Opening Ceremonies

Sept. 9, 2003

President Mark D. Gearan

Opening Remarks

Members of the Board of Trustees; honored guests; assembled students, faculty and staff, alumni, alumnae, Geneva neighbors and other friends – on behalf of Hobart and William Smith Colleges, I welcome you to campus on this very special evening. As the Chaplain said, we have so much to celebrate today – our distinguished guests, an impressive new academic building and the excitement of welcoming the newest members of our campus community, the Classes of 2007.

Of course, we extend a very special welcome to Dr. Loretta C. Ford, whom we honor as the 33rd recipient of the Elizabeth Blackwell Award. Dr. Ford spent the afternoon in the classroom with students and faculty, and we are so pleased that she was able to share her experiences with us. It was a tremendous experience for all who were in attendance. Thank you, Dr. Ford. Welcome.

We are honored to have members of the Board of Trustees with us this evening. The Trustees provide critical leadership and counsel to the Colleges and I would like to thank them for their unfailing commitment to Hobart and William Smith.

We are also honored to have with us today former president of the Colleges Carroll Brewster, as well as former dean of Hobart and current president of Wagner College Richard Guarasci, as well as our Trustee, the president of Hartwick College, Richard Miller.

This year marks the first year of an exciting new scholarship at Hobart and William Smith – the Elizabeth Blackwell Scholarship. This scholarship allows its recipients guaranteed admission to Syracuse University’s Upstate Medical Center College after four years of study here. May I ask Kathryn Parrinello and Brandon Carmack, from the Classes of 2007 and the first recipients of the Elizabeth Blackwell Scholarship to please stand and be recognized?

Before we begin the ‘official’ portion of these opening ceremonies, I’d like to take a moment to acknowledge the many student organizations who are represented today. Please make yourselves known to the rest of the audience — they've made banners that greeted us as we came in here: Geneva Heroes, Make A Wish, Pride Alliance, and others.

Remarks in Dedication of Stern Hall

This evening, the Colleges have the great fortune to celebrate another milestone – the opening of Stern Hall.

The Colleges' new academic building, Stern Hall, is named in honor of Judge Herbert J. Stern's generosity and dedication to these Colleges.

The new academic building you see here provides 27,000 square feet of space and is the largest expansion of academic space for the social sciences in the history of the Colleges.

The academic commons, large classroom and lab, seminar rooms, classrooms, research room and Asian studies language lab, offices for more than 40 faculty members, a faculty lounge, campus life research room and multi-purpose lounge all serve as testimony to the value and importance of a liberal arts education.

We are incredibly grateful to the many generous benefactors of Stern Hall. Shakespeare once said, “Action is eloquence.” You have all shown your eloquence beautifully by your dedication to Hobart and William Smith and to this building. I am indeed privileged to introduce to you the many distinguished and generous donors that have made this building possible. As I introduce you, I invite you to gather in front of the Stern Hall doors.

Donors in attendance today include:

Judge Herbert Stern ’58, LL.D. ’74, P’03, lead donor.
Roy Dexheimer ’55
Classes of 1952 — representatives — Tom Melly and Rod Ross
Classes of 1963 — representative — Charlie Salisbury and Hank Holden
Michael Gantcher ’92
John Marsellus, who is representing his father, the late John Marsellus LL.D. ’68
Jane Shepard Ritter ’48
Barbara Tornow ’65
And Maureen Collins Zupan ’72

Donors who were not able attend tonight include:

The Alden Trust
Bruce Bensley ’51
Mr. and Mrs. Richard Freeman and The Bessette Foundation – in memory of Lauren Bessette ’86
Allison Morrow ’76
Art Stein ’36
Sally and the late Bill ’45 Moody
Peter Resnick – ’94
John Ross ’66
And Beth Yingling ’75

And we remember those Donors for whom gifts were made in their memory:

Janet Brenner Dreyfus ’42
Ruth Keevil ’29
And Ella Russ McCann ’35