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Provost’s Celebratory Address

May 8, 2024

Welcome to our Spring Celebration—it is good to be with you. We have come a long way together this year and on a personal note let me say how enriching and fun it has been to work shoulder to shoulder with you. I am grateful to call you my colleagues and friends.

I’d like to recognize our team in the Provost’s Office who work with joy and dedication to move us forward– Bernard Akatu, Liz Hiles, Doug Luke, Ann MacGillivray, Donna Hebert, Joanne Lovejoy, Cheyenne Hamel, thank you. Of course thank you to Deans Loren Cass, Ann Marie Leshkowich, and Madeline Vargas- about whom more later.

We are fortunate indeed to be part of a community of talented faculty and staff colleagues who create an exceptional liberal arts education – and we are fortunate to accompany our students on their journey of growth and discovery.  In that vein, let me note our talented student musicians here with us today– thank you to Rhiannon Hurst, Elliot Barron, Pietro Romussi, Ari Kiirikki, and Professor Ulysses Loken– and thanks to Dan DiCenso for helping to arrange this program. We will hear more from them at the end of our program. After some updates from me, we will celebrate distinguished colleagues who model commitment and excellence– following which there is a reception in the Beehive.

Here at 17�Թ���, we celebrate superb teaching and the diversity and dignity of all in our learning community; and we work to maximize our students’ agency so they may live lives of impact and meaning. 

Here at 17�Թ��� we support fundamental scholarly inquiry and basic research within our liberal arts model because they are central to the discovery, creation, and sharing of new knowledge across the disciplines and in the service of the public good. 

This year, there has been a tremendous amount of transformational activity throughout academic affairs. I want to acknowledge the scope and pace of our efforts and, importantly, THANK the many people who have participated, partnered and advised. I’d like to begin by overviewing much of what we’ve accomplished and advanced this year.

Together: 

• We welcomed 13 new tenure-track colleagues and through this year’s searches, and identified the 16 new tenure-track colleagues across the disciplines who will join us in August;
• We benefited from the presence, talent and dedication of 37 new visiting full and part time faculty colleagues;
• We identified three new deans to join the leadership team
• We celebrated the opening of  this magnificent facility, with a world premiere of our colleague’s composition, just last Friday;
•  We celebrated 50 years of coeducation at 17�Թ���, learning from path breaking women who reshaped the College as well as women who have modeled exemplary leadership throughout their careers. 
• We brought pre-tenure leave into parity with post-tenure leave, completing work begun through faculty governance two years ago;
• We planned and are launching a major new center devoted to inclusive excellence in teaching, now approved by the AGC, which will be a national exemplar and a catalyst;
• We launched two new departments—Critical Race and Ethnic Studies and Environmental Studies, both of which will begin full operations in August.
• Using interactive design-based sessions, we developed an academic strategic plan to guide our future and articulate key priorities;
• We launched new sources of faculty support, like the permanent faculty research and professional development accounts as well as a series of new opportunities to support cross-disciplinary teaching and faculty research– with more to come.
• We welcomed  830 (as of today) new first year students through our most competitive admissions process ever, with the strongest yields ever (including impressive growth in yield among our highest need students).
• Of course there is much more to celebrate – the many triumphs of this exceptional faculty in the classroom, in the lab, archive, and field– the distinguished work of our talented and committed staff throughout academic affairs and the college. Thank you for all that you have contributed to your colleagues and our students this year. 

You’ve likely noted a theme among the changes highlighted here: we are welcoming new members and expanding in ways that are both necessary and innovative. In the year ahead, we will continue investing in scholarly and teaching excellence across academic affairs, stabilizing changes, making sure processes are as transparent as possible, and working through new and improved systems (including a college-wide website and intranet) to ensure information is clear and easy to find. 

We will continue to work on effective shared governance, and as informed by multiple governance partners, pledge to understand and address service equity in the year ahead.

As a community, we will continue to seek wisdom through diversity of opinion and we will continue to act deliberately and collaboratively.  Our commitments to academic freedom as well as to the norms and standards of professional conduct can help reinforce our obligations to our students and each other and navigate the year ahead. As always, our identity as a Jesuit Catholic liberal arts college, which calls us to form people for and with others, will remain a special source of guidance and support.

