The Class of 2014 entered the chapel first followed by the Class of 2011 in cap and gown, marking the opening of the seniors’ final academic year and the countdown toward commencement in May. The College faculty in full academic regalia and the platform party, including Marjorie Hass, 15th president of the college, completed the procession. Hunt Tooley, professor of history, is the college marshal. 

The traditional event included the official presentation by Registrar Tex Ruegg of the incoming freshman class. Mike Imhoff, vice president for Academic Affairs and dean of the faculty, spoke to students of the academic opportunities ahead.

“The academic challenges you will face in your learning over the next four years should empower you with skills of critical thinking and stimulate an attitude of intellectual curiosity. Our faculty continually works at being better teachers and looks for ways to challenge you intellectually and stretch you without necessarily overwhelming you,” he said. “However, ‘learning’ implies a mutual understanding between you and each of your professors — that you will meet them half way and earn their respect by working hard. The teaching/learning enterprise is based on a relationship of trust and commitment. Absolutely central to this is the practice of academic honesty.”

All freshmen sign an Academic Integrity pledge and Class of 2014 forms were presented to President Hass by student body president Carolyn Stone, a senior from Carrollton, Texas. Imhoff then declared the class officially matriculated and ready to begin classes.  

Others taking part in the program were Nan Davis, vice president for Institutional Enrollment, and Jordan Rose, a senior from Frisco, Texas. The A Cappella Choir, directed by Wayne Crannell, presented several choral numbers.  

Austin College Board of Trustees chair Robert Johnson of McLean, Virginia, presented the Class of 2014 banner. Freshmen Lindsay Taylor of Boerne, Texas, and Kelsey Jennings of Katy, Texas, accepted the banner of behalf of the class. Lindsay has at least 14 Austin College alumni in her family and was the legacy representative. Kelsey was the student to pay the deposit to reserve space in the Class of 2014. 

Johnson also introduced President Hass before she delivered the convocation address, “The Power of Translation: Teaching and Learning at Austin College.”  

“We look ready to re-make our community,” Dr. Hass said in welcome. “We welcome each of you and look forward to the difference you will make here.”  

She continued her remarks, referencing the “captured moments” of influential photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson and the energy of individual passion discovered and creativity expressed. “For each of us, our capacity to make our creative mark lies in our own unique idiom, the specific way our passion for the world finds its proper expression,” she said. “Let it well up within you and imagine the multiple ways it might find translation into a language.”   

Chaplain John Williams closed the evening with a charge and benediction: “Act like beloved people, because it really is what you really are.” 

Following the convocation, members of the Class of 2011 met at the President’s home for a celebratory toast to the year ahead.  

Austin College is a leading national independent liberal arts college located north of Dallas in Sherman, Texas. Founded in 1849, making it the oldest institution of higher education in Texas operating under original charter and name, the college is related by covenant to the Presbyterian Church (USA). Recognized nationally for academic excellence in the areas of international education, pre-professional training, and leadership studies, Austin College is one of 40 schools profiled in Loren Pope’s influential book Colleges that Change Lives.