The Class of 2016 has been sent out into the world, armed with Skidmore degrees, plenty of expert advice, and many good wishes.

On May 21, Skidmore congratulated 598 creative and critical graduates as they started their transition out into the world. The Class of 2016 heard remarks from distinguished honorary degree recipients-New York Philharmonic artist-in-residence Emanuel Ax and political activist and songwriter Bernice Johnson Reagon-as well as a faculty farewell from Skidmore political scientist Kate Graney and words of wisdom from President Philip A. Glotzbach, trustee chair Linda Toohey, alumni association president Sibyl Waterman Haley '71, and senior-class president Miles Calzini '16.

Members of the Class of 2016 reflect on their four years as students. produced and edited by Dorothea Trufelman '16, co-produced and filmed by Sam Mark '16. Music composed and performed by Joey Colvin '16. Animated by Spencer Greenberg '18. The class of 2016 celebrated the week before commencement with exciting Senior Week activities, including Sip and Celebrate on Porter Plaza, Honors Convocation, and Senior BBQ at Scribner House.

Emanuel Ax 

President Glotzbach awarded a doctor of letters degree to Grammy-winning classical pianist Emanuel Ax. President Glotzbach introduced Ax as "inspiring and wildly honored concert pianist you have modeled the virtues of artistic integrity and accomplishment, along with those of collaboration and caring. Caring for the music you perform, for your fellow performers, and for younger and inspiring artists." Instead of the traditional speech, Ax performed Schubert impromptu, op. 142, no. 2 on the piano.
by Franz Schubert.

Born in Poland and growing up in Canada, Ax moved to New York City, where, he told Limelight Magazine, he was lucky to study with piano teachers who were expert at "making kids feel that something is fun and serious at the same time." He recalled that from the age of 12, "I haunted Carnegie Hall and listened to . . . pretty much all the great pianists of the time." The gifted young musician pursued training at the Juilliard School under Mieczyslaw Munz. In 1970 he received a B.A. in French at Columbia University.

I'm deeply honored to now be part of the Skidmore family and I thought I could express my thanks through a far better person - so I'd like to play a little Schubert for you.

His distinguished career has taken him all over the globe, playing with the world's leading orchestras and at top venues, presenting music by such diverse figures as Sir Michael Tippett, Hans Werner Henze, and Paul Hindemith; premiering new works by the likes of John Adams, Bright Sheng, and Melinda Wagner; and interpreting traditional composers from Mozart to Chopin. For decades, Ax's main duo recital partner has been cellist Yo-Yo Ma, whom he met when both were students at Juilliard. He has also recorded trios with Ma and violinist Itzhak Perlman, partnered with Jaime Laredo, Isaac Stern, and Richard Stoltzman, and recorded two-piano music with Yefim Bronfman. His recordings with such partners garnered chamber-music Grammy Awards in 1986, 1987, 1992, 1993, and 1996, and his Haydn piano-sonata series earned him an instrumental-soloist Grammy in 1995 and again in 2004.

In 2004-05 Ax contributed to a BBC documentary on the Holocaust that earned an International Emmy Award. In 2007 he earned an Award of Excellence as a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

A close friend of the late financier, arts and education philanthropist, and Skidmore trustee Arthur Zankel, Ax in 2010 headlined the formal dedication of the Arthur Zankel Music Center with a preconcert talk, solo recital, and performance with the Skidmore College Orchestra.  

 

 

Bernice Johnson Reagon 

Awarded a degree of doctor of letters, MacArthur-winning activist, scholar, and musician Bernice Johnson Reagon was introduced by Amon Emeka, Assistant Professor of Sociology and Opportunity Program Faculty Fellow, who noted that "as a sustaining voice of social justice for more than four decades, [Reagon] showed us that staying true to our loftiest ideals is not incompatible with success in this life."

In 1961, as a student leader in the Albany, Ga., civil-rights movement, she was expelled from Albany State College. In 1962 she joined the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and performed as a member of the SNCC Freedom Singers organized by Cordell Reagon.

While earning her bachelors degree at Spelman University, during the Black Power Movement, she founded the Harambee Singers. In 1973 she founded the internationally acclaimed vocal ensemble Sweet Honey in the Rock, which she led for 30 years.

You will find yourself as you move forward - and in the same place that wounds you, you can stay and find a healing if you are willing to take it upon yourself.

Paralleling her work in music, Reagon is a leading authority on African American cultural history. In 1974 she was appointed a cultural historian in music at the Smithsonian Institution. Reagon was also a consultant, producer, composer, and performer on several award-winning film projects, notably PBS's Eyes on the Prize (1987) and The Civil War (1990), as well as the NPR production Wade in the Water (1994).

She is a recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, a Heinz Award in the arts and humanities, and a Charles E. Frankel Prize, presented at the White House by President Bill Clinton, for contributions to the public understanding of humanities.

In 2004, upon retiring from Sweet Honey in the Rock, Reagon used the word "songtalker" to describe "what I do and who I am when I rise as singer/orator/poet: I rise with communication in mind, a dialogue, weaving talk and song into an offering to those who gather in the sound of my voice."

Bernice Johnson Reagon and her daughter Toshi Reagon were Skidmore's McCormack Visiting Artist-Scholars in Residence in 2015.