I’d like to speak briefly about the academic strategic plan we developed together, providing some highlights and next steps. Throughout the year, we worked together to solicit, gather, and refine a wide array of your ideas and priorities for the future of this “academic powerhouse.”  We came together in a variety of venues to understand where we are and where we want to go in the years ahead. 

It was my pleasure to present some of our initial findings to the Board of Trustees last week. Once Board feedback is received and incorporated in the next several weeks, we will publish the plan and seek community feedback and iterative improvement, with our faculty governance partners, resulting in a revised and final plan presented to the Board in September. 

The preliminary framework focuses on core components of academic affairs– scholarship, teaching, faculty development, academic infrastructure–and proposes a vision for the future of the College. It also reaffirms that faculty are the power in the “academic powerhouse,” and outlines priorities that will deepen our support for the teacher-scholar model so central to our vision of the liberal arts.  

The draft plan is organized in three sections: The first: Enhancing the Academic Core outlines the priorities for the fundamental elements of our educational missions: 

• faculty size and characteristics; 
• faculty support and workload; 
• academic infrastructure; 
• support for scholarship and teaching.  

Second, Embracing Grand Challenges identifies five urgent cross-disciplinary themes for sustained encounter. Those five themes are: 

1. ethical computing and technology; 
2. inequality; 
3. climate; 
4. democracy & pluralism; 
5. Peacebuilding. 

The third section, Powering High Impact Learning,  reaffirms the commitments we cherish as an exclusively undergraduate residential liberal arts college, investing with care in the academic growth and development of our students to maximize their agency. 

Many of these priorities are NOW in place with commitments to make them a reality: 

1. The College will grow the size of the tenure-track faculty by at least 30 new lines across the disciplines by 2030.
2. We are increasing significantly the number of available faculty fellowships as well as awards and honors for faculty and staff in academic affairs, recognizing the full array of distinguished achievement  (teaching, college service, academic innovation, scholarly accomplishment). Some of which will include enhanced release time. 
3. We will also extend honors, awards, and professional development support more accessible for permanent faculty not on the tenure track.
4. We will continue to tell our story persuasively, with the goal of adding 25 new endowed professorships at all ranks, to support retention, recognition, and recruitment.
5. Programs that support scholarly research with funds, time, and skilled collaborative support will increase—and we likewise commit to ensuring that this talented and distinguished faculty gets the external recognition it richly deserves.
6. Cross-disciplinary teaching and research is especially critical at a liberal arts college, and we can and should have the agility to pursue it consistently. We already have one gift in hand designed to fund cross-disciplinary teaching and research, and will continue to support collaborative exploration among faculty teams (at and beyond 17�Թ���).
7. An academic capital plan will prioritize major new infrastructure projects so we can ensure consistency across the disciplines; we know that we have cutting edge facilities and that we have fallen behind in other areas. Bringing our studios, labs, classrooms up to a uniform and consistent standard of excellence is a must-have in the years ahead.
8. We will seek to create an endowed fund to ensure that all 17�Թ��� students have access to high-impact learning (summer opportunities, study abroad, Maymester, internship and research programs) during their time with us.
9. Finally, time. The most scarce resource for faculty. Designing and implementing new pedagogies, supporting high-impact learning opportunities for our students, and advancing scholarship– all these require depth of focus and dedicated time. Providing more time is at the top of the list of faculty priorities.

In the year ahead we will begin the process of evolving our approach to the standard teaching load. For now, let me share the vision and goals guiding the work ahead. 

Course releases should be more frequent and more easily obtained by more faculty, with transparent processes and standards that are applied equitably. We have already begun to offer a one-course release to all new first-year tenure-track faculty, and will roll out similar approaches to provide releases consistently at other significant milestones in the career— for instance, in a year with a semester of research leave, faculty should offer 2 courses rather than 3 in the other semester. 

Course releases will provide relief during heavy service appointments such as the CTP, leadership roles in curricular transformation initiatives, cross-disciplinary team teaching, and time-sensitive research. Some course releases will also be awarded through faculty recognition processes mentioned earlier. 

