Convocation Welcome

Welcome everyone! I am delighted to be with you here on campus together, starting classes at last.

From its first days, members of the Vassar community have gathered to mark the opening of the school year. Beginning in 1865, and continuing for many years after that, the ceremony revolved around a sermon (!). President John Raymond, after whom Raymond House is named, delivered the first one, highlighting among other things the importance of academic inquiry across a broad curriculum.

Beginning in 1914, the format of the gatherings shifted to the modern academic Convocation we know today, complete with a parade of faculty and students in full regalia; thank you to Professor Jennifer Kennell, our Faculty Marshall, for helping us to reenact this ritual. In that early Convocation, Professor of History Lucy Maynard Salmon gave the main address, called “Going to College.” She emphasized the paradoxical nature of gaining a wider perspective on the world by separating from it for a moment, or for four years, as a college education allows. She underscored that going to college means leaving behind the secondary-school frame of mind and opening up to learning, not merely being taught. Just about every Convocation has been held in the Chapel building since it was erected in 1904—so, today you join the long academic tradition of Convocation, common to all Vassar students, when we are “called together.”

This work of coming together as a learning community is not simple, particularly at a time of enormous global tragedy, unrest, and instability. Yet, as we are shown again and again, our futures are inextricably bound to each other. And liberal arts education—which liberates the mind and opens our eyes to a broader, more nuanced perspective—can help us create community around learning, and can sustain our collective aspirations and our hope. Convocation reminds us of this underlying truth: We are in this together.

Today is the official opening of the academic year at Vassar. May the year spark your curiosity, inspire compassion, and renew our faith in the Vassar community.

—Elizabeth H. Bradley, President, Vassar College