{"id":27133,"date":"2023-08-17T16:57:46","date_gmt":"2023-08-17T20:57:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/?p=27133"},"modified":"2023-08-22T14:54:41","modified_gmt":"2023-08-22T18:54:41","slug":"opening-convocation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/opening-convocation\/","title":{"rendered":"New school year launched with Opening Convocation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome by Furman University President Elizabeth Davis >><\/a><\/h4>\n

Address by Cynthia King, associate dean for diversity, equity and inclusive communities >><\/a><\/h4>\n

Address by Brent Nelsen, the Jane Fishburne Hipp Professor of Politics and International Affairs >><\/a><\/h4>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cBelieve it or not,\u201d Furman President Elizabeth Davis told more than 600 first-year students, \u201cI remember being your age.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"

Furman University President Elizabeth Davis speaks during the 2023 Opening Convocation at McAlister Auditorium.<\/p><\/div>\n

During the Opening Convocation ceremony in McAlister Auditorium, Davis recalled<\/a> her first days at Baylor University to the members of the Class of 2027, who were beginning their own first days at Furman after a weekend of orientation activities.<\/p>\n

Despite arriving in Waco, Texas, with firmly grounded beliefs, \u201cthere was a lot about the world and its people that I did not know,\u201d she told the students. Minutes before, they had entered the auditorium after the traditional procession down Furman Mall.<\/p>\n

She encouraged them to challenge their own beliefs and discuss differences of opinion with respect, \u201cengaging in a way that honors the humanity of everyone involved.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018You can do this\u2019<\/h3>\n

Meredith Ervin \u201924<\/a>, president of the Student Government Association, noted the wide range of interests and accomplishments represented by the Class of 2027.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Meredith Ervin \u201924, president of the Student Government Association, speaks during Opening Convocation at McAlister Auditorium on Monday, August 21, 2023.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cIn this room, there\u2019s so much talent, love, brilliance, athleticism and passion,\u201d she said. \u201cOur uniqueness<\/a> is what makes this family grow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ervin urged the students to reach outside their comfort zones, confident in the \u201csafety net\u201d of Furman.<\/p>\n

\u201cKnow that you are never truly alone,\u201d she said. \u201cYou are seen and heard, you are valued, you are loved. The world is a better place because you are in it. You can do this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Awards and recognitions<\/h3>\n

Beth Pontari, interim vice present for academic affairs and provost, presented awards for meritorious diversity and inclusion<\/a> to Savita Nair, the Gordon Poteat Professor of Asian Studies and History; Jocelyn Boulware Bruce \u201917, assistant director of the Center for Inclusive Communities; and Kevin Carberry \u201924.<\/p>\n

She also recognized the five members of the Class of 2024 \u2013 Julian Ashby, Jayden Hill-Mims, Lydia McCarty, James O\u2019Connor and Nicole Warren \u2013 who received $10,000 Furman Fellowships<\/a> to pursue their academic, creative and professional pathways.<\/p>\n

Dean of Faculty Jeremy Cass \u201900 congratulated seven faculty members who had been promoted to the rank of professor<\/a>: Mary Elizabeth Anderson (chemistry), Maegan Azar (theater arts), Gretchen Braun (English), Elizabeth Bouzarth (mathematics), Lane Harris (history), Stephanie Knouse (modern languages and literatures) and Eunice Rojas (modern languages and literatures).<\/p>\n

\u2018Dare to be curious\u2019<\/h3>\n

Cass then introduced speakers Cynthia King<\/a>, associate dean for diversity, equity and inclusive excellence and professor of communication studies, and Brent Nelsen<\/a>, the Jane Fishburne Hipp Professor of Politics and International Affairs. The professors will be leading a presidential initiative called \u201cOn Discourse,\u201d highlighting the courses and programs available at Furman to build the skills to engage with uncomfortable issues.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Cynthia King, associate dean for diversity, equity and inclusive communities, speaks during the 2023 Opening Convocation at McAlister Auditorium.<\/p><\/div>\n

King urged the students<\/a> to engage with differing or opposing views and \u201cbe intentional about expanding your view of the world.\u201d Paraphrasing a viral commencement speech by James Ryan<\/a>, dean of Harvard\u2019s Graduate School of Education, King posed several essential questions, beginning with a \u201cWait, what?\u201d reaction to an unfamiliar idea.<\/p>\n

\u201cConsider pushing through the \u2018Wait, what?\u2019\u201d King said, \u201cand move on to \u2018I wonder?\u2019 which is the heart of all curiosity.\u201d<\/p>\n

A wondering state of uncertainty and humility is \u201cthe perfect condition for learning,\u201d King said. \u201cLean into \u2018I wonder,\u2019 and dare to be curious.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"

Brent Nelsen, the Jane Fishburne Hipp Professor of Politics and International Affairs, speaks during the 2023 Opening Convocation at McAlister Auditorium.<\/p><\/div>\n

Open discourse<\/a> that pushes us out of our comfort zones is especially critical now, as a potentially polarizing political season approaches, Nelsen said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy can\u2019t we just find a group of like individuals in person and online and just stay in that comfortable bubble?\u201d he asked. \u201cThe short answer is that doing that is tearing our country apart. The problem with our comfort zones is that they have become alternative realities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nelsen turned to Taylor Swift \u2013 \u201cthe preeminent lyricist of the 21st century\u201d \u2013 to illustrate the importance of working through disagreements.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018You think it\u2019s funny when I\u2019m mad, mad, mad,\u2019\u201d quoted Nelsen, echoed by many in the audience, \u201c\u2018but I think that it\u2019s best if we both stay.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

The chorus of \u201cStay, Stay, Stay\u201d led to a performance of the Alma Mater by the Furman University Singers and one last wish from Davis.<\/p>\n

\u201cMay you leave here encouraged and inspired,\u201d she told the Class of 2027, \u201ccommitted to the ideals of the Furman community and to your own continual transformation.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

More than 600 members of the Class of 2027 were urged to stretch beyond their comfort zones and approach differing perspectives with respect and curiosity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":265,"featured_media":27216,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[56,53,51,31,42,50,16,32,90,27,41,30,93],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27133","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-asian-studies","category-chemistry","category-communication-studies","category-english","category-history","category-mathematics","category-modern-languages-and-literature","category-politics-and-international-affairs","category-president","category-student-life","category-theatre-arts","category-top-stories","category-womens-gender-and-sexuality-studies"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27133","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/265"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27133"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27133\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27216"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27133"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27133"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27133"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}