president of the Associated Colleges of the South; Davis is president of the board of directors of the Starr Foundation, one of the largest private foundations in the U.S.; Gooch is a retired attorney who has served Sewanee in numerous ways and supports the Klein Family Scholarships; and Green is an acclaimed painter of the Southern experience.

The Convocation for Conferring of Degrees will be at 10 a.m., Sunday, May 11, in All Saints’ Chapel for the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Letters. Tickets are required. The convocation will be shown on closed-circuit TV in Guerry Auditorium and also will be streamed live.