OG EQB Chair, Izzie Berthelot, and the Dean of Students office hosted a Student Leader Challenges Roundtable discussion with a sample group of Sewanee's various student leaders and administrators. Students and administrators gathered and shared barriers that they have faced in their role that has hindered their ability to execute their duties and brainstormed ways to work better together and eliminate these barriers. Themes were identified across barriers. The group identified that more regular "roundtable" discussions with administrators and student leaders would allow for more cohesive work throughout the year and provide an outlet to gather communication information for administrators for project collaboration. Students also identified a need for leadership and public relations training. OG has been working with SGA and the Dean of Students office to prepare a leadership training retreat in March as well as a succession training retreat after elections in late April. This succession of knowledge addresses communication that provides for long-term structure and consistency within councils and organizations. In the roundtable, students also voiced a need for an appeal/feedback outlet for administrative decisions and OG and SGA are working with administration to find a proper outlet for this, as well as implement more proactive opportunities for student collaboration.
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Winter Convocation
On Friday, January 20th, 2023, the University held its annual Winter Convocation ceremonies, where three distinguished professionals received their honorary degrees, and just under 100 students were inducted into the Order of the Gown!
There were a few neat things about this convocation. For one, the OG rolled out the official Order of the Gown Gown! This gown has the names of (most) every OG president since the 1890s! The previous president, Alexis McKnight, began research on this project last year, and I continued her work this year before having the gown embroidered with the initials of every OGP we could track down! There are still a few missing, but we are still working on tracking them down. It is my hope that every future OGP will add their own name and their own touches to this gown just as they will with the Order itself.
The three degree recipients were Dr. James E.K. Hildreth, Vice Chancellor Emeritus Dr. John McCardell, and Mrs. Bonnie McCardell. Dr. Hildreth is the president of Meharry Medical College, the oldest historically black medical school in the South. Dr. Hildreth’s remarks highlighted the necessity of academic open mindedness and curiosity among other things. Mrs. Bonnie McCardell is a noted community leader in the Sewanee and South Cumberland areas, and Dr. McCardell served as Vice Chancellor from 2010-2020. Funny enough, when it came to the part of the ceremony when Vice Chancellor Berner spoke in Latin while conferring the honorary degree, Dr. McCardell started to walk away before being redirected to Dr. Berner. He quietly exclaimed that he should have known better (considering he did the ceremony every year for ten years!). When Dr. Berner began reciting Latin, Dr. McCardell began saying the words back to her at the same time! It reminded me of the spider man meme where they are all pointing back at each-other.
Beyond that, it was a great Convocation! I was excited to welcome all these new folks to the Order of the Gown! My brief remarks highlighted all our duty moving forward in this era of newness for the University. We have a duty to work towards a better University of tomorrow that highlights the values, traditions, and spirit we wish to embody.
Congratulations to everyone! I am excited about a terrific upcoming Easter Semester!
YSR & EQB
Alex
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