May 17, 2010

Contact:   Bill Giduz

Honorary degree recipient Frank E. Dimmock with his daughter, Jesse '10.

Davidson College presented diplomas to 427 members of the Class of 2010 in Commencement exercises on Sunday, May 16, under the oaks on front campus. One honorary degree was also presented.

As is tradition at Davidson, President Thomas W. Ross '72 was the only speaker for the occasion. Ross cited quotes from Davidson's three living presidents emeritus, who were all attending the ceremony, in urging graduates "Esse Quam Videri" (to be, rather than to seem).

That North Carolina state motto serves well as a life guide, Ross told the graduates. He quoted remarks by his predecessors to support the point. Samuel R. Spencer '40 said at the 1981 Commencement, "Having been a part of this community, you will know that honor and integrity can indeed be more than empty, worn-out terms; that respect for persons as persons can be more than a pretty theory."

Ross then quoted John W. Kuykendall ‘59, who said at a celebration this year of the 100th anniversary of Davidson's student-administered Honor Code, "The honor system at Davidson is intended to convince each person who submits to its discipline that she or he will be the one person most responsible for the conduct of the rest of her/his life."

Finally, President Ross quoted Robert F. Vagt 69, who said in 2006 "Davidson encourages a lifelong commitment to this thing called personal honor; and it develops and flourishes with every passing year that we are away from this place."

President Ross concluded his message by noting that, "Nothing is more important to your reputation and credibility than living with integrity and honor. It must be a lifetime commitment, and you must renew it day by day."

He closed by inviting graduates to consider the implications of Esse Quam Videri. He said, "Are you going to be a person of integrity or merely seem like one when it serves your self-interest? You must decide. Davidson has prepared you to make good choices. So now it is up to you."

The graduates represented 36 states and 10 foreign countries. 114 received Latin honors as outstanding scholars- cum laude (78) and magna cum laude (36). Their most popular majors were English (61 graduates), political science (59), history (46), economics (42), biology (39) and psychology (32).

The college presented an honorary doctor of divinity degree to Frank E. Dimmock, a Presbyterian missionary and doctor who has treated the ill in sub-Saharan Africa for the past 30 years. His daughter, Jesse, was a member of the graduating class.

"He is a practical visionary who has joined faith, intellect, and relentless compassion to strengthen communities and improve countless lives," read Dimmock's citation. A native Tarheel and 1978 N.C. State graduate, Dimmock studied public health, epidemiology and tropical medicine at Tulane University. As the first Africa Health Liaison of the Presbyterian Church (USA), he has founded and served numerous Christian health associations and networks in Africa.

One of his many achievements is development of "Health Passports." These small booklets carried by individuals contain preventative health information, as well as blank pages on which health-care providers can describe illness and record treatment. The health passports have benefitted public health efforts in Sub-Saharan Africa, reducing unnecessary tests or treatments, and giving health providers quick access to a patient's history.

The graduates departed the college with the distinction of conducting the most successful senior class gift campaign ever at Davidson. Senior class president Laura Sousa '10 announced that the class set a new record for participation in the class gift, with 99.3 percent of members making gifts to the Annual Fund that totaled $12,013. That achievement by gift drive chairs Linnea Buttermore '10 and John Edwards '10 allowed the class to claim an additional $14,000 challenge from President Ross.

Julia Ward won First Honor for the top grade point average in the class, and Baker Shogry won Second Honor.

First Honor for the highest grade point average in the class went to Julia B. Ward of Port Orange, Fla., graduated magna cum laude with a major in Spanish. Ward holds the Class of 2010 Martin-Van Every Scholarship. She studied abroad for a year in Madrid with a Hamilton College program, and was active in Dance Ensemble, Freedom Schools, the Timmy Foundation and the Ada Jenkins Community Center dental clinic. Next year she will be a Teach for America teacher in Phoenix, and she has a long-term interest in practicing medicine.

Second Honor went to Baker E.L. Shogry of Greensboro, N.C., who graduated magna cum laude with a major in economics. He served as vice president of the Student Government Association, founded the Davidson College Aviation Club, participated in club-level athletics and was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. He has secured employment with the Bain and Company management consulting firm, and will start in the Atlanta office this fall.

