Value of a Wooster Education Affirmed for Graduating Seniors

Honorary degree recipients extol Wooster's strengths at College's 138th Commencement Monday

Honorary degree recipient Juan Williams (center) is congratulated by College of Wooster President Grant Cornwell (right) while faculty members Jeff Roche and Thomas Wood (left) observe at Wooster's 138th commencement ceremony Monday in Timken Gymnasium.

2008 Commencement Photo Slideshow

WOOSTER, Ohio - If graduating seniors had any lingering doubts about the value of a liberal arts education at The College of Wooster, those concerns were quickly put to rest by several of the honorary degree recipients who spoke to members of the Class of 2008 at Wooster's 138th commencement ceremony Monday morning in Timken Gymnasium.

"Your degree has a higher value," said Carol Geary Schneider, president of the Association of American Colleges and Universities, noting, in particular, the distinctiveness of Wooster's nationally acclaimed Independent Study (I.S.) program. "Liberal arts colleges are the jewels in the crown of American education, and this college has an especially distinguished place."

Juan Williams, senior correspondent for National Public Radio and author of the critically acclaimed biography, Thurgood Marshall: American Revolutionary, as well as the bestseller Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Years, 1954-1965, told graduating seniors that the only truly free people in this world are those who are educated. He also advised them to use their education to "rise above the anger and polarization" around them. In addition, he warned them about the uncertainties they will face in life. "Remember that all generations face challenges," he said. "You have been given the resources (to confront those challenges) here at Wooster." Williams concluded his remarks by calling on the graduating seniors to surprise themselves by doing things they didn't think they could do.

Fr. Daniel Berrigan, a Jesuit priest and renowned peacemaker who was greeted with a standing ovation, reflected on the perils of war and implored graduates to seek out non-violent solutions.

Wet grounds and unseasonably cool temperatures forced the event to be moved indoors, but the change of venue failed to dampen the spirits of the 421 graduating seniors and the more than 3,000 others who had gathered to celebrate their accomplishments.

John Gamble, a senior physics and mathematics double major from Erie, Pa., and Elizabeth Druga, an English major from Amherst, Ohio, spoke on behalf of their classmates, and both likened the Wooster experience to R.A. Montgomery's series of "Choose Your Own Adventure" books. "You and you alone are in charge of what happens in this story," said Gamble. "All of us are challenged to use our talent and our intelligence to make the most of our experience."

President Grant Cornwell, opened the ceremony by reflecting on some of the highlights from his first year on campus, including an article in The Wooster Vice (an April fool's edition of The Wooster Voice student newspaper), which reported that he had joined a fraternity. He also recounted the filling of the arch with snow in February and having the opportunity to serve as an advisor to Jaimy Stoll on her Senior Independent Study project.

Cornwell recognized the major award winners, including Kelly Patton, a physics major from Wooster who received the Jonas O. Notestein Prize as the student with the highest scholarship in the senior class. The William Galpin Awards for general excellence in college work went to Hannah Legris, an English major from Mayslick, Ky., and Mihika Chatterjee, an economics major from West Bengal, India for the women and Ted Hickey, an international relations major from Sammamish, Wash., and JaQuan Bryant, an Africana Studies major from San Leandro, Calif., for the men. The Daniel F. Lockhart Outstanding senior award was awarded to Erin Wright, a self-designed neuroscience major from Akron.

Mary Neagoy '83, president of Wooster's alumni association, concluded the ceremony by welcoming the new graduates and encouraging them to be proud of their alma mater while telling the Wooster story wherever they go.