We have begun modeling and planning already; some of these new policies should be live as soon as Spring 2025, providing ample time for planning and assessment in the years to follow.  Measuring the impact of this program on our academic program is essential, as is data-informed advance planning.  Are students getting access to the courses and experiences they need? Are we able to deliver the kind of transformational learning experience that our students expect of an academic powerhouse? 

These changes will enable the teacher-scholar model to develop fully, will increase student access to individualized high-impact learning, will support the adoption of inclusive pedagogies, and will promote faculty wellness by reducing burnout. As we assess the impact of this approach to faculty effort over the next several years, and as we marshal the financial resources necessary, we will be better informed and prepared to move to a College-wide 2:2 standard thereafter. 

Celebration of Excellence and Commitment

Even as we look to the future, it is important that we celebrate our shared work in the present. Now, I’d like to honor our valued colleagues and friends for their contributions to creating an exceptional education and sustaining a vibrant academic community.

I’d like to acknowledge our Student Government Association co-presidents, Kevin Hamilton and Joshua Azor, for their partnership and service to the College. Thank you for joining this celebration – and thank you on behalf of the faculty and staff for your stellar work on behalf of 17�Թ��� students. In addition, I’d also like to mention that Kevin has been named as the valedictorian for the class of 2025. Congratulations!

As you know, we have three senior faculty leaders who have contributed extraordinary service to the College.

Loren Cass has been Dean of Experiential Learning and Student Success since 2017. Loren is an oracle on whom I have relied–  as have countless others all across the College. Many of you have told me about his incredible leadership and sound decisionmaking during the COVID years. He has been a source of trusted judgment and inspiring, humble leadership as Dean overseeing our student-facing programs with clarity of vision and a legendary work ethic. 

Students  and colleagues alike point out that Loren invests deeply in people—enabling their development and supporting their successes. One colleague even put their perspective into verse:  Loren, “you blaze trails for big ideas, / steer, let go, and trust, / allowing all in your orbit to shine.” Students note his supportive care for their development as whole people and his willingness to enable their goals. Loren is a model mentor whose support  has transformed their experience at 17�Թ���. As an academic leader, Loren provides a model for emulation– patient, collaborative, evidence-driven, well-informed, and flexible.  On a personal note I want to thank Loren for the grace and wisdom he has brought to our shared work this year: I’ve learned so much from him and will miss his sage counsel in the years ahead– but  Loren now looks forward to a long-delayed sabbatical. Please join me in celebrating our friend and colleague Loren Cass.

Ann Marie Leshkowich has served as Dean of Faculty since 2019, and was my immediate predecessor last year, serving as Interim Provost.  I am especially grateful to have had the chance to work closely with her during this transitional year, and want to reaffirm just how transformative her leadership in both roles has been for the College. Ann Marie’s steadfast commitment to achieving equity through fair and transparent processes and structural reforms will have a lasting impact on our culture and ways of working.  

I note as well the manner in which she led the College forward by serving as co-chair of the Recommendation Implementation Committee, helping us to sustain repair work and address the community harms of sexual misconduct.  She is a principled advocate for the faculty as well as for inclusive excellence, powering the work of institutional transformation in which we are now engaged. 

As one colleague noted, “Ann Marie is one of the most important leaders on campus. She knows how to bring people together to solve our most pressing issues, and she has a vision for 17�Թ��� that is focused on … on real equity, for both students and faculty. Her leadership… has helped us recover from one of the most difficult periods this college has encountered.” I have learned immensely from Ann Marie’s principled, persuasive, and other-oriented leadership. We will miss her expertise and good judgment in the Provost’s Office as she embarks on sabbatical. Please join me in celebrating our friend and colleague Ann Marie Leshkowich.

Madeline Vargas has been Dean of Faculty since Fall of 2021, and in that role she has been a catalyst of sweeping institutional change and a clarion voice calling us to realize fully our commitments to equity and inclusive excellence, commitments which are anchored in our justice-seeking mission. Madeline has called us to action persuasively, advancing the work of inclusive excellence in teaching around campus, inspiring numerous colleagues to rethink their pedagogy, curriculum, and mindsets with reference to evidence-based research and anti-racist practices. 

