News

One of Vassar’s oldest traditions—gathering together for Convocation—resumed for the first time in 747 days on September 22. On a beautiful fall day on Commencement Hill, the campus community celebrated the start of the fall semester. President Elizabeth Bradley’s summed up the occasion succinctly: “I’m so thrilled to be with all of you—on campus, together, at last!”

Two days before the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, a top editor from the Wall Street Journal traded observations with student journalists and media experts about the evolving ethics of news photography at a forum at the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center.

Fifteen Vassar students were enrolled for 10 weeks this summer in the College’s Community Fellows program under the auspices of the Office of Community-Engaged Learning (OCEL). Now in its 23rd year, the program matches students’ skills and interests with the needs of not-for-profit and government agencies. Each of the students is paid a stipend by the College.

Students enrolled in this year’s Creative Arts Across Disciplines (CAAD) summer program collaborated with faculty, administrators and alums to explore designs for Vassar art work spaces.

What was the social and economic impact of a 2008 immigration law that led to numerous deportations? A Ford Scholar and Associate Professor of Economics Sarah Pearlman spent the summer looking for answers.

Two graduates of the Class of 2021 and seven other students have been honored for making substantial contributions to the community during the past year at Vassar. The students were named recipients of the 2021 Helen Miringoff Prizes.

Professor of Biology Mark Schlessman and two of his students spent part of the summer at local herbaria, helping to ensure that scientists from all over the world can study plant species that have been growing in the region for the past 150 years.

More than 60 incoming first-year students took part in this year’s Summer Immersions in the Liberal Arts program, hosted virtually by Vassar’s Engaged Pluralism Initiative.

In a seminar co-taught by History Professor Robert Brigham and President Elizabeth Bradley, students had their work analyzed by real-world experts.