McDaniel College holds Commencement ceremony for Class of 2020

A year after they were supposed to cross the stage, the McDaniel College Class of 2020 was invited back to the Hill on Saturday, May 22, for a special Commencement ceremony honoring 325 bachelor’s and 230 master’s graduates. The 555 graduates, who were honored last spring with a virtual celebration due to the COVID-19 pandemic, were welcomed back to campus for their hard-earned day in the spotlight.

President Roger Casey was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters during the 2020 Commencement Ceremony

Otto Gunther and Roger Casey — LTG (R) and Board Chair Guenther received a plaque during the ceremony

President Roger N. Casey promised the Class of 2020 last year that the college would celebrate them in person at a later date. The ninth president of the college, Casey will retire on May 31 as one of the longest-serving college presidents in the state of Maryland.

Breaking from tradition to meet health and safety protocols, the ceremony was held outside at Kenneth R. Gill Stadium. However, several other traditions were upheld, including the ringing of Old Main bell to signal the official closing of their time on the Hill. Each member of the Class of 2020 rang the same bell as first-year students to symbolize the beginning of their college career, and received a commemorative bell at their homes in 2020 for a virtual bell ringing ceremony.

At the ceremony, Lieutenant General (retired) Otto Guenther, chair of the McDaniel College Board of Trustees, announced that Tina Bjarekull, president emerita of the Maryland Independent College and University Association, was presented with an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters at the Board’s annual meeting last weekend. She was honored for her tireless work to ensure access to quality education as “the name, the face, and the voice of private higher education in Maryland.”

LTG (R) and Board Chair Guenther received a plaque during the ceremony commemorating a new ROTC award in his honor that was unveiled at the May 21 Commissioning. The Lieutenant General (R) Otto Guenther Leadership Award will be presented annually to the commissioning cadet who best exemplifies the character, morals and leadership and lifelong dedication demonstrated by Guenther both to the United States Army and to his alma mater, McDaniel College. The inaugural award at the May 21 ceremony was presented to 2LT Cameron Victor St Andre of Westminster, Md.

“These incredible initiatives led to the college welcoming the largest and most diverse first-year classes in its history over the past two years, Roger, your extraordinary work has opened the doors for many first-generation and well-deserving students. It has been a privilege to have you serve as McDaniel’s ninth president and an even greater honor to know you.”

Lieutenant General (retired) Otto Guenther, chair of the McDaniel College Board of Trustees

A Master's degree candidate receives the ceremonial hooding.

In thanks and acknowledgment of his 11 years as president of the college, the Board of Trustees also awarded Casey with an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters and, in keeping with tradition, he served as the Commencement speaker for the Class of 2020.

Guenther presented the degree to Casey, who he described as “champion of the liberal arts and chief storyteller for McDaniel College.” Praising the recognition McDaniel has received over Casey’s tenure as president, Guenther recounted the college’s inclusion on lists including The Princeton Review, U.S. News & World Report, Washington Monthly, Forbes, and Money Magazine.

“Roger, you have truly established yourself as an icon of higher education,” Guenther said. “You have helped secure McDaniel’s place in the spotlight through your work on the national scene as Chair of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, Board member of the American Council on Education, and membership with the Maryland Independent College and University Association, where you served as Chair from 2015 – 2019.”

Guenther also thanked Casey for his leadership in the creation of the Center for Experience and Opportunity, Global Fellows, and the construction and renovations of Gill Stadium, Englar Dining Hall, WMC Alumni Hall, the Roj Student Center, McTeer-Zepp Plaza, Gill Physical Education Learning Center, Hoover Library, and five residence halls. Casey’s presidency also saw the creation of the Educator’s, Military, and Alumni Legacy scholarships and the Dorsey Scholars Program.

“These incredible initiatives led to the college welcoming the largest and most diverse first-year classes in its history over the past two years,” Guenther said. “Roger, your extraordinary work has opened the doors for many first-generation and well-deserving students. It has been a privilege to have you serve as McDaniel’s ninth president and an even greater honor to know you.”

As Casey took the podium to address the Class of 2020, he expressed his heartfelt thanks for the honor. “Equal to the accolade of receiving an honorary doctorate, and in all honesty, greater than the degree itself, is the ability to now call myself an alumnus of McDaniel College,” Casey said. “I’m one of you now, Class of ’20. Thank you.

“So most importantly: do I get to ring the bell? Where’s the party tonight? Now I can finally prove with an official piece of paper that ‘I am McDaniel College.’”

The president went on to provide three pieces of paradoxical leadership advice to the graduates, saying that, “In the 21st century, you cannot function effectively as a leader in a diverse society unless you can hold opposing ideas in your mind simultaneously.”

Casey’s three pieces of advice: “Make a plan, and at the right point, throw it away; take care of your me so that you can do good for the we; and quest for truth so you can bear witness to a world needing the light.”

He concluded his remarks by thanking the Class of 2020 for what they have taught the community. “McDaniel has learned so much from knowing you. Our world has so much to gain from your lives ahead,” Casey said. “It has been an honor serving you as your president. Me. We. I am McDaniel. We are McDaniel. In the words of our Latin motto: ‘I call you out of darkness into light!’ Go shine brightly.”

The Class of 2020 represented 10 countries and 25 states and the District of Columbia, and completed their studies in 50 degree programs. There were 54 graduates who completed double majors and graduates ranged in age from 18 to 63 years old. Among the graduates, there were 26 College Scholars, three Dorsey Scholars, and 11 Global Fellows. The Class of 2020 participated in study abroad trips to 22 countries over their time at McDaniel.

The Class of 2020 undergraduate and graduate award winners were recognized at the ceremony.: Nicolette Brookman ’20, an English major with a Secondary Education minor from Sykesville, Maryland, received both top academic awards — The Argonaut Award for highest GPA of 4.0 in her entire completed course of study and The Edith Farr Ridington Writing Award for the best paper among those submitted by the various departments.; Veronica Johns ’19, M.S. ’20 of Baltimore, who earned a bachelor’s in Spanish and master’s in Teaching, was honored with The Mary Ward Lewis Prize, awarded to the woman of the graduating class who has made the best record during her undergraduate course. Ravi Patel ’20, a Political Science and Spanish major from San Diego, Reno, and Mexico City, was awarded The Bates Prize for the most outstanding male graduating senior.; The Joan Develin Coley Award for Excellence in Education for earning the best record as a graduate student in the study of literacy theory and practice was awarded to Sarah Grace Watcher, who earned a master’s degree in Reading Specialist: Literacy Leadership.; The B. Jill Brooks Hodge Professional Development Award, presented to a graduate student who demonstrated academic excellence with a strong compassion for individuals with special needs and an interest in serving the Deaf or disabled, was awarded to Claire Frances Roberts, who earned a master’s degree in Deaf Education.
The 2020 faculty award winners were also acknowledged for their commitments to teaching, scholarship, research, and service.: The 2020 Ira G. Zepp Distinguished Teaching Award honoree was Richard Smith ’00, associate professor of Sociology. The 2020 Ira G. Zepp Teaching Enhancement Grant was given to Chloe Irla ’07, assistant professor of Art. The Shelton Adjunct Faculty Award for Teaching Excellence honored Alana Murray, adjunct lecturer in the Equity and Excellence in Education Graduate Certificate program in Graduate and Professional Studies.