Convocation
Friday, August 28, 2020
Address Professor George Thomas Burnet C. Wohlford Professor of American Political Institutions
Livestream Claremont McKenna College
PROGRAM Invocation....................................................................Timothy Wright III ’77 Alumni Member, CMC Board of Trustees Welcome.............................................................President Hiram E. Chodosh Recognition of Years of Service...........................................Coreen Rodgers Vice President for Business and Chief Operating Officer 25 Years of Service Cheryl Aguilar Devon Lopez Ray Rotolo ’76 P’14
Manfred Keil Ron Riggio P’10
30 Years of Service John Farrell Cynthia Humes P’15
Rafael Huereca
35 Years of Service John Faranda ’79 Terry Ruiz
Ralph Rossum P’01 P’08
40 Years of Service Marc Massoud P’89
Nick Warner
Recognition of the Faculty......................................... Professor Emily Wiley Associate Dean of the Faculty Professor of Biology, Keck Science Introduction of New Faculty..................................... Professor Emily Wiley Recognition of Faculty Awards..................................Professor Shana Levin Associate Dean of the Faculty Crown Professor of Psychology and George R. Roberts Fellow Professor Dan Krauss....................................... Roy P. Crocker Award for Service Professor Aseema Sinha..............The G. David Huntoon Senior Teaching Award Professor Derik Smith.........The Glenn R. Huntoon Award for Superior Teaching Professor Sam Nelson................................................ Faculty Scholarship Award Professor Joshua Rosett.........................The Dean’s Distinguished Service Award Introduction of Keynote Speaker..............................Professor Shana Levin
Address................................................................... Professor George Thomas Burnet C. Wohlford Professor of American Political Institutions “The Uncertainty of Living History” Song....................................................................................... Elizabeth Morgan Registrar and Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs “Claremont McKenna” (sung to the tune of “Loch Lomond,” arr. Brent Pierce) Final Reflections..................................................................... Johnson Lin ’21 President, Associated Students of Claremont McKenna College
CLAREMONT McKENNA We’re the sons and the daughters of Claremont McKenna And proud of our famed alma mater. With friends of our youth, seeking wisdom, seeking truth, We will lead on from Claremont McKenna. We have Crescit Cum Commercio Civitas As our motto at Claremont McKenna. We always will be part of dear old CMC, Ever loyal to Claremont McKenna.
RECOGNITION FOR 25 YEARS OF SERVICE Cheryl Aguilar is the Special Assistant to the President. She joined CMC’s Advancement Office in 1995 and has held several positions working with Development and College leadership. Cheryl has had the opportunity to work directly with two dynamic CMC presidents, Hiram Chodosh and Pamela Gann. She is proud of the significant achievements and growth at the College under their leadership. Manfred Keil received his Ph.D. in Economics from the London School of Economics and has been working at Claremont McKenna College since 1995. He is a Professor of Economics and former Chair of the Faculty in the Robert Day School of Economics and Finance and typically lectures in Macroeconomics, Statistics, and Econometrics. Manfred also is the Associate Director of the Lowe Institute for Political Economy and leads a research staff of student RAs to provide forecasting analysis for the Inland Empire. Devon Lopez started working at CMC in January 1995 in the student accounts office, where she worked as a Cashier for 15 years. In 2009 she moved to the Financial Aid Office as Financial Aid Coordinator and then Financial Aid Counselor. She’s been on the Student Appeals Committee for almost 20 years. The accomplishment that she is most proud of is her drive to help others achieve their educational dreams by working hard and staying focused on our students, especially during challenging times. Ron Riggio P’10 has held titles including Director of the Kravis Leadership Institute for 14 years, Associate Dean of the Faculty for three years, Chair of the Department of Psychological Science, Honorary Member of CMC Alumni Association, and CMC Parent Class of 2010. Ron enjoys working with students on research projects, helping to build the CMC summer internship program, and seeing students go on to terrific careers. He is most proud of helping build the Kravis Leadership Institute into a worldrenowned center for leadership research and education. Ray Rotolo ’76, P’14 is the Senior Director of Planned Giving. He came to CMC in 1995 as the Assistant Director of Planned Giving, and became the director of the program in November of 2008. March 1, 2020, marked the beginning of his 26th year at CMC. Ray loves having the opportunity to help individuals to be generous in ways that they may never have thought possible. He is proud of the fact that his office has been so successful in raising life-income gifts and charitable trusts.