Hunter-Hamilton Love of Teaching Awards, the college's top teaching honor, went to Durwin R. Striplin, Associate Professor of Chemistry, and to Elizabeth Mills, Professor of English and chair of that department. Each award includes $7,500 for the recipient, and $7,500 more for the recipient to designate to a college cause. (See Striplin's citation and see Mills' citation).

Striplin, a summa cum laude graduate of Eastern New Mexico University who earned his Ph.D. at Washington State University, was described as maintaining "a well-known zeal for life that is shared with the world through a nearly permanent smile."

Current and former students who nominated him for the honor praised his ability to help students achieve, and patience in helping them both in the classroom and his office. One stated, "With him, I learned more than I ever had in such a small amount of time . . . and however hard I was working, I knew he was working harder." Striplin, who has taught at Davidson since 1996, also received the Student Government Association's 2006-07 Faculty Award.

Hunter-Hamilton Love of Teaching Award winners (l-r) Durwin Striplin and Elizabeth Mills.

In research he conducts with student assistants, Striplin is striving to discover the "holy grail" of chemistry. For the past 15 years, his research has concerned breaking down water into its component elements of hydrogen and oxygen, a process that mimics photosynthesis, and which would provide an almost limitless supply of fuel for hydrogen-burning engines.

Mills has taught at Davidson since 1985, and currently chairs the English department. She was appreciated for instilling a thirst of knowledge into students. One nominator said, "None of the students in my class brought a love of the subject to the first meeting, but we all took a love of it away from the last meeting."

She was praised for demanding high standards from students, and helping them achieve, for caring and nurturing students outside the classroom, and for extending helping relationships with students beyond their four years on campus.

Mills earned her Ph.D. from UNC, writing her dissertation on poets Emily Dickinson and A.R. Ammons. Her scholarly interests remain in American literature, particularly poetry, and all literature by women. She has taught seminars about Emily Dickinson, literature of the American South, and the development of writers Sylvia Plath, Toni Morrison, and Margaret Atwood. Mills has also been a director in the Humanities program. She won the Omicron Delta Kappa Teaching Award in 2000.

The college presented three Algernon Sydney Sullivan Awards for outstanding spiritual qualities unselfishly applied to daily living without regard to recognition. They went to townspeople Pam Stephenson and Bernice Houston, and to Katie Epstein '10. (See Stephenson's citation and see Houston's citation and see Epstein's citation.)

Algernon Sydney Sullivan winners (from top) Pam Stephenson with her husband, Bob, Bernice Houston, and Katie Epstein '10.

A life-long Davidson resident, Bernice Houston was praised for personifying the best aspirations of college and town. Known affectionately as "Mama Bunt" to many in town, she has been a leader in civil rights work, church life and civic engagement. She has supported the Ada Jenkins Center, the Child Development Center, the Pines retirement community, affordable housing organizations, and the Aging in Place Task Force. She has also been a role model for young people and gracious friend to many.

Pam Stephenson was cited for her commitment to the Davidson Community Players theatre company. She became active in the organization at a time when it seemed to be faltering, and revitalized it through the power of her warm and encouraging spirit. Her citation read, "Her gift for organizing, directing and inspiring people to work toward a common goal and her respect for each person's unique and individual offerings has attracted many townspeople and newcomers to this distinctive aspect of our community life." She was also lauded as a supportive friend to students and adults in need. One of her nominators testified, "It has never been ‘about her.' It has always been about those she served."

Graduating senior Katie Epstein has been a leader in the environmental movement at Davidson and elsewhere. She actually deferred her enrollment at the college to hike the Appalachian Trail alone. She wrote a successful proposal to the college that resulted in establishment of the Eco House, an off-campus residence where ten students live and promote an eco-friendly lifestyle. She has also served on the board of the local Farmer's Market, and wrote a senior thesis on mountain top coal removal.

Davidson is a highly selective independent liberal arts college for 1,800 students located 20 minutes north of Charlotte in Davidson, N.C. Since its establishment in 1837 by Presbyterians, the college has graduated 23 Rhodes Scholars and is consistently regarded as one of the top liberal arts colleges in the country. Through The Davidson Trust, the college became the first liberal arts institution in the nation to replace loans with grants in all financial aid packages, giving all students the opportunity to graduate debt-free. Davidson competes in NCAA athletics at the Division I level, and a longstanding Honor Code is central to student life at the college.
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