Tessa Hamann
Contributing Writer
The first week back at Sewanee following winter break came with the delight of a snowy campus and the uncertainty of in-person events taking place as planned. Despite frozen sidewalks and freezing temperatures, inductees, family members, and members of the Order of the Gown filed into All Saints Chapel on Friday, January 19 for Winter Convocation.
Photo courtesy of The University of the South
Uncertainty regarding the event taking place was still rampant Friday morning. Classes were canceled after one day of in-person instruction and many other university events were canceled or postponed. An email that afternoon from Acting Provost Scott Wilson confirmed there would be an alternative gowning ceremony for those students and families who couldn’t make it, but the event would occur as scheduled.
The beginning of a new tradition made this year’s Winter Convocation particularly special. As Vice Chancellor Rob Pearigen took to the podium to address the congregation, he announced that, going forward, the winter convocation speaker would be a faculty member. “If anything can be guaranteed at this university, it’s that a faculty member can be identified whose teaching, scholarship, service, and mentorship are outstanding, who would be worthy of selection as a convocation speaker, and whose words will enrich the lives of all who hear them,” Pearigen said. He proceeded to introduce the faculty speaker: Dr. Stephanie McCarter.
Dr. McCarter is a professor of classical languages and the recipient of Sewanee’s 2023 Faculty Excellence in Scholarship award. She’s been a faculty member since 2008, after receiving her Ph.D. from the University of Virginia a year prior. She focused her speech on the three driving forces of her work and “why they are central to the mission of the liberal arts.” The first is how her translation work of ancient texts helps her understand the present. The second is to frame the past in a way that is accessible to everyone. McCarter’s third driving force is “to delve into the ancient past and to usher it to the present through scholarly study or creative pursuits is ultimately an act of curiosity.” In her speech, she emphasized her passion for learning and how she wishes the classics and similar fields were more accessible. To students preparing to be gowned, McCarter delivered a final message: “Go take a course about a time, place, or people completely unfamiliar to you. Open yourself up to the possibility that it might spark your curiosity and creativity in ways you did not expect.”
After Dr. McCarter’s speech, Sofie Behr (C ’24), the Order of the Gown President, spoke about what the gown means to her. Behr emphasized that the gown is not only a representation of hard work but also community membership. To wear a gown in Sewanee is to be “someone who shows up,” she said, then calling the names of the new inductees. The choir followed the gowning with the Alma Mater. Excited cheers and applause rang throughout the chapel as the new inductees hugged their friends and family members before taking photos and braving the cold to head back to their dorms, out to eat, or to McClurg, celebrating this accomplishment however they chose.