Event Details

The who, what, where & when is here.

Postscripts

Video clips of the four Honorary Degree recipients are now linked from the blurbs.

Dean Greg Kannerstein '63 offers his view of the event, the class of '07 and sends greetings to alums. (video)

Many HC alums have reached out with their own stories of Commencements past. Here's a good one from Eric "Rick" Sterling '73:

In 1973, then President John Coleman sent around an announcement that contrary to the practice in 1971 and 1972, graduates would have to wear caps and gowns. I had dropped out at the end of the spring semester in 1969 to live and work in Phila. in the anti-war movement, and was around Haverford at the commencement that year.

I had entered with the class of 1971, re-entered Haverford in the spring of 1971, and was in the audience at their commencement, and at the 1972 commencement as well. I remembered that the gowns worn in 1969 came out of boxes crumpled, wrinkled and tacky. The graduates in 1971 and 1972 wore a wide variety of clothing -- from suits and blazers to dashikis (and even blue jeans).I went to see Mr. Coleman to object to his edict. I thought that the gowns looked hideous. "Rick," he said, "I have had more complaints about the lack of caps and gowns than any other matter during my tenure as president. Parents say that they've paid $16,000 for their sons' Haverford education and they expect to see them in a cap and gown. This is not negotiable."

Okay, I told him. Then he said to me, your class has no officers (we were "officially" anarchist), and you have an interest in commencement. The senior class needs to pick the commencement speaker. Would you take on the task of getting one selected? I agreed, and set up the process to get nominations and hold an election. As a result of the preferential balloting, we selected Astronomy professor Louis Green. I reported the selection and thought that was the end of that.

Some weeks later, Professor Ashmead, the Marshal of the Faculty (I didn't even know the office existed) called me to say that the class needed someone to introduce Professor Green at the commencement, and since I did the work would I be that person? I said that I would ask what others in the class thought, and a number said sure, you can do it, but someone suggested John Davison who nominated Green. I called John and he said that he, too, would like the honor. I think I suggested that we flip a coin. Even though we were on the phone, John agreed, and I won the coin toss.

Thus I wrote and delivered a short speech (most of it anti-war as a long preface) to introduce Prof. Green at the 1973 commencement. Mostly because I had been a leading campus anti-war person (three arrests in Quaker non-violent war protests including one during Holy Week 1972 in Harrisburg that drew a five day sentence), President Coleman very graciously introduced me as "sometimes the conscience of the college."

That I spoke at the commencement was truly amazing. Not only had I dropped out in 1969, I had been a fairly undistinguished student. I was not Phi Beta Kappa nor did I receive any academic honors. Needless to say, my parents, family and I were enormously proud!So that's a report on the dramatic behind-the-scenes details for the selection of a commencement speaker 34 years ago.

Here's a photo of Eric as ink-stained wretch ("...in the Haverford-Bryn Mawr News office in Leeds Basement in 1972 or 1973 taken by Cathy Davidson (BMC '72 or '73), an Editor in Chief of the paper and a career journalist."):

...and more recently:


Methinks we need to develop some board spaces for cool exchanges like this...something for the summer interns!

Commencement Is A Beginning

12:05 p.m.

The ceremony over, the party moves to Founders -- and your blogger moves to the edit bay.

The Program: "You have what it takes to change the world."

10:18 a.m.
A moment of silence followed by Doug Davis (Prof. of Psychology Emeritus) with a reading from Garrison Keillor: "Nothing you do for children is ever wasted."

10:25 a.m.
President Tritton greets the class and asks them to send him an email in ten years, telling him what they learned in college. As for lessons he learned: Don't be content to possess knowledge; contribute.

10:30 a.m.
Louise Tritton begins the conferring of Honorary Degrees (click on names to see video clips):

Michael Dombeck is a renowned environmentalist and conservationist. Dr. Dombeck is the recipient of the prestigious Audubon Medal and the Lady Bird Johnson Conservation Award. He receives Doctor of Sciences. "Do not accept the status quo...be out there...play in the policymaking arena. That's what democracy is all about."

Prof. Rajeswari Mohan introduces Barbara Ehrenreich, a prominent writer, political activist, and commentator on American culture. She majored in physics at Reed College (1963) and received a PhD in cell biology from Rockefeller University (1968), but decided that writing and contemporary criticism was her true calling. She has published 13 books, including Nickel and Dimed, On (Not) Getting by in America, and the recent Dancing in the Streets: A History of Collective Joy. She receives Doctor of Letters and offers a salute to all the parents in attendance, as well as "all the workers who make the campus work -- clerical workers, maintenance workers...(applause)...Maybe with this degree in hand I'll finally be able to get a decent job." And, "My instruction to the Class of '07 is, go out there and raise hell."