Our colleagues testify to her clarity of thinking, principled vision, her effective advocacy for faculty of color– and celebrate her  “trademark plain-spoken authenticity”—colleagues celebrate her as an inspirational leader—one colleague credits Madeline with fundamentally reshaping the path of her career as a teacher at 17�Թ���. As a leader, Madeline has launched a wide array of faculty development programs to bring us together and was a driving force in the vision and planning for the new teaching center. She combines candor with a big heart, and cares deeply about working to ensure that all people– students, faculty, and staff have the conditions in which they can thrive. 

On a personal note, Madeline has been a source of wise judgment and deep insight into the workings of our community– and I have found on very many occasions that she had the right approach to a challenging situation. It has been a pleasure to learn from and work with her– and bonus, I now know a lot more about iron respiration. She begins a sabbatical this summer to take advantage of a time-sensitive and compelling research opportunity at the University of Massachusetts. We will miss her leadership in the Provost’s Office but I know the work she has done to advance inclusive excellence at the College will grow and thrive thanks to her example. Please join me in celebrating our friend and colleague Madeline Vargas.

Transitions

This year we lost dear colleagues who served the College over many years, including Judith Chubb, Tom Doughton, and Alice Laffey. 

But most other transitions occur in the normal course of College activity, and to that end we welcome to the critical role of department chair the following colleagues, and extend our collective gratitude to  their predecessors:

Oliver De La Paz has been appointed as director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies, replacing Nadine Knight

In Chemistry, Bianca Sculimbrene has been appointed as Chair, replacing Amber Hupp.

Mary Ebbott has been appointed as Chair of Classics, replacing Aaron Seider.

In Critical Race and Ethnic Studies, Nadine Knight will serve as the inaugural department chair.

In Education, Lauren Capotosto has been appointed as Chair for one year, replacing Ericka Fisher while she is on a full-year sabbatical.

Sarah Luria has been appointed as the first chair of the department of Environmental Studies; she takes over from Program Director Justin McAlister.

In Mathematics and Computer Science, Eric Ruggieri will serve as Chair, replacing Ed Soares.

Alexis Hill will direct the program in Neuroscience while Alo Basu is on full-year sabbatical.

In Political Science, Denis Kennedy has been appointed as chair, replacing Maria Rodrigues.

Dan Frost will serve as department chair in Spanish for one year, replacing Josep Alba-Salas.

We also welcome two new Montserrat cluster directors– for the Self Cluster, Denise Schaeffer will replace Renee Beard and for the Natural World Cluster, Madigan Haley will replace Flo Anggoro.

I ask you to join me in congratulating our new chairs and directors– and offering a heartfelt thanks to our outgoing faculty leaders!

Finally, Ken Mills will begin service as Speaker of the Faculty, replacing Speaker Stephenie Chaudoir. Congratulations to Ken. My sincere thanks to Stephenie for her steadfast leadership over the past three years to advance faculty governance and her principled commitments to collaboration and progress. We benefited from her patient, forward-looking leadership; on a personal note, Stephenie, I have enjoyed working with you immensely and have learned a lot from you. Thank you and congratulations on your successful Speakership!

Retirements

Lorraine Attreed, Professor, Department of History

Lorraine had an immediate impact upon her arrival at the College in 1986. A prolific scholar and highly sought after speaker, she quickly rose up through the ranks and has served on numerous committees. A historian of Medieval England, her teaching in recent years has included Medieval England, Emerging Europe, Rise of the Christian West, War and Cinema, and Medieval Spain. Lorraine was elected a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society of England in 1995. As many can attest, Lorraine is generous with her time, talent and mentorship; and has distinguished herself as a dedicated educator and mentor to countless history students at 17�Թ���.  

