On Sept. 2, Convocation marked the entry of the Class of 2029 and transfer students to campus with wise words on finding strength in our differences, fighting for what you believe in, and maintaining hope.

President Garry W. Jenkins opened the ceremony held on the Historic Quad with a joyous greeting to the newest ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ies. 

“Welcome home,â€� Jenkins said. “We are so pleased that you have decided to join our ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ community, and we look forward to seeing all that you will do in the months and years ahead.â€�

Student body co-presidents Zachariah Richards ’26 of Princeton, Mass., and Mohammad Zayd ’27 of the Bronx, N.Y., also spoke, giving the student perspective on navigating life at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½. Charles A. Dana Professor of Gender and Sexuality Studies Rebecca Herzig delivered the Convocation address, followed by closing remarks from Raymond Clothier, ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½â€™ interim multifaith chaplain.

This year’s Convocation was a hot, sunny event, with the only reminder of the season to come the occasional leaf, parched by the drought, drifting toward the ground. Faculty and senior staff processed into the event in regalia, followed by members of the Class of 2029 and transfer students, who were greeted with cheers from upperclassmen waiting outside of Hathorn Hall. 

“It’s natural to be excited, but it’s also natural to be nervous, so I encourage you to pause even just for a second and take it all in,â€� Zayd told the new class. “It was a long journey to be where you are now, so celebrate this moment.â€� 

In his opening remarks, Jenkins addressed current political and social landscape, including challenges to democracy, personal freedoms, fundamental rights, and civil discourse.

“When we lose these critically important core values, our democratic commitments, our liberties, our ability to live in community, we are diminished, we are ourselves lost,â€� Jenkins said. “But here at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½, we are rooted in those same values.â€�

“Education is the long game.”

Charles A. Dana Professor of Gender and Sexuality Studies Rebecca Herzig

ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ as a place is built on, and thrives, thanks to a community of students from a variety of backgrounds, each of whom was selected because they embrace ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½â€™ values of “academic excellence, inclusivity, and social responsibility,â€� Jenkins said. He pointed to the college’s mission statement:

… With ardor and devotion — Amore ac Studio — we engage the transformative power of our differences, cultivating intellectual discovery and informed civic action. Preparing leaders sustained by a love of learning and a commitment to responsible stewardship of the wider world, ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ is a college for coming times.

The full Convocation ceremony is embedded below. For President Garry W. Jenkins’ speech, start at 16:10. For the official Convocation address by Charles A. Dana Professor of Gender and Sexuality Studies Rebecca Herzig, start at 41:05.

“I draw your attention to the phrase ‘the transformative power of our differences,’â€� Jenkins said. “Remember, this phrase defines ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½. It guides us at its heart.â€�

This phrase, he explained, is about pluralism, “the idea that multiple perspectives, ideas, approaches, groups, ways of life can coexist and make society stronger rather than weaker.â€� 

While ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ didn’t invent the ideal of pluralism, it’s something that ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ does well — perhaps even better than most, Jenkins said. The college recognizes the fantastic potential in engaging with multiple perspectives and differences, to make society stronger and more empathetic. 

“It takes all of us wanting to do better, to be better,â€� Jenkins said. “It’s a never-ending project, but there’s joy to be found in the effort, and I know that all of you are up to that task. We certainly need it throughout our nation, in our communities, and here on our campus, too.â€� 

Fifteen years ago, Herzig, whom the Class of 2025, in keeping with tradition, selected to give this year’s Convocation address, helped craft that mission statement. As Jenkins did, she reflected on ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½â€™ role in today’s zeitgeist.

Herzig mentioned jogging around the Campus Avenue Field and noticing the large, garnet banner reading “FIGHT ON FOR BATES.â€� The waving banner prompted her to reflect on what it really means to defend ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ when “a fight is plainly on — a fight for pretty much everything I hold dear as an educator and as a person,â€� Herzig said. 

An important part of the fight, she said, is acknowledging the exhaustion in fighting and yet still finding a way to retain hope. Luckily, a place like ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ is rife with that.

“Small, residential colleges were designed to nurture shifts in thinking — that is, to cultivate hope,� Herzig said. “The plan evident all around us was to produce continuous, almost kaleidoscopic immersion in mind-altering places, libraries, laboratories, classrooms, dormitories, chapels, tree-lined walls.�

From its inception 170 years ago, ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ had lofty goals of abolitionism and equality set in place by founder Oren B. Cheney. The principles that the founders attempted to act in accordance with, even if never fully achieved, still matter, Herzig said. Every contribution to a better future matters. As an 11-year-old girl writing to Cheney in support of his abolitionist appeals wrote, “the Great Ocean is made of little drops.â€�

“Sort of like that 11-year-old letter writer, I imagine myself contributing to a place that does not yet exist,� Herzig said. “Education is the long game. The fight is for the world to come next. None of us can know what might prevail in that fight.�

Raymond Clothier, interim multifaith chaplain, closed the ceremony with remarks echoing previous sentiments about the ability to grow and change through education.

“Take a breath, feel your feet on the ground,� Clothier said. “May this moment be an opening behind the den of daily clutter. Your life is speaking to you about who you are. Listen well. May it be so.�

At Convocation’s conclusion, attendees gathered near Gomes Chapel for the annual tree planting ceremony held in memory of ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ community members who died in the past year.

Among the words and poems students, faculty, and staff read was “Departures,� a poem by Senior Lecturer Emeritus in English Robert Farnsworth, who died last November, read by Benny VanDerburgh, a spiritual care fellow with the Multifaith Chaplaincy.

The following ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ community members were remembered at the service:

Armand Bernier, Facility Services – Custodial

Joanna Boley-Lee, director of Affirmative Action

Gene Clough, lecturer emeritus in geology and physics

Robert Farnsworth, senior lecturer emeritus in English

Normand Gagne, Facility Services – Custodial

Lorette Goulette, Dining, Conferences, and Campus Events

Sylvia Gray Hawks, academic administrative assistant – Dean of Faculty

Sue Houchins, associate professor of Africana

Ken Labrecque, instructor in music

James (Jim) Morrison, Human Resources

George Ruff, Dana professor emeritus of physics

Kenneth Smith Sr., Dining, Conferences, and Campus Events

The ceremony celebrating them concluded with attendees pouring water from Lake Andrews over the freshly-planted tree roots and a benediction, led also by VanDerburgh.

President Garry W. Jenkins has received the 2025 Maine Black Excellence Compass Career Award from , a network that connects Maine’s Black professionals, students, and entrepreneurs to opportunities across multiple areas, from social to professional. 

The Third Place gives its Compass Career Award in recognition of “outstanding professional achievement, principled leadership, and a commitment to equity and excellence in one’s field.â€� The nonprofit, which was founded in 2017 by Executive Director Adilah Muhammad, noted that Jenkins, the ninth president of ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½, is also its first Black president.

“From the courtroom to the boardroom to the college green, Garry Jenkins has led with integrity, brilliance, and heart,� the group said, citing his record spanning higher education, law, philanthropy, and public service. “His career is a compass for those navigating the intersections of leadership and justice.�

“I’m deeply touched by this honor, and for this award to be tied to my new home state of Maine,� Jenkins said as he accepted the award at a dinner celebration on a beautiful August evening outdoors at the Caswell Farm and Wedding Barn in Gray. “It carries special significance because it comes from a community that understands both the challenges we face and the excellence we represent.�

“Our democracy and our institutions succeed and flourish when everyone has a seat at the table and has the support and encouragement to shine brightly,� he added.