RECOGNITION FOR 30 YEARS OF SERVICE John Farrell has been an assistant and associate professor at CMC and was tenured in 1996. He is the Waldo W. Neikirk Professor of Literature and has twice chaired the Literature Department. John has served on many faculty committees and chaired the Administration Committee and the Writing Committee. He is inspired by discussing essential questions with intellectually ambitious students. His favorite moments at CMC have taken place mostly in the classroom, the Ath, Commencement, and the International Milosz Festival organized by his colleague Bob Faggen, and the comically irritating Ath performance by the superb British military historian John Keegan. Rafael Huereca is a Building Attendant. His love of CMC is evident in the attention and care he shows the campus as he fulfills his duties. Rafael cherishes the connection he has made with students over the years and works hard to provide them with a clean and safe environment to learn and grow. Cynthia Humes P’15 is the Associate Vice President and Chief Technology Officer and an Associate Professor of Religious Studies. Over the years, she sought to expand the reach of technology at the College. She created a department we all lean on; while providing the best service they possibly can. It personally brings her great joy when she can help her fellow faculty achieve success. As a professor, her research revolves around Hinduism’s history, with specific interests in religious leadership models, religions of South Asia, Hinduism in America, religion and politics, goddess worship, and gender. RECOGNITION FOR 35 YEARS OF SERVICE John Faranda ’79 is the Ambassador-at-Large. He graduated from Claremont McKenna College in 1979. After graduating, he joined the CMC Alumni Association Board of Directors and became a CMC staff member in 1985. Since then, he has been involved in all aspects of alumni and parent relations, fundraising, and Board of Trustees activities at CMC. For more than 30 years, John has also served as the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps sailing coach and the proud faculty advisor to the Claremont Cougars Men’s Lacrosse Club. In 2010, to celebrate John’s 25th anniversary at the College, the CMC Alumni Association established the John P. Faranda ’79 Student Service Award.
Ralph Rossum P’01 P’08 is the Henry Salvatori Professor of American Constitutionalism at Claremont McKenna College and a member of the Claremont Graduate University faculty. He earned his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Chicago and is the author or co-author of twelve books. His passion for the American Founding is evident and it is often noted by his students that he truly makes American history come alive through his instruction. Terry Ruiz is the Housekeeping Supervisor and started working for CMC in 1985. She began at CMC as Lead and was quickly promoted to Housekeeping Supervisor. Her assignment was to clean Appleby and Green Hall every other week and supervise the cleanliness of Heggblade, I-Place, McKenna Auditorium, Seaman Hall, and Adams Hall. It was a challenge, but she did it. Terry feels that it has been a great honor to work with our students and her peers. She has a great housekeeping team who takes as much pride in their work as she does. RECOGNITION FOR 40 YEARS OF SERVICE Marc Massoud P’89 is the Robert Day Distinguished Professor of Accounting. He has enjoyed participating and working with students through several student organizations over the years, including being the longtime Claremont Accounting Association’s faculty advisor. His favorite thing over four decades has been to watch his students grow in confidence and fulfill their personal and academic potential while watching the tremendous evolution of the College itself. He has been blessed during his time at CMC and is particularly proud to have won thirteen Huntoon teaching awards and the CMC Presidential Merit Award. Nick Warner has served as Literature Department Chair at various times and chaired several committees over the decades. He has also served as Associate Dean of the Faculty and as Interim Dean of the Faculty. Nick is proud of having helped with the hires of some outstanding younger faculty members at the College while working in administration. Many things inspire him to be a better instructor, but he feels most inspired every time he walks into the classroom at the beginning of a new semester. He can’t wait until we will all be able to do that again and be in the same time zone and same room with his students! INTRODUCTION OF NEW FACULTY AND COACHES New Assistant Professors Jordan Branch is joining the Government Department as an Assistant Professor of Government. His research focuses on two issues at the core of international relations: the origins, features, and consequences of
the territorial system of sovereign states and the role of technology and technological change in international politics. In his work, he employs a combination of historical analysis, close qualitative study of contemporary issues, theoretical and conceptual development, and methodological critique. Gabbrielle Johnson is joining the Philosophy Department as an Assistant Professor of Philosophy. Gabby works in philosophy of psychology, philosophy of cognitive science, philosophy of science, and philosophy of technology. She specializes in computational models in vision and social cognition, and her projects in these areas explore the nature and structure of social bias. Currently, her research extends theories of bias beyond individual agents to biases that manifest in machine learning algorithms and larger structural systems of injustice, and investigates the role of human values in scientific explanations involving burgeoning technology. New Associate Professor Nishant Dass is joining the Robert Day School of Economics and Finance as the Charles M. Stone Associate Professor of Finance. He is an empiricist by training and his field of research is Corporate Finance. Nishant started his research career with a focus on two broad fields within Corporate Finance – Financial Intermediation and Corporate Governance. His interest in Financial Intermediaries was motivated by the important role that these entities play in