pH.D. and M.A. Candidates | Thursday, May 11

 
PLEASE BE SEATED

Good afternoon, everyone.  My name is Alain-Philippe Durand, and it is my privilege to serve as the Dorrance Dean of the College of Humanities. I want to offer you a very warm welcome to the May 2023 College of Humanities Graduate Convocation and Hooding Ceremony. 

We respectfully acknowledge the University of Arizona is on the land and territories of Indigenous peoples. Today, Arizona is home to 22 federally recognized tribes, with Tucson being home to the O’odham and the Yaqui. Committed to diversity and inclusion, the University strives to build sustainable relationships with sovereign Native Nations and Indigenous communities through education offerings, partnerships, and community service.

Please note that the ceremony today is being live streamed. Your family and friends can watch us now at humanities.arizona.edu/live. All graduates will receive an email with a link to the video recording and it will be available on our YouTube channel next week. 

In addition, thanks to our National Center for Interpretation, a Spanish translation of today’s speech is available. Please scan the QR code in your program.

¡Buenos días! Me llamo Alain-Philippe Durand y es un privilegio ser el Decano de Dorrance de la Facultad de Humanidades.  Quiero aprovechar esta oportunidad para darles la bienvenida a nuestra celebración de Convocatoria de mayo de 2023.  

Tengan en cuenta que la ceremonia está siendo transmitida en vivo hoy.  Su familia y amigos pueden vernos en  humanities.arizona.edu/live. Todos los graduandos recibirán un correo electrónico con la grabación en video y estará disponible en nuestro canal de YouTube la próxima semana. 

Además, gracias a nuestro Centro Nacional para la Interpretación, el discurso de hoy está traducido al español y disponible en su programa. Busque a uno de los miembros de nuestro personal para obtener una copia si todavía no tiene una.  

The purpose of this afternoon’s ceremony is to recognize all of our graduating Ph.D. and Masters of Arts students who were available to attend. We will call each graduate up individually to be hooded and to receive a College of Humanities medallion. To my left is Vice Dean Kim Jones, who will be assisting me today. 

University of Arizona President Robert Robbins is the only one who actually confers degrees. We are here to enhance that celebration.  We are honored to call each graduate by name and congratulate you personally.

So students, your hard work may be done, but you won’t officially graduate until the main University of Arizona commencement, which will take place at Arizona Stadium at 7:30 tomorrow evening. Everyone is of course welcome at that event, so we hope you will attend. The graduates especially are asked to arrive well in advance of 7:30, so please do check the commencement website for important instructions. 

At this point, I would like to take a moment to acknowledge the many faculty members, department heads, advisors, and staff who are present today. Each of these people has played an important role in helping our soon-to-be graduates reach their goals. Would all of you please stand? Our students are up here thanks of course to their own very hard work, but also thanks to all of the work that you do.

Now I would also like to acknowledge some of the most important people here--your family, friends, and classmates. Please stand if you are able to and let us give you a very well-deserved round of applause for your support of your graduating friends and family members.

Next, I would like to recognize a very special Graduate Assistant in Teaching from the College of Humanities. Could Ramón César Méndez please come to the stage?
Out of a very impressive group of nominees, Ramón César Méndez was chosen to receive the 2023 College of Humanities Graduate Assistant in Teaching Award. He is a Ph.D. candidate in Hispanic Literatures and Cultures and as an instructor, he has taught in the Basic Language Program, the Heritage Language Program, the Online Program, as well as self-designed, upper-division literature courses. 

To quote from a letter of nomination by Dr. Monica Morales, “His research, teaching, and interests show great potential and leadership skills in articulating community through literature and critical activity.” 

Also writing in support of the nomination, Dr. Faith Harden said “César's teaching exemplifies the power of the humanities to illuminate the connections across disciplines and the beauty to be found in different modes of knowledge production. Through his tireless support and mentorship of his students, César has made an outstanding impact on the undergraduates of the College of Humanities.” 

Finally, one of his former students, Paloma Valencia, wrote that “His mentorship has had a profound impact on my life, and I feel incredibly grateful for the opportunity to learn from him. I will always cherish the knowledge, skills, and values that he has imparted to me, and I know that they will continue to serve me well as I move forward in my academic and professional endeavors.” 

Congratulations! 

All of the students we celebrate today are graduating with advanced degrees in the humanities. For years of graduate study, they have focused their attention on one or more aspects of language, literature, and culture—sometimes from the perspective of a single discipline, and sometimes using a combination of two or more disciplines to achieve a deeper understanding of whatever aspect of being human it is that fascinates them.

They have of course attended many hours of classes. They have spent even more hours outside of class reading, writing, and talking with each other and with their faculty members about subjects they care deeply about. Most of them have also taught undergraduates and have begun to learn about the joy of passing on their own knowledge of a particular subject, and their passion for that subject.

Graduates, I hope and I trust that you have found your studies and your teaching worthwhile. Both professionally and personally, most of us find ourselves on multiple different paths over the course of a lifetime. No matter what paths you follow in the future, I know that, through your studies, you have learned and practiced valuable skills. In addition to the knowledge you have gained in your specific area of study, you have also gained a more general understanding of how to approach issues and find solutions—how to gather relevant information, how to analyze that information critically, how to think creatively to solve problems, and how to communicate your thinking and your proposed solutions clearly to others. You may find yourselves using those skills to grapple directly and ever more deeply with some of the same topics you have explored during your time with us. You are also sure to find yourselves using your skills and your perspectives to tackle new topics and new problems. 

I hope you have come to have confidence in your own ability to persevere with integrity through difficulties in pursuit of a goal that you have set for yourself. Graduate study is never an easy undertaking, and you are to be commended for making it to this point. I know that you will all continue to contribute to knowledge and understanding in many different contexts, both professional and personal. I trust that you will continue to explore, and also to help those around you explore, what it means to be human in the world. And I hope that in everything you do, you continue to ask yourself how you will make a difference in the world using your unique set of knowledge and skills.

Please accept my warmest congratulations on your accomplishments so far. We all wish you well as you move forward from today on to the next path that you are following. Please keep in touch with us in the future, and send us updates about your fabulous lives! Like those who graduated before you, you now become potential mentors, advisors, donors, and models to follow for our current students, so we love to hear what you are up to!

Speaking of future paths, your very next path will be across this stage, as we recognize our PhDs and MAs.  Before you come on stage, please drape your hood across your left arm. Dr. Jones will read your name and let us know who is hooding you.  You and the faculty member who will hood you will come to the center of the stage. Please hand your hood to your professor, who will then place it over your head, symbolically accepting you into our community of scholars.  Families and friends—you are invited to take pictures from the center aisle. We have plenty of time, and we’ll wait until you have all the pictures you want. Please don’t feel any need to hurry. Once you have taken your pictures, please return to your seat to make room for the next set of photographers. Graduates, after you have received your hood and medallion and had your picture taken, please return to your seats as well. 

We will also have plenty of time after the ceremony for additional pictures with family, friends, and faculty. 
   
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Thank you all for being here, and for joining us in this celebration. Please join us in the Rincon Room for light refreshments.  And once again, please accept my heartfelt congratulations on behalf of all of us in the College of Humanities.