Jenkins was one of . He spoke of his pride at leading ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½, citing its rich and unique history of inclusion and legacy of producing remarkable Black leaders through the 20th century and into the 21st century. Specifically, he mentioned John P. Davis, a debater at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ who graduated in 1926 and would go on to be a lawyer and pivotal figure in the Harlem Renaissance, and civil rights icon Benjamin Mays, a member of the Class of 1920, as well as pioneering television journalist Bryant Gumbel ’70 and Val Smith ’75, the president of Swarthmore College. 

“I want to make sure that we continue to produce alumni, of all backgrounds, who go on to make a difference to their communities, fields, and institutions,â€� Jenkins said.  

His remarks ended with an invitation to attendees to come to ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½, walk on the beautiful campus, visit the museum, and attend theatrical and musical performances as well as athletic competitions.

Among the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ community members who joined Jenkins at the event were recent graduate Davina Kabantu ’24, who is a trainee in a bank management development program, Professor Emerita of Politics Leslie Hill, and Morgan Kinney and Mohamed Awil of the Harward Center for Community Partnerships. The Portland Press Herald .

At ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½â€™ 159th Commencement on Sunday, May 25, Commencement speaker Angela Duckworth began her address with one simple request to members of the audience: to take out their phones and hand them to someone next to them.

The 504 members of the Class of 2025, along with their families, faculty, and staff — whether strangers or kin to their neighbors — obliged. 

Onstage, Duckworth traded phones with President Garry W. Jenkins. Free from their digital companions, Commencement attendees turned their attention forward.

With this striking exercise, perhaps unique to the 2025 graduation season, Duckworth began to drive home a compelling, useful, and relevant message: Through “situation modification, we have the power to shape and alter our surroundings in ways that help us thrive.

 â€œThis is what mindfulness looks like in the digital age,” said Duckwork, who is a psychologist, leading voice in the study of human behavior, and author of the New York Times bestseller Grit. “Not willpower, but the wisdom to shape the situations that shape you.â€�

View the 159th ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College Commencement. Speaker Angela Duckworth’s address begins at the one-hour mark.

This emphasis on self-determination and its relationship to our surroundings — whether the latter be the location of a cellular device, the campus that the Class of 2025 has grown to call home, or ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½â€™ spot in an uncertain world — echoed throughout the Commencement speeches, including Jenkins’ welcoming remarks and the 2025 Senior Address given by Aanika Patel ’25 of Needham, Mass.

On the heels of last week’s atypical May northeaster that covered campus in rain, the 159th Commencement was one of the chilliest in recent memory, with the temperature at 56 degrees but feeling cooler thanks to clouds overhead and a northwest breeze, which prompted a number of audience members to arrive with fleece throws.

Members of the Class of 2025 are from 38 states, the District of Columbia, and 31 countries. Among those students were 126 with double majors and four with triple majors, including five students who received Fulbright grants for the 2025–26 academic year. Sixty percent of the Class of 2025 studied abroad, and more than 40 percent played on varsity sports teams. 

Duckworth received a Doctor of Humane Letters honorary degree, and three other honorands were also recognized: 

• Mary Bonauto, a lawyer and activist for LGBTQ+ rights who successfully argued Obergefell v. Hodges (2015) before the Supreme Court, received a Doctor of Letters degree;
•  Stanley Nelson, an award-winning documentary filmmaker who tells the dynamic stories of Black Americans, received a Doctor of Fine Arts degree; 
• Deval Patrick, the former governor of Massachusetts and former U.S. assistant attorney general for the civil rights division, received a Doctor of Laws degree.

In his opening remarks, Jenkins acknowledged the unique and challenging moment that the Class of 2025 faces as they enter the world beyond ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½.

“You have probably heard more than once that these are uncertain times,� Jenkins said. “Perhaps so much so that you may be a bit tired of hearing it.�

But, Jenkins said, there is good and bad news on this front. On one hand, “there will always be uncertainty,� Jenkins said. “Life is defined by change, by the unexpected, by the yet-unknown and the always-unknowable.�

The Class of 2025 is well-equipped to handle uncertainty, Jenkins said, having ended high school and begun college during a pandemic and gained an education preparing them to handle a changing future.

As they venture onward, the Class of 2025 has much to offer, Jenkins said, and he hopes that they will bring forth the skills they’ve acquired at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ to continue to do good.

“The world needs ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ graduates — the world needs you — to bring all the tools and talents you have acquired during your time on this campus to bear for lives of leadership and purpose, ameliorating uncertainty, fueling prosperity and innovation, standing up for what is right, caring for those around you,â€� Jenkins said.

The Class of 2025 has much to offer, Jenkins said. They embody grit, creativity, and a commitment to seeking justice and asking the hard questions, values instilled by a liberal arts education.

“It is at places like ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ that we prepare students to think critically, to problem solve, to engage across difference, to connect, both the dots and with each other,â€� Jenkins said. “And then those students become graduates who contribute to their communities around the world in all their vibrancy, diversity, and complexity.â€�

Jenkins charged the Class of 2025 and Commencement attendees with carrying forward a message about the importance of higher education in changing our world for the better, and “the reason it matters to a healthy democracy.�

“Higher education has long fueled American progress — driving innovation, preparing leadership, and enhancing civic life. Of all this, I am certain,â€� Jenkins said. “And, I can tell you — our amazing graduates, as well as friends and visitors — I call on you all to be ambassadors for ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ and for higher education.â€�

Senior Speaker Aanika Patel ’25, an environmental studies major from Needham, Mass., began her speech by recounting a very-ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ tale. 

Picture this: It was winter in Lewiston, and Patel was preparing for the first outdoor lab in the course “Scientific Approaches to Environmental Issues.â€� Ahead of the lab, her professor, Christian A. Johnson Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies Holly Ewing, encouraged her students to dress appropriately for the trek up Mount David in the snow. 

That was really no big deal, thought Patel. She showed up wearing a jacket and Blundstones, not a glove in sight, and declined to sport the college-provided snowshoes, despite a foot and a half of snow on the ground.

“About 30 minutes into it, I felt the snow slowly seeping into my socks, and my hands turned a terrible pale shade of white,â€� Patel said. “This class had suddenly become one of those David Attenborough Planet Earth »å´Ç³¦³Ü³¾±ð²Ô³Ù²¹°ù¾±±ð²õ.â€�

Patel learned her lesson: proper preparation frees the mind to revel in the surrounding natural wonders. 

“After learning to dress properly, I began noticing the Maine beauty around me that I continue to be grateful for,â€� Patel said. 

On Mount David, Patel saw a maple tree, which, even in its stateliness, grew while leaving room for a nearby birch tree to also extend its roots. Each species, she noticed, played a role in the delicate dance of nature. She imagined the birch tree falling over, and its fellow trees stepping up to take over its ecological responsibilities.

“Each species finds a new place in space,� Patel said. “In this way, communities form, diverse but intertwined and interdependent through relationships forged over many years.�

ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½â€™ community is not indifferent from these intertwining natural relationships, Patel said. Since the first week of freshman year, the Class of 2025 has constructed its own “ecosystem,â€� rooted firmly in place and defined by the lessons students have learned from one another and the memories they’ve shared.

