Convocation Welcomes New Year
The 59th Annual Convocation ceremonies for the 2005-06 academic year welcomed new and returning students, staff, and faculty to campus with special remarks from President Pamela Gann and Roderic Ai Camp, the Phillip M. McKenna Professor of the Pacific Rim.
In his address, A Magical Life in the Liberal Arts, Memories of An Academic Private Eye, Camp said scholarship is akin to being a detective in the discovery of truth. He said his own liberal arts education started at home, with his parents' emphasis on intellectual growth, serving others, and understanding other cultures.
"A liberal arts education is defined by your breadth of knowledge and transcendental values," Camp told students. "Improving your thinking, speaking, writing and language skills, and seeking out a vast array of knowledge within and outside your own culture as you study here at CMC will prepare you for the vagaries of any professional career in a global world. Most of you will have a job description entirely different from your expectations."
The morning also paid tribute to those faculty and staff celebrating special anniversaries of service with the College. Twenty-five year anniversary honorees included: Newton Copp, chair of the Joint Science Department and professor of biology; Jesus de Rasura, groundskeeper, Facilities and Campus Services; and Nicholas Warner, professor of literature. Thirty-year service awards were presented to: Myra Moss, professor of government and philosophy; and Andrew Zanella, professor of chemistry. Stephen T. Davis, the Russell K. Pitzer Professor of Philosophy, was recognized for 35 years of service to the College.
An award of special recognition also was presented to Janet Myhre, the Dengler-Dykema Professor of Mathematics and Mathematical Economics, who joined the faculty in 1962. Myhre's 43 years of service with the College make her the longest-serving faculty member at CMC.