Nancy Baldiga, Professor, Department of Economics and Accounting

Nancy Baldiga is a trailblazing mentor, scholar and faculty leader. She joined the College in 1991 as a lecturer in the Department of Economics and Accounting and became the first woman to serve as chair of her department.  She has taught a wide variety of Accounting courses and published research related to the impact of mentoring and sponsorship.  Nancy started the pre-business advising program at 17�Թ��� and has been a driving force in departmental and academic governance throughout her career.  She has served on every major College committee (multiple terms in many cases) and served as the Speaker of the Faculty from 2014 to 2016.  As Speaker and Class Dean for the Class of 2013, she was instrumental in improving processes that we use today. Her colleagues are proud to call her the heart of the Accounting program at 17�Թ���.

David Damiano, Professor, Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Distinguished Professor of Liberal Arts 

David is an exceptional colleague who will leave an indelible mark on our community. He joined the College in 1984 and was promoted to professor in 2012. Dave’s scholarly interests include Computational Topology and Applications, Network Neuroscience and Differential Topology and Geometry. He is an accomplished author and his service to the College is exemplary. Dave has served on almost every elected committee and served as Speaker of the Faculty from 2008-2010. He received the Arthur J. O’Leary Faculty Recognition award in 2005, the Distinguished Teaching Award in 2011, the Mary Louise Marfuggi Award for Outstanding Academic Advising in 2017 and held the Edward A O’Rorke Professorship in the Liberal Arts from 2019-2022.  

Mark Freeman, Professor, Department of Psychology, Distinguished Professor of Ethics and Society

Mark Freeman is an eminent scholar and leader who has engaged in cross-disciplinary teaching for over 38 years. Mark joined the College in 1986 with a focus on the history and philosophy of Psychology, the self, narrative psychology and psychology of art and creativity.  He has an extensive service record, having served in many significant leadership roles at the College, including Associate Dean of the College, Chair of the Psychology Department, member of the Arts Transcending Borders steering committee and Class Dean for THREE different classes. Mark was appointed as the W. Arthur Garrity, Sr. Professor in Human Nature, Ethics and Society from 2002-2006, received the College’s Distinguished Scholar Award in 2016 and was awarded the Arthur J. O’Leary Faculty Award in 2010. 

Margaret Freije, Professor, Department of Mathematics and Computer Science

As Margaret Freije often says, “it’s ALL about the students!” This saying has guided her scholarship, teaching and leadership at the College since 1986.  She is a specialist in arithmetic geometry and is a co-author with Dave Damiano of Multivariable Calculus. She taught calculus, multivariable calculus, linear algebra, abstract algebra, and in Montserrat. Margaret Freije's leadership at the College has been anchored in an unwavering commitment to Jesuit liberal arts education and profound confidence in the excellence of our faculty. From earning the Distinguished Teaching Award in 1997 to her distinguished service as Provost and Dean of the College, Margaret has consistently shaped the fabric of our institution for the better– including work that generated this remarkable building. Her dedication to academic excellence and student success has left a lasting legacy on our College community, inspiring all who have had the privilege of working alongside her. I am personally grateful for the wisdom and insight Margaret has generously shared with me, and I have benefitted from her leadership.

Thomas Gottschang, Professor, Department of Economics and Accounting

Tom Gottschang is a true colleague: offering a supportive and stabilizing force to faculty members and students who sought his advice.  He joined the College in 1979, and was promoted to professor in 2004. His research focuses on the economies of China and Vietnam, economic development, and comparative economic systems. He is co-author of the book Swallows and Settlers: The Great Migration from North China to Manchuria and has published numerous journal articles and chapters in edited volumes. He served as Speaker of the Faculty, department chair, and numerous College committees including multiple terms on both the AAC and CTP– and deserves special gratitude for working tirelessly to make the Faculty Information Manual more accurate and user-friendly. He is a source of endless wisdom and institutional knowledge, and a mentor to many students and colleagues. 

Debra O’Connor, Associate Professor, Department of Economics and Accounting

For years, students have flocked to Debra O’Connor’s accounting classes, seeking her blend of excellent teaching and real-world application. Deb worked as a professional accountant specializing in taxes for over 20 years and joined the College in 2006. Her research interests are Linear Programming, logistics, supply chain management, income tax, managerial accounting, operations research. She has served on many College committees including the AAC, CTP, and CNE. She was a long-term member of the College Committee on Mission and Identity, and has spent five years as the faculty advisor for the Alpha Sigma Nu Jesuit honors society. She is a caring teacher and mentor and who has made a lasting impact on generations of 17�Թ��� students.