“Place is a network of relationships carrying histories, contexts, stories, and identities,� Patel said. “In order for a place to remain, there needs to be this acknowledgement of what has created it and how our identities are framed by it.�

Like Jenkins, Patel acknowledged that the Class of 2025 has dealt with tremendous change, from enrolling in college during a pandemic, to grieving in the aftermath of the October 2023 Lewiston shootings, to processing the 2024 presidential election.

But they didn’t go it alone. The Class of 2025 persisted and thrived thanks to support from many entities on campus.

“It is on this campus we found a community to fight against isolation, to mourn loss and find hope in change, and to fight for the things worth fighting for just by being there and adjusting and relying on each other,� Patel said.

Wherever the members of the Class of 2025 end up next, despite the fear and uncertainty of a path untrodden, they will always have ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½, Patel said.

“Like the trees standing their ground on Mount David, we will always have these histories we created in our back pockets, and their memory will be a reassurance to stand tall, stay grounded in who you are, and be courageous in this next chapter of our lives.�

In her Commencement address, Angela Duckworth also discussed the importance of staying grounded, specifically by improving our relationship with the devices that now live ubiquitously beside us.

“If being on your phone were a paid job, we would be getting overtime,� Duckworth said.

Cell phone use and placement have a profound effect on personal performance and well-being, Duckworth explained. Research shows that having one’s phone within eyesight while taking an IQ test lowers scores, and high school students who study with their phones farther away from them perform better academically.

Additionally, she pointed out, the popularity of social media over the last two decades coincides with decreasing rates of in-person social interaction, and studies show that halting Facebook and Instagram use for just one month corresponds with increased levels of happiness and decreased levels of depression and anxiety.

Often, the choice to pick up our phones is not a conscious act but rather a habit that we turn to when we’re feeling awkward or anxious; cell phones are “effectively adult pacifiers,� Duckworth said.

The key to dealing with digital distractions, she said, is not about willpower but taking action to remove the distraction.

“Situation modification means using physical distance to create psychological distance,� Duckworth said.

Successful people change their environment to eliminate temptations or distractions instead of expending energy to resist them.

Due to her phenomenally successful book, Duckworth is famously linked to the concept of grit, which “might make it sound as if world-class performers just force themselves to do things. But that’s not accurate. They love what they do. And because they love what they do, they create sanctuaries where they cannot be distracted from their craft.�

Where we keep our phones is among the most important choices we make, Duckworth said. Luckily enough, it is not a choice that we make only once, but rather one that we can recommit to — or change — over and over again.

“I urge you to make a humble yet powerful vow: Commit to situation modification,� Duckworth said.

As such, Duckworth offered six suggestions:

• Put your phone in another room when you need to focus deeply.
• Go outside when you feel awkward, anxious, or bored.
• Keep your phones off of the table during group dinners.
• Keep your phone beyond arm’s reach while driving.
• Don’t keep your phone in your bedroom.
• When you do want to use your phone, listen to The Ezra Klein Show podcast featuring author Zadie Smith, who discusses why she refuses to buy a smartphone.

“Situation modification isn’t about abstinence. It’s about intentionality,â€� Duckworth said. “It’s about creating space between stimulus and response, between notification and reaction. And it’s about reclaiming your attention.â€�

Malcolm Hill, vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty, offered the honorary degree citations for Duckworth, Bonauto, Nelson, and Patrick.

Bonauto, a leader in legal efforts to advance marriage equality, has been senior director of civil rights and legal strategies at GLBTQ Legal Advocates and Defenders (GLAD Law) since 1990.

In 2015, she successfully argued in front of the Supreme Court in the case of Obergefell v. Hodges, which made same-sex marriage legal throughout the country.

“As she said at the beginning of this year, accepting the Presidential Citizen Medal from President Biden, ‘We each have a role to play in fulfilling our country’s promises of equality, dignity, and freedom,’� Hill said, quoting Bonauto.

“In her career, and her contributions to a more equitable society, we see the realization of her own hopes,� Hill said.

Stanley Nelson’s expansive documentary filmmaking has broached subjects including Harriet Tubman, Emmett Till, and historically Black colleges and universities.

“He is a prolific — and prolifically talented, and prolifically honored — documentary filmmaker, focused on telling the stories of Black Americans — lifting up those narratives that haven’t been told, and sharing other narratives, ones that we presume we know, in new and revelatory ways,� Hill said.

Deval Patrick focused on “student achievement, healthcare coverage, entrepreneurial activity, and veterans services� and defended Massachusetts’ law legalizing same-sex marriage, the first of its kind in the country.

“‘Community’ provides not only the through-line of his life and career — it is a value deeply held, frequently cited, and powerfully enacted,� Hill said.

Hill then read the Class of 2025’s names during the conferral of the degrees, the students’ short steps across the Coram stage marking a leap into the next phase of their lives.

After the conferral, Jenkins paused to recognize Hill for his contribution as dean of the faculty; after a sabbatical; he will returns to the classroom as a professor of biology and earth and climate sciences.

Then, Leah Elsmore ’12, president of the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Alumni Association, offered parting words about the importance of building connections with fellow alumni and being prepared to support future ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ies.

“Throughout the twists and turns of your professional and personal journey, you can always connect with a Bobcat in the wild,â€� Elsmore said. “And I urge you to pay it forward. Someday when you’ve established yourselves in your chosen fields, be ready to be there for the next generation of ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ graduates.â€�

In a benediction coinciding nicely with the images of nature twisting through Patel’s address, and after Jenkins’ charge to go out and do good, the words of the Rev. Raymond Clothier, interim multifaith chaplain, closed the Commencement ceremony:

“May what you have learned at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ take root and flower in minute and majestic ways to nourish others, nurse the wounded earth and nurture human community.

“May it be so.�

ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ will shift its endowment management to the full-service investment firm Investure, effective March 1, 2025, ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ President Garry W. Jenkins announced.

“The decision to partner with Investure follows an extensive review by the Board of Trustees’ Committee on Investment and reflects a dynamic, ongoing commitment to the stewardship of our endowment — an essential resource that supports ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½â€™ ability to provide an outstanding educational experience,â€� said Jenkins.

“After conducting a thorough assessment of potential partners, we believe Investure is the best choice for ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½. Their incredible expertise, combined with a culture rooted in deep appreciation for their clients’ missions, promises a stable, productive partnership that aligns perfectly with our long-term goals.â€�

The shift in the college’s Outsourced Chief Investment Officer (OCIO) to Investure aims to position the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ endowment, whose market value stood at $446.8 million at the close of the fiscal year on June 30, 2024, for long-term, sustainable growth. This in turn supports the college’s mission by funding financial aid, faculty support, and other critical aspects of how ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ supports all students for success.

Founded in 2003, Investure is an independent, employee-owned firm serving a select group of colleges, universities, and private foundations. As of December 2024, Investure manages approximately $19 billion in assets. The firm’s client roster includes Haverford, Macalester, and Middlebury colleges, and private foundations like the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the Henry Luce Foundation, and the National Academy of Sciences.

“Investure brings a strong track record of managing endowments, providing access to top-tier investment opportunities with a focus solely on institutional clients,� said Geoffrey Swift, vice president for finance and administration and treasurer.

