Community of Scots converges for start of 156th academic year at Wooster Convocation

The College of Wooster convened its 156th academic year with its annual Convocation Ceremony on Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025, also honoring the start of senior year for the Class of 2026. Speakers representing faculty, staff, and leaders from the graduating class expressed the significance of Wooster’s Community of Scots, knowledge gained and shared, and purpose in the year ahead.

Calling the gathered College community together in the invocation, Chan Sok Park, associate professor of religious studies, said, “Grant that we may listen for unexpected harmony among histories and sciences, philosophies and arts. Awaken us to discover new constellations of words, ideas, and practices that help life flourish in a world, aching with pain and suffering, yet alive with joy, resilience, and promise.”

In her convocation address, President Anne McCall emphasized the value in the way the people at Wooster commit to each other and converge in a shared foundation: “Our success lies in a culture that values curiosity, humility, and the conviction that everyone in our community has intrinsic worth, and that everyone can and should learn something from everyone else, even and perhaps especially those with whom we disagree about ideas, beliefs, or issues of the day.”

As they embark on the year ahead, McCall recognized that students, faculty, and staff  “embrace the pursuit of knowledge in all things,” amid the new, unfamiliar, or controversial. “May we fully realize the challenge of perpetually becoming a community of Independent Minds, Working Together,” she said, “a community that rejects the illusion of fragmentation, so that we see our destiny as one with that of our classmates, our community, and our world.”

Representing the faculty, Daren Kendall, associate professor of art and art history, encouraged the community to “find people who offer a glimpse into the world.” “The richer the perspective shared, the richer the view,” he added. “In collaboration, enriching each other, the pleasure of learning together will create new bonds and friendships that endure.” Building from similar ideas, Phil Olsen, manager of grounds, encouraged the audience to learn from all the members of the community around them. “I want to encourage you to also learn from the people you might not expect,” he said, noting the 2,800 trees on campus and the many teams and crews of people supporting the College in various ways. “Every one of them has something to teach you, about work, about resilience, about community.”

Senior student leaders addressed the College community and their classmates by acknowledging what they have learned already in their time at Wooster and what they see ahead in their next steps. “This year is vital for us; it is a time of practice,” said Flynn Cowie ’26, president of Scot Council. “We have been taught the importance of kindness, collaboration, and the profound value of diversity, not just as an idea or arbitrary number to be filled by an institution but as a lived reality that enriches our thinking and perspectives.” Edith-Michelle Aboa ’26, resident assistant and a student leader added, “Wooster hasn’t just prepared us to finish strong here. It has prepared us to step into the world with precision, passion, and with resilience.”

As dean of faculty, Sarah Sobeck recognized the achievements of faculty returning from leave and who achieved tenure and promotion this year. The following faculty were promoted to associate professor with tenure: Rebecca Garonzik, Spanish; Christopher Kang, English; Daren Kendall, art and art history; Colby Long, mathematics; Sara Martin, chemistry; and Rebecca Williams, biology. Those promoted to professor include Michele Leiby, political science and Jeremy Rapport, religious studies.

The fall semester classes began at the College on Wednesday, Aug. 20. See more from the ceremony at wooster.edu/convocation.

Posted in Homepage Featured, News on August 21, 2025.