capital allocation in the economy. His research in this field has highlighted both the effect that financial intermediaries have on firms as well as the internal functioning of these intermediaries, which include commercial banks, mutual funds, and venture capital firms. Nishant’s interest in research on Corporate Governance is primarily driven by the fundamental role that Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) and Boards of Directors play within the firm. A special focus of his research has been the advisory role of directors and the effect of CEO’s incentive contracts. Over time, Nishant’s research in financial intermediation and corporate governance intersected to highlight the role of innovative firms, thus sparking a new line of research on innovation over the last few years. He continues to research the many unique aspects of innovative firms and their special role in the economy. New Chair of Military Science Daniel Hayden is joining the Military Science Department as Chair and Professor of Military Science. Lt. Col. Hayden is a U.S. Army Engineer officer who has served in a variety of command and staff positions from platoon leader to battalion executive officer. He completed five combat deployments throughout his career having served twice in Iraq and three times in Afghanistan with duties ranging from facilities engineer to battalion operations officer. Originally from Fall River, Massachusetts, he received his commission through the ROTC program at the University
of Massachusetts-Amherst with a degree in Political Science. He holds a Master of Science degree in Geology and Geophysics from the University of Missouri at Rolla and a Master of Military Art and Science in Military History degree from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. His awards and decorations include three Bronze Star Medals, four Meritorious Service Medals, three Army Commendation Medals, two Army Achievement Medals, the Combat Action Badge, and the Sapper Tab. New CMS Athletics Coaches Ryan Fahey is joining the CMS Department of Physical Education as Head Men’s Soccer Coach and Assistant Professor of Physical Education. Ryan is a 2010 Claremont McKenna College graduate. Since graduating, he has been an Assistant Coach for CMS, Dartmouth College, and the University of Notre Dame. In aydecade of coaching, his teams have won seven conference championships and made nine NCAA tournaments with the 2018 Notre Dame team making a run to the Elite Eight. Marina Muncan is joining the CMS Department of Physical Education as Head Cross Country Coach and Assistant Professor of Physical Education. Coach Muncan competed in the 1500 meters at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games and was a finalist at the 2012 European Championship. She has coached the women’s distance runners at Division I Rutgers University for the last five years and has eight years of NCAA coaching experience, including three at the Division III level. She coached two Rutgers Scarlet Knights to USTFCCCA All-Region honors in cross country for the first time in program history, and qualified the program’s first distance athlete to the NCAA Track and Field Championships in over 10 years. Several of her student-athletes set new school records, while all five of her teams earned USTFCCCA All-Academic Team honors for their performance in the classroom. Chanel Murchison is joining the CMS Department of Physical Education as Head Women’s Basketball Coach and Assistant Professor of Physical Education. Coach Murchison comes to CMC from the Division I school William & Mary, where she was assistant basketball coach for two years after spending four years on the coaching staff at Division III John Carroll University. At William & Mary, Chanel coached the team to 16 wins in her first season and five All-Colonial Athletic Association awards, including a first-time All-CAA selection from Bianca Boggs, the first such honor for the program in a decade. At John Carroll, she helped the Blue Streaks to their first two NCAA Tournament appearances in program history.
ACADEMIC REGALIA date back to European universities in the Middle Ages, when caps, gowns, and hoods were required for warmth in unheated buildings. In the late nineteenth century American universities revived these medieval costumes (and made efforts to standardize their use) in order to lend color to academic functions and to serve as visible reminders of the historic antecedents of intellectual pursuits. The cap is the simplest part. The most common is the mortarboard or Oxford cap. The soft or Cambridge cap is less common though more comfortable. The tassel varies in color and importance (usually black for the bachelor’s degree, gold for the doctor’s degree) and is now mostly decorative. Gowns differ in size, shape, and color according to the degree held by the wearer. The bachelor’s is often black, relatively short, and unadorned. The master’s and the doctor’s gowns are generally colorful, ankle length, and closed in front. The master’s gown has pointed sleeves that are slit at the elbows. The doctor’s gown has wide lapels of velvet, either black or the color of the scholar’s specialization. The sleeves are full and bell shaped and have three velvet chevrons in the same color as the lapels. Gowns are normally black, although some universities have designed their own in the color of the institution. The hood, which drapes over the back of the gown, carries the greatest symbolism of the components of the regalia. Its length, width, and colors denote the wearer’s highest academic achievement. The master’s hood is pointed; the doctor’s hood is bell shaped. The color of the border of the hood indicates the scholar’s major field of study—for example, sand for business; white for arts, letters, and humanities; dark blue for philosophy; and golden yellow for science. The color of the lining identifies the institution that conferred the wearer’s degree. The hood was originally trimmed in fur but now has satin borders for the master’s degree and velvet borders for the doctor’s degree. Unfettered by strict regulations and sanctions, colleges and universities have, and continue to introduce, their own variations to the above—all of which brighten formal celebrations.