“Investure’s expertise makes them an excellent partner for ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½. With Investure, we have a partner who not only shares our values but also brings the scale and sophistication necessary for our future needs. Moving forward, we are particularly pleased to work with Investure due to their unique focus on a limited number of institutional clients, coupled with an excellent track record.â€�

The Board of Trustees’ Committee on Investment will continue to have primary oversight of the college’s endowment, and Investure will work with the college’s finance and accounting office for day-to-day operations. The college’s investment commitments as stated in the Sustainability Roadmap remain unchanged. “Investure’s experience in this space supports ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½â€™ values without compromising long-term growth objectives,â€� said Swift.

“I extend special thanks and appreciation to the members of the Board’s Investment Committee, whose expertise and strategic insights guided a rigorous selection process to identify the right OCIO partner for ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½,â€� said Jenkins.

“We look forward to a strong relationship with Investure as we seek to grow the endowment and its capacity to contribute to the college’s operating budget through strong risk-adjusted investment performance, generous philanthropy, and sustainable spending.�

Looking out at the audience gathered in Gomes Chapel on Monday morning, Erica Chenoweth, an expert on nonviolent protest and this year’s Martin Luther King Jr. keynote speaker, piqued the audience’s interest by saying they could easily mount a big, DIY nonviolent protest that very evening. 

“Let’s say we all got on social media and said we are organizing a mass demonstration tonight in, say, Portland, and we said, ‘Be there or be square,’ and we had a couple of fun little slogans. I kid you not: We could get 10,000 people to do it, just like that.�

Yet the ease of creating such a protest, said Chenoweth, is partly why nonviolent movements around the world are achieving less success than ever: Organizers are embracing easy tactics instead of doing the hard work that marked the successes championed by King and his mentor, the Rev. Dr. Benjamin Mays, ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Class of 1920.

At ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½, MLK Day can be retrospective, as in 1999, when the writer John Edgar Wideman gave a heartbreaking address, “Looking for Emmett Till,â€� about the infamous and haunting black-and-white photograph of Till, a boy who was lynched in Mississippi in 1955, lying in his casket. 

Other times, MLK Day at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ responds to the “fierce urgency of now,â€� as King said, such as in 1991, when the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ faculty voted to cancel classes and hold a day of discussion about the war in Iraq, which had broken out five days earlier. 

That pivotal moment in ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½â€™ MLK Day history was highlighted by ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Student Government co-president Dhruv Chandra ’25 of Kolkata, India, who, with co-president Ethan Chan ’25 of Westborough, Mass., offered a welcome that framed this year’s keynote as a “nowâ€� moment.

“Today we find ourselves navigating similar complexities in a world still fraught with conflict, war, and social injustice,â€� Chandra said. “The values Dr. King championed — peace, nonviolence, and justice — are more relevant than ever.”

With a presidential inauguration occurring nearly simultaneously in Washington, D.C., the 2025 MLK Day keynote was here and now. Speaking from the Gomes pulpit, President Garry W. Jenkins addressed the elephant in the room in his opening remarks.

“We all know how contentious the recent presidential election cycle was. We all remember Jan. 6, 2021. We know that such transitions can be disorderly and even violent. We all, whatever our leanings, understand that these are uncertain times, to be sure. There’s ample anxiety about what’s to come [and] potential changes that may be faced in this context.â€�

Jenkins invoked the words of Benjamin Mays, Class of 1920, who delivered the final eulogy for Martin Luther King Jr. at Morehouse College on April 9, 1968. Mays said that King “gave people an ethical and moral way to engage in activities designed to perfect social change without bloodshed and violence.�

And as the U.S. confronts potentially divisive new policies under a new administration, Jenkins encouraged ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ to embrace Mays’ and King’s ideas, modeling civil discourse while honoring diverse perspectives.

In light of potential policy shifts that could challenge higher education, Jenkins reaffirmed ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½â€™ responsibility to learning and civic responsibility. “We will defend to the fullest of our abilities the importance and power of higher education. This may not always be easy work, but it is essential work. It is what Dr. King and Dr. Mays call upon us to do.”

Chenoweth was introduced by Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies Tyler Harper, who chairs the college’s Martin Luther King Jr. Planning Committee. 

Harper linked Chenoweth’s work on the promise of nonviolent action to H.G. Wells, who, shortly before his death in 1946, predicted “that humanity could not be trusted with nuclear power, that were the atom bomb ever invented, full-scale nuclear war would be inevitable in the near term.”

Yet, “nearly eight decades have passed since nuclear weapons were invented, and they have never again been used in combat,â€� said Harper. “The worst did not come to pass. Humanity proved more capable of restraint than imagined.”

That restrain, that possibility, of “peace and specifically peace through justice and nonviolence, our keynote speaker Erica Chenoweth has devoted their life to studying.”

In their keynote, Chenoweth, who is a professor at Harvard University, shared findings from their book project, The End of People Power. Chenoweth’s other books include 2011’s Why Civil Resistance Works: The Strategic Logic of Nonviolent Conflict, with Maria Stephan.

Beginning with Mahatma Gandhi and his followers, who successfully kicked the British out of India, and on to the U.S. Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, nonviolent protest has had a good run by relying on training, strategy, discipline, and organization. 

“Basically, we’ve lived through what you might call ‘Gandhi’s century,’â€� said Chenoweth, noting that Gandhi began articulating and experimenting with methods of organized, collective, nonviolent action in the 1920s, which would spread around the world, including to the U.S., thanks to Martin Luther King, in service of desegregation and dismantling Jim Crow.

Since the early 1900s, nonviolent movements have succeeded more than twice as often as the violent ones, Chenoweth said. “On the face of it, [that] gives a lot of credit to King’s argument that there is a realistic alternative to violence, even for revolutionary goals.â€�

They succeeded through large, inclusive participation, strategic planning, and disciplined resistance. And they use diverse tactics. “They don’t just stick to a single technique like protest or marches.â€� 

But in the last decade, even as the tactics of nonviolent protest have been embraced in historically large numbers (think of those images of mass protests in Myanmar or Belarus), “we have seen a historic decline in their effectiveness,� said Chenoweth. “We are now basically to pre-Gandhi levels of the success of unarmed collective action.�

(Chenoweth defines success of a “maximalistâ€� campaign as ousting an authoritarian leader or achieving a revolutionary goal within a year, and recent research indicates that the findings are likely also to apply more narrowly, to protests over policy issues.) 

So, organizers, listen up about why protest success is slumping:

Authoritarian regimes are learning and adapting

Autocrats have learned from the successes of past nonviolent movements and developed strategies to counter them. “Many different dictators no longer take for granted that they can just ignore these movements or expect to politically survive in the face of them,â€� Chenoweth said. 

Autocrats use tactics like narrative control, delegating violence to unidentifiable actors, selective repression, and counter-mobilization. And they share the playbook with other autocratic regimes.

“It’s a very well-worn toolkit,” said Chenoweth, that “blames a movement on outsiders or foreigners, mischaracterizing people who engage in nonviolent resistance as terrorists or coup plotters or traitors.”

Decline in “defections�

To succeed, a movement needs defections from key pillars of society, like security forces, which are crucial for the success of movements. 

