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Hagman & Morella Join Commencement Celebrations
It was a day of family, farewells and new beginnings, as 206 undergraduates sat under shade trees on the college campus they had come to call home. Flags fluttered in the breeze, moms craned their necks for a glimpse of their graduates, and the speeches offered up to the Class of 2002 had humor and the ring of truth.
Among the honored guests were Rep. Constance A. Morella (R-Md.), who offered the keynote address, and actor Larry Hagman, whose niece, Devon DeMeritt, was among the graduates. The chaplain, Lt. Michael Pumphrey of the Chaplain Corps, was an uncle and godfather to graduating senior Sean Pumphrey. Katherine Kolacki, a major in English and drama, gave the senior address.
"We've learned a lot over the past four years," Kolacki said. "We learned which professors inspire, and which professors challenge. We've learned that Maintenance can be our best friend and that all-nighters are sometimes the best way to get things done. But most importantly, we've learned about ourselves. We've learned about the person we thought we were, the person that we are, and the person we want to become.
"Despite the different roads we will travel, we all leave here today confident in the knowledge that we have done something. We have experienced something. We are going to leave today and we are going to do great things. We are going to love. We are going to laugh. We are going to live."
Larry Hagman, receiving an honorary doctor of fine arts degree, offered proof that living and laughing are what it's all about. The actor best known for his role as J. R. Ewing on Dallas has found a new lease on life since undergoing a liver transplant in 1996, and has recently published a book of memoirs, Hello, Darlin!, that demonstrates truth is often funnier than fiction.
"I'm so happy to be graduating in the same class as my niece Mary Devon DeMeritt," Hagman said. "It has taken her eight years to get her diploma; my nephew Matt Weir took six years at six colleges to get his. I am a little slower. It has taken 53 years to get mine. And we all got our degrees from Washington College. It shows that my family has a great deal of tenacity and that Washington College has a great deal of patience. It is a great honor to have this Doctor of Arts degree bestowed on me. I worked hard for it! Not in the halls of academia, but in the studios of Hollywood and the heat of Dallas in the summer."
Hagman recalled his short-lived experience at Bard College and early years in regional theatre, playing small parts and building sets. He had been in 50 musicals by the time he was 19 years old. After a four-year stint in the U.S. Air Force, Hagman worked in New York, acting on stage and in the daytime soaps. He got his first break after he moved to California, landing a television show, I Dream of Jeannie. In 1977, he became the character America most loved to hate on a show called Dallas. The series ran for 13 seasons; a record-breaking 380 million viewers saw the "Who Shot J.R.?" episode.
"Luck has a great deal to play in a person's career," Hagman said. "But when you are lucky enough to get that break, you had better be ready for it."
This was Hagman's second visit to Washington College, where in 1997 he helped establish a drama scholarship in memory of his mother, the late Mary Martin of Peter Pan fame.
Congresswoman Connie Morella received the honorary doctor of public service degree in recognition of her contributions in advancing science and technology, and her initiatives in public education, women's issues and environmental stewardship.
"Today's wisest leaders understand that advances in science and technology shape and profoundly influence every facet of our society and consider the quality of mathematics and science teaching in our nation to be of pivotal significance," College President John Toll said in awarding her the honorary degree. " Few have been as devoted to this crisis in education as Connie Morella. The National Commission on Mathematics and Science Teaching for the 21st Century, on which she serves, has called for radical changes in our national educational system. If we fail to address the need for high-quality science teachers in the classrooms, our children will fall short in meeting the challenges of a new era in American history defined by rapid economic globalization and the explosion of information-based technologies."
Congresswoman Morella has been equally committed to developing a skilled workforce, he said, sponsoring legislation to create the Commission on the Advancement of Women and Minorities in Science, Engineering and Technology Development. "This Commission is developing policies to address their under-representation in the sciences and in the new technology-driven economy. As a member of the Technology Subcommittee she led initiatives to promote technology transfer from our federal laboratories to encourage the creation of government-university-industry partnerships, to enhance the role of our federal laboratories, and to provide rewards and incentives for the scientists who work there. As a senior member of the Science Committee, she supported legislation that has doubled the National Institutes of Health science budget over the last five years. The human genome project, new cancer therapies, and new studies in bioengineering and genetics are just some of the recent advances emanating from NIH."
Among other awards presented during Commencement ceremonies were the George Washington Medal, awarded to biology and drama major Jordan Yelinek and the Gold Pentagon Awards, presented to community volunteer organizer Gia Grier '02 and to P. David Knowles '72, retiring director of dining services. The Sophie Kerr Prize for literary endeavors, worth $65,522 this year, went to Sarah Blackman, an English major who graduated second in her class.
Alumni Citations were given to Elizabeth Thibodeau '36 and to Terumi Kohwi-Shigematsu '71. Anne Burris, a close friend of the ailing Betty Thibodeau, accepted the citation for excellence in public service in her stead. Kohwi-Shigematsu traveled from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California to accept her citation for excellence in scientific research.
As a senior scientist at the Berkeley Lab, Dr. Kohwi-Shigematsu is investigating the activity of certain proteins in cancerous cells. Her laboratory has isolated these DNA binding proteins and defined their roles in cell growth and cell death. This work, which includes over 45 published papers, is shedding light on how normal cells become cancerous and how scientists can develop better tools for early detection and prevention of breast cancer and other types of cancer. Her pioneering research, undertaken with significant financial support from the National Cancer Institute and the National Institute of General Medical Science, also may provide clues to cancer therapies.
In accepting the citation, Kohwi-Shigematsu thanked her chemistry professors at Washington College who first trained her as a scientist. "Here, students are hand-raised by faculty, and I was no exception."
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