Neel Smith, Professor, Department of Classics

Neel Smith’s remarkable dedication to his students is a hallmark of his time at the College. Neel joined the College as a visiting assistant professor in 1994, received tenure in 1998, and was promoted to professor in 2017.  He has taught 36 distinct courses at 17�Թ��� including courses in four languages (Latin, Greek, Lycian, and Old Persian).  Neel has served on a broad range of College committees and served as the chair of Classics from 2018 to 2021.  In 2018 he received the Mary Louise Marfuggi Faculty Award for Academic Advising. In his work with students, Neel guides on how to effectively collaborate with each other while pursuing complex digital humanities projects. The impact of his mentorship is evident in the skills, analysis and scholarship produced by his students, many of whom flourish well after their time at 17�Թ��� in Fulbright Fellowships, graduate studies, and a remarkable variety of careers.

Promotions

We will now recognize colleagues who have been promoted this year, with their new appointments effective in the new academic year.

Two colleagues have been promoted to Senior Lecturer. Let us recognize:

• Jimena Bermejo and Meaghan Deiter, both from Theatre & Dance

Please join me in congratulating colleagues on the award of tenure and promotion to the rank of Associate Professor:

• Amy Finstein, Visual Arts
• Dominic Machado, Classics
• R.B. McGee, Mathematics & Computer Science.

Colleagues who have this year been promoted to full professor are:

• Stephenie Chaudoir, Psychology
• Bridget Franco, Spanish
• Amber Hupp, Chemistry
• Vickie Langohr, Political Science
• Justin McAlister, Biology
• Sara Mitchell, Biology
• Mary Roche, Religious Studies
• Aaron Seider, Classics

Congratulations all!

Finally, joining the Provost’s Office team:

• as Dean of the Faculty, Aaron Seider 
• as Dean of Faculty Development Jumi Hayaki 
• as Dean of Education & Academic Experience,  Daniel Klinghard.

We now turn to three named faculty awards, each of which was selected by a committee that reviewed extensive nomination materials. In each of these three competitions, the pool of nominations was exceptional. All those who reviewed these materials were inspired by the breadth of excellence here at 17�Թ���, and it is no exaggeration to say that we could have easily given many awards in each of these competitions. We will begin with the Burns career teaching medal.

The Donal J. Burns ‘49 Career Teaching Medal was established in recognition of the generations of outstanding faculty members who have devoted their lifetimes to the teaching of students at 17�Թ���. The honor exemplifies the College’s commitment to teaching excellence in the education of undergraduates.

This year's Burns medalist was supported by dozens of testimonials from students, faculty and staff and was the unanimous recommendation of the selection committee. 

Our colleague creates a classroom that welcomes and encourages students, assuming that they all can grow and succeed. One former student, now a PhD candidate, describes how, true to the spirit of the liberal arts, this professor focuses on deeper issues of meaning and invests individually in students’ success. This professor’s “investment in learning how my brain was wired, how it learned best and who I was as a human [was central to my success] ….Throughout multiple personal challenges, [our colleague] was the mentor who encouraged me to not give up on my dreams of becoming a first-generation college graduate.” The Burns medalist helped another former student, in their words, “to venture outside of my comfort zone and empowered me to do the one thing that I was hesitant to do: talk. Through our regular lab meetings, I learned that science is a social enterprise and communication is key.”

Faculty colleagues describe this year’s winner as “a leader, an agent of change, and a catalyst of a cultural shift to embrace and extend inclusive excellence in teaching.”  One colleague describes the Burns medalist as investing boundless energy into projects, standing by steadfast principles, and enacting those principles through their personal example. Yet another faculty peer writes that our colleague’s teaching and advocacy for students, especially for the marginalized and historically excluded, “has been a model for us all.”

The Burns medalist’s innovative teaching and path-breaking curricular development have been fundamentally informed by pedagogical scholarship on inclusive excellence and anti-racism, but equally important has been the experience of taking- as a student– introductory STEM courses during a sabbatical. 