For example, mass protests led to the toppling of Slobodan MiloÅ¡ević in October 2000. Importantly, those large protests undermined the loyalty of MiloÅ¡ević’s police force. Interviewed afterward about why they didn’t follow one order to shoot live fire on the demonstrators to disperse them, the police said things like, “I thought I saw my kid in the crowd,â€� or “I thought I saw wife’s brother,â€� or “I thought I saw the guy who sells me liquor on Saturdays.â€�

In other words, Chenoweth said, “a very large and diverse participation [in protests] activates all kinds of loyalty questions that can prove politically very powerful.�

But today’s regimes “have figured out how to proof themselves against consequential defections in ways that movements haven’t fully grappled with.â€� What movements might do, said Chenoweth, is be more strategic. Do homework. Get some intel. Find out which of the pillars, “whether they’re business elites or state media or security forces, are already a little shaky in their loyalty, and go for them first, and that activates the cascade of defections.â€�

Over-reliance on mass demonstrations

As noted earlier, movements today are choosing to pick the “low-hanging fruit� of the nonviolence orchard, neglecting deeper preparation or strategy, or another tactic altogether that might not be photo-friendly.

“If we are in an Instagram world, what could be cooler than â€� Yet tactics like a stay-at-home action might be just as effective, “but people don’t know what they’re looking at when they look at a photo of an empty marketplace in Kashmir. I’m sure that it took them longer to prepare for and to execute the stay-at-home demonstration and a general strike than it does for us to whip up a mass demonstration.â€� 

Today’s movements “might be missing out on some of the real political power that can be built and developed by basically training, preparing, thinking about a strategy of impacting those pillars and then organizing tactics to match the strategy.�

Lack of training and preparation

Movements today often lack the organizational foundations and training in nonviolent resistance seen in past successful movements. 

“Maybe movements today haven’t had the deep civil society organizational basis and the preparation that movements like the civil rights movement and the noncooperation movement in India spent years developing before they ever mobilized.”

Smaller average participation

Movements today tend to mobilize smaller proportions of the population compared to earlier successful movements.

“Movements in the 1990s and the 1980s [had] some of the biggest movements…. 3 to 5 percent of the population participated in these mass movements. Now we’re more down to the average campaign getting about 1 percent.â€�

During the audience Q&A, a student said that he was struck by a scene in Fantastic Mr. Fox, when the minor character Petey adopts a revolutionary tone yet remains loyal to the farmers, helping them dig out the foxes. “That’s a little bit what I feel like sometimes when I’m rallying against the machine [yet] do all these things that support all the institutions in power.â€�

When you feel complicit in something or otherwise struggling to go along, you have three choices, Chenoweth said, referencing Albert Hirschman’s book Exit, Voice, and Loyalty.  “One is exit, which is just get out of there and go do what you want to do. The second is voice, which is protest, and the third is loyalty, which is basically just acquiescing and going along.â€�

Each person must make their own choice, each person must “examine your values, where your heart is, and your future aspirations. Be real with yourself. Write down what you’re trying to achieve in the world and how you are going to behave and not behave in order to live your values.�

With the help of friends, advisers, and mentors, Chenoweth wrote their own personal ethical code, as a way to live their values.

While Chenoweth wasn’t trying to be directive, “there are reference points for the values that we might align to. And those are things like or the and the incredible aspirations defined in it, which inspired even the civil rights movement in making the claim that all people are equal in the eyes of God.�

Ultimately, Chenoweth noted, “I spent a lot of time working with and for people who are involved in the very movements that I study. They inspire me and give me a lot of hope.�

ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College today announced a , a national nonprofit that connects high-achieving students from low-income backgrounds with leading institutions of higher education.

“At ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½, we hold a long-standing belief in the transformative power of education along with our foundational commitments to excellence, inclusion, and access,â€� said President Garry W. Jenkins. “Our partnership with QuestBridge furthers these commitments and strengthens our ability to empower exceptional students from all backgrounds, preparing them for lives of meaning, leadership, and impact.â€�

Founded in 1994 by Ana Rowena Mallari and Dr. Michael McCullough while they were still Stanford students, QuestBridge recruits, develops, and motivates students beginning in high school and helps match students with selective colleges and universities. Match scholarship recipients are mentored through their college experience by QuestBridge and beyond. (QuestBridge has partnerships with graduate schools and companies as well as undergraduate institutions). The nonprofit’s goal is to help talented students attend the best colleges in the nation and then support them in achieving success in their careers and communities.

“We are thrilled to welcome ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College to the QuestBridge partnership,â€� said Mallari, co-founder and CEO of QuestBridge. “With its commitment to the transformative power of differences and intellectual curiosity, ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ offers an environment where our Scholars are sure to excel and thrive. We are delighted our Scholars will have access to this campus community.â€�

QuestBridge began partnerships with institutions in 2004, working with three colleges and universities, including Amherst. Those partnerships have continued to grow each year. Last year Cornell and Skidmore joined the group. Today, with the addition of ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½, Harvard College, and the University of Richmond in Virginia, QuestBridge is working with 55 colleges and universities.

Through its National College Match program, students can earn full four-year scholarships to college. QuestBridge has supported more than 100,000 students, over 17,000 of whom have been awarded Match Scholarships by college partners. In December 2024, QuestBridge announced that 2,627 high school seniors had been awarded full scholarships to top colleges via early decision through its match program, a record number. 

“ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Admission and Student Financial Services are proud to collaborate with this powerful engine for access,â€� said Vice President of Enrollment and Dean of Admission and Financial Aid Leigh Weisenburger. “We’ll enroll our first cohort of QuestBridge Scholars at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ in fall 2026, and we are already looking forward to welcoming them and all they will bring to our community.â€� 

QuestBridge Match Scholarships provided by college partners cover the full cost of attendance, including tuition, food and housing, books and course materials, and travel expenses. ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ has a deep commitment to improving access for excellent students with high need for financial assistance. Over 40 percent of ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ students receive financial aid, and the college meets 100 percent of students’ demonstrated financial need.

Rosanna Ferro, Ed.D., will join ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College as vice president for student affairs, effective Dec. 2, 2024, ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ President Garry W. Jenkins has announced.

Ferro has over two decades of leadership experience in higher education, driving initiatives that enhance both the academic performance and social-emotional development of college students.

Ferro comes to ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ after serving as inaugural chief of education at College Track, a comprehensive college access and completion nonprofit based in Oakland, Calif. In that role, she provided strategic oversight for a division comprising some 190 professional full-time staff members, delivering an integrated 10-year program serving more than 4,000 high school and college students across 12 U.S. centers and 300 colleges and universities.  

Prior to College Track, she served in student affairs leadership roles at Rutgers University, Williams College, and Ithaca College, where she was vice president for student affairs and campus life. There, Ferro played a critical role in re-establishing the division to align with national best practices, ensuring the strategic allocation of resources and personnel to best support students.

“We are thrilled to welcome Rosanna Ferro to ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College,â€� said President Jenkins. “Rosanna’s extensive background in student affairs, her commitment to fostering inclusive communities, and her passion for higher education will be incredible assets as we continue to strengthen the student experience at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½. Her proven leadership and dedication to student success will be a great addition as we move forward with a vision of community, academic excellence, and engaged citizenship.â€�

At ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½, Ferro will lead a Student Affairs division comprising 13 campus life and student services departments and serve as a member of the senior leadership team. 