Jack Coleman, HC president from 1967-77, introduces Freeman Hrabowski president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Dr. Hrabowski was only 19 when he graduated from Hampton Institute with highest honors in mathematics, and then received his M.A. (mathematics) and Ph.D. (higher education administration/statistics) from the University of Illinois. His research and publications focus on science and math education, with special emphasis on minority participation and performance. He receives Doctor of Laws. "You don't know a lot today. You simply know how to learn," he begins. "Think about the possibilities. You have what it takes to change the world. Watch your thoughts become words, your words become actions, actions become habits -- and watch habits become character. What will you do when no one is watching?"

Wes Williams, former member of the HC Board of Managers, introduces Ghebre Selassie Mehreteab , class of '72 and president of the NHP Foundation, a national nonprofit organization that has taken on the difficult mission of providing quality housing at rents that poor and middle-class families can afford. Mehreteab was born and raised in Asmara, the capital city of Eritrea, and came to the US to pursue his education. Gabe, as he is known to all, graduated from Haverford College in 1972 with a double major in political science and economics. He receives Doctor of Humane Laws and, dedicating his degree to his father, says "Life is anything but what you expect...I was nearly killed in a terrorist attack...Jihadists from Sudan ambushed my car. I came away from this horrific experince grateful and amazed to be alive. It reinstalled a core ideal that HC ingrained in me: peace is the transcendant human value." Then, "It is not what you know that counts,but rather how you use what you know. My three parting words: embrace the challenge."

11:17 a.m.



Prof. Aryeh Kosman begins the roll call. "Aleem Haji Ahmed...Amy Elizabeth Alspaugh...Priya Katherine Amar...Tania Apicella...Timothy Albury Arling..." Kosman reflects on his role. (video)


12:00 p.m.
...Laura K. Zoltan...Kathryn Zukaitis.(video)

No Turning Back

The Procession from Ryan to Lloyd Green:

Let The Rumpus Begin

5:45 a.m.
Dawn, Roberts Hall:

6:00 a.m.
Tom Tritton arrives for the annual "Inside or Out?" confab outside Sharpless that includes Prof. Aryeh Kosman (Philosophy) who'll be Faculty Marshal. (video)

6:15 a.m.
It's going to be outside.

6:56 a.m.
Chair Swarm:

Video: Housekeeping's Fern Hall arrives with the chairs; how wonderful to run into Carmen Calvarese from Facilities. Carmen has been putting the creases into HC events at least as far back as 1982.

Video: Aryeh Kosman on his role as Faculty Marshal.

9:15 a.m.
Last minute details:

Violet Brown from External Relations gets the photographers squared away.

To prevent "Why did I get Bob Hooferdoofer's diploma???"-style mixups, Registrar Lee Watkins confers with Janine Beaman of the Communications office.

Up on stage. "Podium's gotta go six inches to the left." Astonishing attention to detail.

9:35 a.m.
Seniors are heading to Ryan, where they'll assemble for the Procession:

9:45 a.m.

Cue the theme from "Masterpiece Theater." We are rolling.

Preps III: Saturday

Catering Services' Leon Joyner cleans up after a big brunch. Meanwhile, in the kitchens...

3,701...3,702...3,703

Dining Services' Bruce Levine takes us on a tour. (video)

Getting a Jump on Those Student Loans

The annual Yard Sale outside Leeds. Senior Julia Burrill from San Francisco is in a dealmaking mood (video).



Meanwhile, a good sign as we exit the Garden Level of Founders:

Dave Barry II: Spinal Tap & The 'Ford -- Truth Revealed

Speaking of Dave Barry...I've always felt there was something strangely Haverfordian about Spinal Tap, the 1984 mockumentary about a fake rock band. The hyperintellectualism...the sincerity...the candid exchange of values that characterizes interpersonal relationships here on campus.

While surfing for imagery to accompany the previous Dave Barry post, I made a shocking discovery. If Spinal Tap feels 'ford-like, maybe it's because 'Tap guitarist Nigel Tufnel (below)

is really...

our very own Dave Barry '69.

Preps II: Commencement By The Numbers

Before the day is out, this gentleman and his five colleagues will have washed 300 windows. Other fun facts to know and tell:

289 graduating seniors this year

9 graduating seniors in 1837, the first time 4-year students walked the stage

4,000 folding chairs for the ceremony

7,500 cookies & brownies for the reception

10,000 mini hot hors d'oeuvres

4,000 pieces of focaccia

280 cubic feet of mulch applied to plant beds

710 parking spaces on campus on a normal day

327 additional parking spaces that will be chalked-out on Barclay Beach for Commencement

200 linear feet of sewer pipe roto-rooted in an abundance of caution

HC Alum Dave Barry Sends Greetings

This just in from columnist/author/man about town Dave Barry '69:

I want to wish the members of the class of whatever year this currently is a fine graduation day. I remember my own Haverford graduation, back in... umm.... OK, it turns out I don't actually remember my Haverford graduation. But I definitely did graduate, because I have a diploma, which I keep in... OK, I can't find my diploma. But I'm pretty sure it was from Haverford, or some similarly named school. It definitely had vowels in it. But that's not my point. My point is... OK, I can't remember my point. Who are you again?