 

Kate Graney 

Selected by the graduating class as their faculty speaker, Russia political scholar Kate Graney conveyed "a deep and sincere wish that each of you will take with you from Skidmore not just the ability to achieve what you want in life, but the wisdom and the discernment and habits of mind and heart to think deeply, slowly, and meaningfully about what you want in life and why you want it."

Associate professor of government and director of the gender studies program, Graney has been a Skidmore faculty member since 1999. A scholar of multiculturalism, religion, gender and federalism in Russia and the former Soviet states, Graney has shared her work in professional academic meetings and as book chapters and articles in Dilemmas of Diversity After the Cold War, Journal of Strategic Studies, and many other publications. She is the author of two books, Of Khans and Kremlins: Tatarstan and the Future of Ethnofederalism in Russia (2009) and Re-Orienting Europe: Europeanization in Russia and the Former Soviet Union (forthcoming).

I can guarantee you that each of your faculty who are gathered here today, like myself, has a deep and sincere wish that each of you will take with you from Skidmore not just the ability to achieve what you want in life, but the wisdom and the discernment and habits of mind and heart to think deeply, slowly, and meaningfully about what you want in life and why you want it.

Her scholarship has been supported by grants from the International Research Exchange Board and the Social Science Research Council; in 1994–95 she was a MacArthur Foundation Scholar for the Study of Peace and Security in a Changing World.

Graney has taught courses ranging from Eastern European politics and the United Nations to gender in international relations and human rights. She has also given presentations for students on the honor code and alcohol use, and spoken on "Feminist Research Strategies and Stories," "Global Implications of the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks," and other topics. In the Saratoga Springs region she has offered public talks on Russia after Putin and multicultural issues in Russia.

Looking back on 2013:

• The Harlem Shake sweeps the nation.
• Pope Francis is elected.
• Boston Marathon bombings occur.
• Geico's HUMP DAY commercial becomes popular.
• Nelson Mandela dies.

Student Speakers

Calzini said his hometown in Vermont has "one stoplight, and our trash is picked up by a team of horses and a wagon every Friday." He compared the village to the tight-knit Skidmore community, which he said was now "another place to call home." He urged his classmates to "appreciate the homes you build while you're still building them. Open yourself up and let the feeling rush in; smile at a stranger, speak your truth even when it terrifies you, look up at the sky every morning and think about what your purpose is."

Bennett, who expressed gratitude for a funded summer internship as well as his close work with faculty, staff, and students as a leader in the Student Government Association, shared results from the Senior Gift campaign: 84% of seniors contributed a total of $4,390. As Lin explained, "Multiple scholarships are funded by combining contributions of less than $100 every year. So, yes, every dollar goes a long way and yes, it means a lot." This year's senior class gift will help support diversity at Skidmore. The graduates also gave to support scholarships, financial aid, sustainability and athletics.

After graduation, Bennett will attend law school at the University of Chicago, Calzini will stay in the Albany area, and Lin is heading off to Bangalore, India to intern for the Concerned for Working Children (CWC) with the support of the Megan McAdams Community Service Award. CWC is an NGO dedicated to advocating for the agency of children and the rights of child workers.

Looking back on 2014:

• Winter Olympics held in Sochi.
• Jay Leno hosts his final episode of The Tonight Show.
• Malaysa Air flight 370 goes missing.
• The Ice Bucket Challenge goes viral.
• Robin Williams dies.

The Ceremony and Celebration

At the ceremony, attendees also heard from Linda G. Toohey, Skidmore Board of Trustees Chair, President Philip A. Glotzbach, and Sibyl Waterman Haley '71, President of the Alumni Association. 

In welcoming the new class of graduates, President Glotzbach said "Your own personal journeys will be shaped, in part, by larger social forces that act upon all of us. In fact, your generation already has been forging new relations to society and to one another in a time when traditional social structures are themselves in considerable flux." Glotzbach shared with the class the unique attributes of the class of 2016, noting the effect on social media and connections made in a virtual space.

 

Toohey extended the trustees' congratulations and urged the graduates to "remember and recognize that some small portion of your success may have come from the strong connections you have made" with faculty, friends, community service and clubs, athletics, and "yes, even those evenings spent on Caroline Street."

Through your energy and hard work and the education and life experiences you have allowed yourself to achieve and absorb at Skidmore, we know you are prepared to take on the challenges that are presented to you the moment you leave the campus, for the rest of your life.

- Linda Toohey, Board of Trustees Chair

As president of Skidmore's alumni association, Sibyl Waterman Haley '71 warmly welcomed its newest members. She advised the grads to savor the moment, use and enjoy their Skidmore connections, and help other students access the same opportunities: "Slow down. Come back. Give back. You won't be sorry."

After the speeches, the handing out of degrees, and the camera flashes, the brand-new grads marched out of the amphitheater between rows of applauding professors and into the arms of proud family members.

 

Congratulations, class of 2016!

The class of 2016 spent the day celebrating, recording memories, and reflecting on their time at Skidmore as they prepare to leave campus. Visit the photo gallery, video highlight reel, speech highlights, and explore what our senior class plans to do as they spread across the globe!

 

Photo credit: Charlie Samuels, Andy Camp and Eric Jenks '08