“Throughout my career, I have been driven by a deep passion for enhancing student engagement, promoting equity, and creating spaces where students feel empowered to grow, learn, and thrive,â€� said Ferro. “I look forward to bringing this passion to ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½, an institution that is firmly committed to its students and to fostering a strong, inclusive community. I am excited to partner with the talented team here, and to get to know the students, faculty, and staff who make ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ such a special place.â€�

As Ithaca’s vice president for student affairs and campus life from 2017 to 2022, she provided strategic vision and leadership to a division that comprised 200 professional staff members and 14 departments. She oversaw the development and implementation of numerous strategic initiatives to create a more “student-ready� campus for all students. She provided leadership in the creation of the Center for Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Social Change as well as the development and implementation of the college’s Return to Campus plan during the pandemic. She played a key role in launching Ithaca’s first-ever Center for Student Success to help guide efforts and achieve consistency in improving the student experience from enrollment through graduation.

Ferro earned a doctorate, master’s degree in social work, and bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University, majoring in sociology and Spanish. Her dissertation, “Proving Them Wrong: Academically Resilient First-Generation Latinas in College,� identified key “protective factors� for first-generation student success, such as family support, motivation to succeed, and supportive school environments. At Rutgers, Ferro was also an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Women’s and Gender Studies.

Ferro has held leadership roles in professional organizations in the field of student affairs including NASPA and the American College Personnel Association (ACPA). She has made nearly two dozen professional and research presentations on topics including first-generation students in college, diversity and inclusion, women in higher education, and civic engagement. While associate dean of the college at Williams College from 2013 to 2017, she received the Dr. John Hernandez Leadership Award from the Latinx Network and ACPA for outstanding professional and academic contributions.

President Jenkins expressed appreciation for the successful work of the campus search committee, chaired by Amy Douglass, the Whitehouse Professor of Psychology, that led to Ferro’s appointment. “With dedication and skill, the committee worked diligently to engage our community in identifying the next great student affairs leader for ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½.â€� The national search was overseen by a committee of ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ faculty, staff, and students, with assistance from Spencer Stuart, a leading global executive and leadership search firm.

Ferro succeeds Joshua McIntosh, who stepped down in February 2024 after 10 years at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ to become executive dean of the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. The interim leader of Student Affairs has been Dean of Students Erin Foster Zsiga.

Malcolm Hill will step down as dean of the faculty and vice president for academic affairs on June 30, 2025, announced ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ President Garry W. Jenkins on Monday.

Hill, a tenured biology professor at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ and widely published scholar on the evolutionary ecology of marine invertebrates, will return to the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ classroom in fall 2026 after a sabbatical in the 2025-26 academic year.

Hill, who joined ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ in 2018, is the architect of significant academic innovations that have strengthened the college and its national reputation while expanding support for student and faculty success, said Jenkins.

“I am extraordinarily grateful for all that Malcolm has done for our college. I am so appreciative of his deep commitment to his work, to our faculty and students, and to our collaborative efforts as a senior leadership team. Malcolm’s work has profoundly shaped our academic programs and strengthened the college’s position as a national leader in the liberal arts and sciences, and his dedication to advancing inclusive, equity-driven, and innovative best practices has left an indelible mark on our graduates and our college.�

Jenkins added, “During the pandemic, under pressure and uncertainty, Malcolm worked with faculty and senior staff colleagues to help lead this college through unprecedented challenges, modeling values of collaboration and resilience. Malcolm has been a terrific partner these past 14 months, and I look forward to continuing to work closely with him for the remainder of the year. We are excited to see him return to his research and teaching and to continue contributing to our students’ and to ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½â€™ academic excellence.â€�

In his announcement, Jenkins said that the college will develop and announce plans for a search for Hill’s successor later in the fall after broad consultation with the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ community.

As a member of the college’s senior administrative team and chief academic officer, Hill holds leadership responsibilities in the areas of curriculum and academic initiatives; faculty recruitment, review, tenure and promotion; and nurturing faculty career development in the arenas of instruction, scholarship, and community engagement. Hill’s office oversees the Registrar, the Harward Center for Community Partnerships, the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Dance Festival, the Museum of Art, and the Office of Sponsored Programs and Research Compliance.

Under Hill’s leadership, ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ has made remarkable progress in embedding equity and inclusion into its academic fabric, enhancing both faculty and student success.

“I am proud of the strides that ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ has made to strengthen and expand opportunities for student success at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ and how we have supported faculty in developing the tools to be effective in their work,â€� said Hill. “I am particularly proud of our progress in embedding equity and inclusion into the academic fabric of ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½, a firm foundation that will continue to support our community for years to come.â€�

He added, “I am exceedingly grateful to the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ faculty for their amazing capacity to fully engage not only in their teaching and in their scholarly and creative work, but in the behind-the-scenes work as advocates for the quality and integrity of our academic programs. I am indebted to our faculty for their embrace of institutional goals and their willingness to collaborate for the betterment of our students’ academic experience.â€�

Over a two-year period ending in 2021, Hill provided leadership support for substantial modernization and improvement to the process for faculty reappointment, tenure, and promotion. During Hill’s tenure, criteria that define faculty excellence have been strengthened and now incorporate equity and inclusion in essential ways.

To support the faculty’s professional development in this area, Hill advocated for, and helped establish in 2022, the Center for Inclusive Teaching and Learning. The new center introduces current research findings and modern approaches to help faculty and staff educators develop and refine professional, reflective, innovative, and inclusive pedagogies.

A year later, ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ completed a comprehensive reorganization and expansion of its academic student support programs, resulting in two new centers, the Student Academic Support Center and the Student Writing and Language Center. Located in the new Peer Learning Commons space on the ground floor of Ladd Library, the centers have streamlined resources and enhanced peer tutoring across disciplines.

This achievement reflected a larger success in improving student advising, including major improvements to the management of the First-Year Seminar program so students retain their pre-major advisor through their first two years.

Other transformational efforts to energize and inspire teaching and research include facility investments exceeding $75 million in state-of-the-art spaces including Bonney Science Center, renovations to Dana Chemistry Hall, and improvements to Carnegie Science Hall. By the time Hill leaves the office, the college will have hired more than 75 new permanent faculty colleagues across all academic divisions. Hill’s work to achieve a net increase in the size of the faculty through the addition of eight new tenure-track faculty lines represents an important investment in the academic enterprise.

In April 2023, the faculty approved a new general education requirement to engage students with issues of race, power, privilege, and colonialism. Student advocacy, faculty collaboration, and institutional commitment ensured that ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ students will be equipped to understand the history and legacies of racism, and prepared to address systemic inequities in the world. To support ongoing curricular discussions, Hill called upon the faculty to engage in Foundational Dialogues, a structured platform for ongoing, critical conversations to promote thoughtful engagement across disciplines, foster collaborative learning, and guide the faculty toward continuous academic improvement.

Through a 2018 grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Inclusive Excellence Initiative, ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ faculty have adopted new curricula and pedagogical approaches in STEM that have yielded dramatic results in improved retention outcomes for all students and particularly within the college’s Black and Hispanic students. In addition, the Mellon Curricular Grants project has brought a focus to the faculty’s capacity to teach and mentor a diverse student population in the humanities and humanistic social sciences.

While serving as dean, Hill kept his hand in the classroom and research. In recent years, he has taught courses in evolutionary biology and biostatistics, as well as a First-Year Seminar, guiding students in the college’s equity-driven STEM Scholars program that was developed through the HHMI grant.

Hill joined ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ from the University of Richmond, where he was the Clarence E. Denoon Jr. Professor of Science and held leadership roles in the School of Arts and Sciences. He received a bachelor’s degree in biology and environmental science from Colby College and a doctorate in evolutionary ecology from the University of Houston.