One former student writes, “I couldn’t help but smile as I pictured [her] sitting in the back of a physics lecture or working through a chemistry problem set before a lab meeting. Not only did this experience uniquely equip her to build and reinforce knowledge across courses, it also gave her notable insight into the current student experience.”

For her innovative teaching, principled advocacy, and curricular leadership that has shaped students, inspired colleagues, developed the program in Neuroscience, and transformed the STEM curriculum—not just at 17�Թ���, but also at many other institutions —it is my great pleasure to award this year’s Donal J. Burns Career Teaching Medal to Professor Alo Basu of the Department of Psychology and the program in Neuroscience. As customary, Professor Basu is invited to present her reflections on teaching as part of the Fall Address. I am sure we will all find that enriching and powerful. 

Congratulations Professor Basu!

The student nominations for the recipient of this year’s Mary Louise Marfuggi Award for Academic Advising speak of a mentor who demonstrates a true commitment to the wellbeing and academic success of our students.  One student commented on her “extreme dedication to her students.”  Several students noted that she would spend hours beyond her posted office hours to meet with every student who wanted to speak with her.  “She is very approachable and loves to mentor students. . . .  She was never my assigned advisor, but we always met before course enrollment, and I found myself asking for her advice on decisions I made in regards to my career.”  Student nominations express a reverence and even awe for this faculty member.  One student speaks of the nominee as the “backbone of the department and a legend in every sense of the word.”  Another notes that “she clearly embodies what it means to be a true mentor.” The nominations speak of an individual who works closely with her students to help them find academic success but also to help prepare them to excel beyond 17�Թ���.  Several of the nominations speak to her extraordinary assistance in navigating internship and job searches: “She helped me decide what [internship] would work best for me. She took the time to get resources for me [and would use] her personal connections to help me in any way she could.”  One student notes that alumni who are “audit partners at the big four firms credit her with their success.” The Marfuggi awardee exemplifies the high-impact learning so fundamental to a liberal arts education.

It is my great pleasure to announce that this year’s Mary Louise Marfuggi Award for Academic Advising is Professor Nancy Baldiga of the Department of Economics and Accounting. Congratulations Nancy!

Mary Louise Marfuggi Faculty Award for Outstanding Scholarship 

This annual award was established to honor a member of the faculty for outstanding achievement in the creation of original work in the arts and sciences. It is granted to a faculty member based on original work that might include, but not be limited to, the publication of books and/or major journal articles, the creation and exhibition of works of art, the

composition and performance of musical compositions, or other achievements of similar scholarly or creative significance. Nominations for this award considered scholarly contributions by a tenured faculty member in the period of July 1, 2022 through December 31, 2023.  

During that period, this year’s recipient of the Marfuggi award for outstanding scholarship  published a scholarly monograph, an edited collection,  and three peer-reviewed articles. This colleague’s important book won broad acclaim within the discipline, with reviewers describing it as “essential reading” as well as  “accessible while also being challenging, both in the depth of its insight and the seriousness of the problems addressed."  Recently this same monograph received a major book award from our colleague’s national disciplinary society. With two 17�Թ��� colleagues, this year’s award winner co-edited an important and wide-ranging volume of essays. Joining these impressive outputs were three scholarly articles that explore topics of broad cross-disciplinary interest including work in womanist biblical scholarship, the tainted legacies of institutions and cultural traditions, and then intersection of religion, politics, and social movements.

For her significant achievements in scholarship in Christian social ethics, public and political theologies, and feminist ethics and theologies, I am delighted  to present the Mary Louise Marfuggi Faculty Award for Outstanding Scholarship for 2023 to Professor Karen Guth of the Department of Religious Studies. Congratulations Karen!

I’d like to conclude much as I began: with my deep gratitude to all of you for your exceptional contributions, scholarship, teaching and service this year. Our program celebrates the many talented colleagues who together create an exceptional academic powerhouse. 

Please join me in one more round of applause for the year gone by and especially to celebrate our valued and accomplished colleagues.

Now, I invite you to join me in the Beehive for our celebratory reception—our students will offer a brief postlude of several minutes before we make our way to the reception space.  Thank you very much.