Hill confers degrees to Class of 2009 at College's 145th Commencement

In the days preceding the College's 145th Commencement, students heard rumors that rain and thunderstorms would sweep through the Mid-Hudson area at just time when graduates were to receive their diplomas. The Class of 2009, however, walked across the outdoor amphitheatre on Sunday morning under blue skies. The rain, it seems—which started at about 4 p.m.—held off just in time for President Catharine Bond Hill to confer 616 Bachelor of Arts degrees to the recent graduates of Vassar College.

Hill began the ceremonies with introductory remarks, during which she advised that graduates remember the influence and counsel of their peers and mentors, as well as consider all the lives that they themselves have influenced. "It is perhaps unreasonable," said Hill, "to expect that today's graduates will have already been a fundamental influence in someone's life—although I'm sure there are some, perhaps many, given the activities you have been engaged in. But it is not unreasonable—in fact, it is something of an obligation having had the privilege of a Vassar education—that you make it a goal to compound the benefits of that education to positively influence the lives of others."

Weeks before Commencement, continued Hill, The Wall Street Journal asked her and 11 other college and university presidents to pen a college admissions essay—Hill's assignment was to write about an influential person in her life. "My family and friends who saw my first attempt hated it and told me in no uncertain terms," joked Hill, "It was subtle beyond comprehension, and I would definitely get rejected—whatever the strength of the rest of my application. Clearly, I had gotten it all wrong, realizing with a bit of regret that my advantage was not with humor."

In her second attempt—the draft ultimately published alongside essays from Presidents of schools such as University of Chicago, Carleton College and University of Pennsylvania—Hill chose not one individual, but two who most influenced her: former professors and peers of Hill's at Williams College, Economics Professors Henry Bruton and Gordon Winston.

Bruton, she explained, inspired her to serve for three years as Economic Advisor to the Zambian government, while Winston shaped her fundamental belief in policies like need-blind financial aid and her interest in "access and affordability in higher education."

"Take a few moments," said Hill in her conclusion, "to think about the influence of those fundamental individuals who define who we are."

Following her remarks, Hill introduced Senior Class Gift chairs Teresa Del Carmen '09, Christina Perry '09 and Shari Sampson '09, who made the presentation of the Senior Class Gift—Winternships, internships for Vassar students lasting for two weeks at the end of Winter Break. "Winternships will be in New York and Poughkeepsie and offered in a variety of industries including marketing, media, law, environmental sustainability, non-profit and the arts," explained Del Carmen. "We hope that over time this program will expand across other industries and other cities."

While schools such as Williams and Middlebury Colleges have had long had a successful Winter Study program in place, Del Carmen noted that the Vassar Winternship Program will be distinct in two ways: participants will work specifically with a Vassar alumnus or alumna and will also live with a Vassar alumnus or alumna during the two-week period. 12 spots will be offered this upcoming year, and the application process will be need-blind thanks to the record-breaking donation rate from the Class of 2009.

Dean of the Faculty Jonathan Chenette then thanked and honored two retiring professors: Senior Lecturer in Drama William Miller—who came to Vassar in 1981 and retires after a 28-year career—and Robert Suter, who is Professor of Biology and the John Guy Vassar Chair of Natural History, who began teaching at Vassar in 1977.

Subsequent to Chenette's brief remarks, Class of 2009 President Luis Gabriel Hoyos took to the podium to speak on behalf of his class. Hoyos began his remarks by recounting a conversation he had had with Jessica Wilson '97 before beginning his last year at Vassar.  "After reminiscing about all the fun she had here, [Wilson] concluded with one single reminder: whatever you do senior year, remember that Commencement is the first and last time your entire class will be together," said Hoyos. "After today, there will be no occasion meriting the presence of every single one of us, and despite the fact that we spent four amazing years together, tonight we part ways forever."

Hoyos went on to explain that in preparing for his Commencement speech, he struggled with finding the words with which he would address his entire class for the last time. "Finally, two days ago," said Hoyos, "I was reminded that [Chair of Vassar College Board of Trustees] William Plapinger is quite proud of the fact that he graduated with the legendary Class of 1974,"—the first class to graduate from Vassar with men—"and that was it—all I needed to do was to explain what makes our class exceptional."

"Our class," continued Hoyos, "is exceptional because in the four years we have spent at Vassar, we have transformed this place in ways that no other class has." Hoyos then went on to name changes and improvements made to the College in the last four years, such as the institution of need-blind admissions and gender-neutral housing policies, the inauguration of President Hill, the renovation of the Town Houses and Kenyon Hall, the reconstruction of Raymond Avenue and the celebration of events like the Jewett Centennial and the 40th Anniversary of the Africana Studies Program.

"Although you may never again see some of the people sitting next to you today," concluded Hoyos, "that's okay. They will be busy doing exactly what they did best at Vassar—being positive agents of change. That is what makes our class exceptional."

Speaking on behalf of the Board of Trustees, Plapinger followed Hoyos and made reference to the difficult economic climate. "In common with other colleges and universities, Vassar's challenge today is to balance the effective allocation of ever more limited resources with the preservation of our core values and long-term priorities," said Plapinger. "Vassar is being forced to make hard and painful decisions to fulfill its mission and preserve its place among the nation's great liberal arts colleges. On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I want to thank everyone working on behalf of the College during these challenging times in protecting the mission of the institution."

After brief remarks from Margaret Venecek Johnson '84, President of the Alumnae and Alumni of Vassar College, the Commencement Speaker, Matthew C. Spitzer rose to the podium. Spitzer is the President and Board of Directors of Doctors Without Borders, USA, an international organization founded in 1971 which now provides aid in nearly 60 countries to people threatened by violence, natural disaster and malnutrition. In 1999, Doctors Without Borders—or Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) as it is called in France, its founding country—was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for its work around the world.

Spitzer has served as President of MSF's U.S. section since 2006. He graduated from Yale University with distinction in philosophy and obtained his medical degree from Cornell University Medical College in 1995.

In his address, Spitzer related some of the personal experiences he has gained from his time traveling the world with MSF. Most of his patients' deaths, he explained, were tragically to illnesses which are treatable in developing countries. He urged the graduates to leave Vassar with a sense of social responsibility and activism. "Whether in work or school or in other parts of our lives," said Spitzer, "wherever we choose to act, we trace a path of relation and responsibility, going out from ourselves, that will ultimately lead us back—in extraordinary, creative and unpredictable ways—to who we are."

On the Saturday before Commencement, members of the Vassar community had the opportunity to meet with Spitzer in the Faculty Parlor, where he answered questions and spoke more about his experiences with MSF.

Before the end of the ceremony, Hill conferred Bachelor of Arts degrees to the 616 graduates, who were called by Dean of the College Christopher Roellke to cross the stage of the outdoor amphitheatre and receive their diplomas from the President. Among the graduates, 124 were awarded General Honors, 224 were awarded  Departmental Honors, 27 were elected to the Sigma Xi National Honor Society for the Sciences and 59 were elected to Phi Beta Kappa for overall academic achievement.

As members of the Class of 2009 walked away with their diplomas in hand and their tassels shifted from right to left, they left the outdoor amphitheatre and entered what Hoyos called "the real world," one that—as Hill reminded the graduates in her remarks—is not without its pressures and intimidations.

Hill, however, also explained that the Vassar education—symbolized by the very diplomas in the graduates' hands—is "successfully liberating, in the sense of providing its recipients with powerful tools to discover and adapt." Hill said to the Class of 2009,  "You will need those tools under any circumstances, but particularly now, given the recent economic challenges. It is not an entirely welcoming world that awaits you, but it is a world that needs you."