Kristen A. Lainsbury will join ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College as vice president for communications and marketing effective Oct. 14, 2024, ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ President Garry W. Jenkins has announced.

Lainsbury comes to ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ from Earlham College, where she has served as vice president for marketing and communications since 2021.

“ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ is fortunate to welcome a leader as accomplished as Kristen Lainsbury,â€� said President Jenkins. “She has a remarkable track record of forging strong and effective partnerships, leading high-performing teams, making data-driven decisions, and serving as a strategic thought partner. Through her extensive experience and deep understanding of both traditional and emerging communications platforms, ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ will be well-positioned to shape how we tell our story to the world.â€�

Jenkins added, “Kristen is an ambitious and strategic leader whose ability to connect with varied audiences and develop compelling narratives will be invaluable as we continue to share the remarkable achievements of our students, faculty, staff, alumni, and college. I am thrilled to partner with Kristen to elevate ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½â€™ communications and marketing efforts to new heights, further enhancing the college’s reputation as a leader in higher education.â€�

Lainsbury, whose undergraduate education and early career was centered in Maine, voiced her enthusiasm for joining the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ community.

“Returning to Maine and becoming a member of the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ community is an incredible opportunity. ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ balances the best of the enduring excellence of the liberal arts model with the innovation and forward thinking that is vital to the future of higher education. I am inspired by the college’s capacity for renewal and re-engagement with social justice and to educate students to find purpose in their life and work after graduation. It is a privilege and a joy to come home to Maine to lead a talented team in the work to share the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ story — widely, strategically, and creatively.â€�

At ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½, Lainsbury will lead a 14-person team to develop and implement a strategic communications and marketing vision that aligns with the college’s identity and goals. She will work closely with President Jenkins and campus and external partners to ensure a cohesive, authentic, and compelling presentation of ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½â€™ brand and mission. Her role will involve overseeing all ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ communication channels, including digital, print, social media, and media relations, while strengthening strategic partnerships with ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Admission and College Advancement to support programs that focus on student recruitment, acquisition, success, retention, engagement, philanthropy, and ongoing advocacy for the college.

At Earlham College, Lainsbury led the college’s marketing and communications efforts, driving a comprehensive, omnichannel strategy that significantly improved brand visibility and engagement. She played a pivotal role in managing crisis communications, overseeing digital marketing initiatives, and guiding high-impact campaigns that boosted student enrollment, including the highest levels of applications since 2019 and, in support of fundraising outcomes, developing a clear and compelling brand narrative to drive the overwhelming success of the college’s recently concluded comprehensive fundraising campaign in June 2024.

Before her tenure at Earlham, Lainsbury held communications and marketing roles with increasing leadership responsibilities at Providence College, where she honed skills in brand development, planning, and team leadership. At Earlham and at Providence College, Lainsbury’s teams won multiple awards from professional organizations, including the Council for Advancement and Support for Higher Education (CASE). From 2008 to 2012, she was a writer and editor for the University of Maine’s flagship magazine, UMaine Today. Prior to joining higher education, she was a reporter, columnist, and copy editor with the Bangor Daily News for 11 years, winning numerous state and regional press association awards. Lainsbury holds a B.A. in journalism from the University of Maine and has pursued executive education in management and digital marketing.

The national search for this senior leadership position at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College was overseen by a committee composed of faculty and staff, with assistance from The Ward Group, a leading search firm that specializes in communications and marketing.

The ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Class of 2024, whose college experience reflected great tests and greater perseverance, heard three pieces of life advice from one of the nation’s foremost journalists at Commencement this morning: Be wary of when success becomes a non-stop treadmill, remember much of life depends on what we choose to see, and hold tight to those lifelong friendships forged at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½.

“The friendships you have made at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ — the real ones — will matter to you,” said Mary Louise Kelly, host of NPR’s evening news program All Things Considered, in her Commencement address. “They will enrich your life for all the years ahead. Cherish them. Fight for them.â€�

Complete 2024 ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Commencement Video

• Welcome by President Garry W. Jenkins: 52:30
• Senior Address by Yun Zhang: 1:09
• Presentation of Honorands: 1:19
• Commencement Address by Mary Louise Kelly: 1:31
• Conferral of Baccalaureate Degrees: 1:48:30

At today’s 158th ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Commencement on the Historic Quad, 437 members of the Class of 2024 took the iconic walk across the Coram Library stage to accept congratulations and diplomas from President Garry W. Jenkins in his first Commencement since taking the helm on July 1, 2023. 

Kelly received an honorary degree along with two other honorands. Poet Richard Blanco, who served as the presidential poet at President Barack Obama’s second inauguration, received a Doctor of Letters degree along with Kelly, and President Emerita Clayton Spencer received a Doctor of Humane Letters degree.

The Class of 2024 represented 36 states and the District of Columbia and 19 countries, including 51 students who were the first in their family to graduate from college. As many as 48 percent of the graduating class studied abroad and 43 percent participated in varsity sports — big numbers that were proudly shared by Jenkins as he welcomed the class.

“The ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Class of 2024 has been tested, and they have persevered. And in so doing, they have found joy and strength in one another, in connections, in relationships.â€�

President Garry W. Jenkins

“All of this you have achieved while giving back, especially here in Lewiston, giving thousands of hours to community-engaged learning and research, volunteering, community work-study, and other forms of informed civic action,� Jenkins said.

The newly inaugurated president greeted the graduating class by noting how their time at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ was bookended by the COVID-19 pandemic during their first year and the horrific Oct. 25 mass shooting in Lewiston — yet the challenges in these unsettling events made them stronger. 

“The ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Class of 2024 has been tested, and they have persevered,â€� Jenkins said. “They have taken on everything that has come their way and they also have thought deeply about their personal relationships to local, national, and global events. And in so doing, they have found joy and strength in one another, in connections, in relationships.â€�

Jenkins praised the seniors in how they “turned outward, not inward,â€� and demonstrated grit. And Jenkins added: “I love grit.â€� 

He called it a “secret, powerful weapon,� and, in fact, a critical piece to success.

“To discover the undiscovered or produce something of beauty, you have to have grit. It takes grit to remove stubborn institutional and structural barriers that undermine equality and belonging,� Jenkins said.

“I want professionals with a relentless push for improvement and excellence and the ability to find the means to transcend the inevitable roadblocks that one encounters in life and inside organizations. All of that takes grit.�

“Stay committed to a lifetime of learning, stay healthy, and tend to your well-being. Stay engaged in the issues that matter to you most.�

President Garry W. Jenkins

Jenkins suggested the Class of 2024 lean into their steely grit and think of it as a muscle, something that can be strengthened. Use it, he advised, to get back up after getting knocked down, to make the best of a less-than-ideal situation — to persevere.

Then he reminded them: “You are forever a part of the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ community, and ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ is forever a part of you.â€�

“Each of you has the capacity to contribute to organizations, communities, disciplines, and industries. And to do that, stay on your path — the one that’s right for you, not someone else,� Jenkins advised. “Stay committed to a lifetime of learning, stay healthy, and tend to your well-being. Stay engaged in the issues that matter to you most.�

Kelly was described in her Doctor of Letters degree citation as having “provided the highest degree of service as an award-winning journalist: seeking authenticity over artifice, sharing well-researched facts, and informing the public about the forces at work in our society and their impact on our lives.”