Dave Barry

Plan B: The Sum of All Fears

It is my hope that by publishing the following photograph I will turn fear into strength and, in the way of all grandiose thinking, somehow prevent an undesireable outcome:


This is the Field House, all decked out and ready to go. Backup location for the event. And if you're in here that'll mean it's raining out there.

Those among us who are old enough to remember the Field House back when the track was dirt and the air was suffused with attar of machine oil may be happy to hear -- or, if you're a spiteful wretch, not -- that the joint's actually pretty hospitable now.

Yep, it's up to the task. But like these, which are also up to the task, let's just hope we don't have to use it.

Preps I: The Grounds

Whether as student, faculty or staff, working here is a bit like having an "office" at a place like Longwood Gardens (minus the pomp & circumstance) or Chanticleer. It's simply gorgeous -- even more so than when I was a student here from '78-'82.

The always-industrious folks who tend the grounds are currently in double-overdrive. In this video clip, Carol Wagner spreads some of the 280 cubic yards of mulch -- three tractor-trailers' worth -- that will be applied this week.

Meanwhile, work has begun at the epicenter of our event: chalking lines that'll mark the location of chairs, etc:


That's Bill Astifan, with the tape measure, in front of Roberts Hall. Here's a look at the crew in action, followed by a few words from Bill.

Weather I: 'Hope' Is Not A Method

As you may know from picnics ruined, swim meets cancelled and fireworks displays postponed, it rains here from time to time -- and often at a moment's notice. We all hope that yesterday's sky doesn't make an encore appearance come Sunday:

Moments later, the heavens opened (video).

No, hope is not a method -- which is why we've enlisted Arboretum Manager Bill Astifan. He isn't going to just wish for a sunny day; he's taking action -- by doing a special Sunny Day dance.

(In the unlikely event that his Dance doesn't work, there is an elaborate -- and failsafe -- backup plan to move the festivities into the Field House. According to cell E85 on the master spreadsheet, that decision will be made at 6 am Sunday.)

Three days out, the forecast could be more reassuring.

The Mission

Saying that there are a lot of moving parts to Commencement is a bit like saying that winning a Nobel Prize is good for one's career: it's understatement bordering on cluelessness. Fact is, representatives from all aspects of campus life work for months to pull this off, and their efforts have resulted in both this weekend of events and, to help manage it, a mega spreadsheet that takes into account every "i" that needs dotting, every "t" that needs to be crossed and whatever other serifs, loops and dips one should account for before daring to turn in work to The Most Stern Teacher You Ever Had.

I have seen this spreadsheet -- held it in my hands, even -- and it is extraordinary: reminders to clean seats, paint fire hydrants if necessary, place "reserved seating signs as indicated by X's on SK-2" (any relation to that mountain in the Himalayas?), time cues for details such as when to open specified windows to ensure that the behind-the-stage photographer gets the shot and then gets out of view. And on it goes, page after page after page of detail.

Which is as it should be: imagine throwing a party for 4,000 of your closest friends, all of whom have been looking forward to this day for years. Decades. Entire lifetimes. This is a big day by any standard; by comparison, planning a wedding looks easy.

So many players and so many parts invites an orchestral analogy. And if you think of our Commencement as a symphonic performance, the conductor is Violet Brown, Director of External Relations. Here she is with the gowns that will be worn by our Board of Managers and Honorary Degree recipients:


As you can see from the embroidery, this particular gown will be worn by Freeman Hrabowski:


Should she ever tire of working at the 'ford, she will easily find employment as, say, Campaign Manager for a major party presidential candidate, or Chief Engineer for a mission to Mars. Cool, focused, determined -- and, three days til ignition, still smiling -- you couldn't find a more capable leader for the mission.

Welcome to the Commencement Blog

Ever had that nightmare that you're back in college and haven't been to any classes or done any of the assignments? Since May 2, I've been living that nightmare every day -- except it's a dream: 25 years after graduating from Haverford, I'm back as Director of Communications.

With the way funnier and even better-looking HC alum Dave Barry unavailable, it has fallen to me to blog Commencement 2007, your online window on the run-up, the hoo-hah, the wind-down.

Thanks for joining us.