As she took the lectern for her address, Kelly enthusiastically said she now considers herself “a ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ alum from here on out.â€� She also spoke about responsibility, how in a democracy that protects free speech and a free press and offers rights and freedoms, citizens are obligated to educate themselves on history, geography, literature, and art, and to stay informed about world and national events. 

Only from shared facts can productive discussion flow, she said. “I believe we are capable of celebrating strong and honest differences of opinion even as we respect a common set of facts.  And I congratulate you here at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ for finding ways to do that.”

In doing so, she said, that knowledge equips us with the ability to celebrate “strong and honest differences of opinion even as we respect a common set of facts.� With that, Kelly pivoted to the advice she brought Sunday for the graduates, and shared it through three personal stories.

The first was about the college-visit trip she took with her oldest son, James, to the University of Chicago, where her son noted how the acceptance rate of the students applying to the nation’s top 15 law schools is a whopping 83 to 93 percent.

Kelly said that made her think about the rat wheel of success her son already saw himself on: good college, then good grad school, and so on. She said that she wanted to whisper to her son: “Just enjoy this moment. This one. Stop thinking about the next step and the one after that.’â€� 

Kelly advised the graduates to consider, instead, the perspective offered by author George Saunders, who wrote: “Success is like a mountain that keeps growing ahead of you as you hike it. There is the very real danger that succeeding will take up your whole life while the big questions go untended.�

“Success can be like a treadmill,� Kelly said. “It can obscure the actual living of life. Try not to let it.�

Her second piece of advice also came from her experience as a parent, from the time she took an extended leave from NPR to help her other son, Alexander, when he had speech delay in early childhood. But when Kelly ran into a fellow journalist one day on the way to the park, the encounter made her question her choice. The successful colleague also had just had a child, but chose, instead, to return to work. 

However, years later, the woman told Kelly that on that day, she regretted her choice of returning to work, and saw Kelly as a radiant, happy mom who made the right choice to be at home with her son. It made Kelly realize: Too often we see only our shortcomings. We beat ourselves up. 

Instead, Kelly told her audience, we should choose to see something else about ourselves. “So much of life depends on what we choose to see,� Kelly said, and then shared with the Class of 2024 her last bit of wisdom: Guard the friendships that are dear to them. “Hold on to the friendships you have made these last four years.�

She shared how her own college friends are part of a tight group of loyal, supportive girlfriends dubbed “the Forces of Nature.�

“Today we live all over the country. But we gather, in person, all of us, at least once a year,â€� Kelly said. “These women’s faces, their voices are as familiar to me as my own. We were the maids of honor at each other’s weddings. We are godmothers to each other’s children. These women would drop everything and get on a plane to help me if I needed them to. And I know this — because they have done it.â€� 

For senior speaker Yun Zhang of Anhui, China, it was a good Samaritan at the Walmart in Auburn who provided a great example of the reverberating power of kindness, community, and generosity.

“As Lewiston embraced me with its unexpected warmth, I realized that these moments of kindness are the true essence of community, transforming an unfamiliar place into a haven of belonging.” 

Senior Speaker Yun Zhang of Anhui, China

Zhang shared the story of how last Thanksgiving, which she spent alone as an international student 7,500 miles from her hometown, she decided to find strength in making a feast for one. But when her credit card momentarily wouldn’t work at Walmart and a woman stepped to the register and “offered to cover the gap,â€� Zhang realized from this simple act of kindness that she was not alone.

“As Lewiston embraced me with its unexpected warmth, I realized that these moments of kindness are the true essence of community, transforming an unfamiliar place into a haven of belonging,â€� Zhang said. 

As did Jenkins, Zhang referenced the dark nights following the Oct. 25 shootings — and echoed the president’s assertion that ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ came through the fear and uncertainty of those subsequent dark days ever closer. The experience, Zhang said, proved they were “a community undeterred, united in the conviction that together, we could weather any storm and stay — Lewiston Strong.â€�

To which the audience stretched across the Historic Quad erupted in a rousing round of applause.

That horrific tragedy, Zhang continued, lent a larger, lasting lesson.

“ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ taught us that caring for the community means engaging with the world at large, with communities rooted in differences yet bound by the shared human experience,â€� Zhang said. “Our journey from the gates of ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ into the vast expanse of the world is a transition from one form of community to another, with the mission to spread the ethos of understanding, support, and unity that ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ has so deeply ingrained in us.â€�

The honorary degree citations for Kelly, Richard Blanco, and Clayton Spencer were offered by Malcolm Hill, vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty. 

Blanco, whose poetry has won a number of prestigious awards, including the 2021 National Humanities Medal, emerged from his undergraduate experience initially as an engineer. He was introduced by Hill as an expansive example of possibility.

“For all those in the audience who graduate as dance majors planning to go to medical school, or religion and physics double majors — for anyone who has embraced the myriad ways of knowing the world that the liberal arts present — we offer you our first honorand: the poet engineer,� said Hill.

Blanco read the poem “One Today� at President Barack Obama’s second inauguration, becoming the youngest and the first gay and Latino poet to read his work at a U.S. presidential inauguration. “His poem celebrated unity amid discord and commonality amid difference,� said Hill, who noted that Blanco’s “central theme is the idea of home. Sometimes, he says, the poem — the art itself — is the home.�

Spencer, who served as president of ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ from 2012 to 2023, is perhaps “best remembered for her frequent exhortation, borrowed from the poet E.E. Cummings, to have the ‘courage to grow up and become who you really are,'” said Hill.

That advice became the nationally recognized initiative of Purposeful Work that reflected the obligation of ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ to “prepare our students for [lives] of purposeful work,â€� to encourage students to “wrestle actively and joyously with the world as we encounter it,â€� and to “model this mindset for our students as they work to construct their own lives.â€� 

Over the years, this philosophy was nurtured and refined, becoming the driving force behind the Center for Purposeful Work, an initiative that engaged 98 percent of students and has been honored and imitated nationwide.

Following the conferral of degrees, Kevin Moore ‘93 of Hanover, Mass., president of the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College Alumni Association, welcomed the graduating class into the association. “You are joining a community of 24,000 engaged, dynamic, and accomplished Bobcats who are embodying our motto of ‘ardor and devotion’ around the world,â€� Moore said. 

“You are strong navigators. You know how to appreciate challenges and wonder at wonder. You have everything you need when you lean on each other.  You hold onto hope with every step.  Blessings for the next trail that awaits you.” 

The Rev. Brittany Longsdorf

In a new element to the graduation, Jenkins returned to the lectern to offer his charge to the graduates.  “I leave you with this,â€� he said. “It’s a short phrase that is both my charge to you as your president and also my wish for you as someone who has grown very fond of this class: Please go out into the world and ‘do well and do good.’â€�

The ceremony ended with longstanding tradition, the benediction from the Rev. Brittany Longsdorf, multifaith chaplain, who used the metaphor of a determined mountain climber to describe the path the Class of 2024 took through ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ to the summit of graduation, closing with these words:

You have found yourself, almost suddenly,
at the same summit reached by thousands of ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ies before you.

Though your trail has been markedly different, you, dear graduates, with resilience have blazed something new and wondrous. 

May we breathe in the expansive beauty of this moment — looking ahead to the majestic horizon before us, where something new awaits, and looking back at the trail magic of good faculty, caring staff, loving families who sustained you along the way. 

You are strong navigators. You know how to appreciate challenges and wonder at wonder. You have everything you need when you lean on each other.  You hold onto hope with every step. 

Blessings for the next trail that awaits you.