Convocation ushers in a new academic year and a new president

President Elizabeth Kiss presided over her first Convocation ceremony as the College formally kicked off its 231st academic year Tuesday afternoon in Memorial Chapel.

Kiss, who assumed the presidency July 1, officially welcomed the approximately 470 members of the Class of 2029. Selected from more than 9,500 applicants, the students hail from 29 states and 25 countries. The class includes 23 percent first-generation students.

“I am happy and honored to be a first-year alongside all of you,” Kiss told the new class.

Kiss touched on the strengths that make Union unique, including its distinctive combination of humanities, social sciences, natural sciences and engineering. She also invoked the longstanding refrain of Union developing every student to lead with wisdom, empathy and courage.

That statement spoke to her soul and led, in part, to Kiss seeking the presidency of Union.

“As an educator committed to the value of a liberal arts education, I believe we are called upon not only to impart knowledge and develop skills, but also to cultivate wisdom, empathy and courage in our students and ourselves,” she said. “It is these virtues and values which will enable you to build a better world whatever you end up doing, through good and bad times. I am excited to be joining Union and leaning in to this important and compelling mission in everything we do.”

She touched on the challenges facing higher education, especially the intense political pressure and in some cases vitriolic attack of campuses.

Yet, Kiss said, “American higher education, while far from perfect, is one of this country’s greatest assets and a powerful catalyst for innovation and social mobility. It’s why U.S. colleges and universities have attracted so many students from around the world who are keen to study here, and who in turn have made such great contributions to our campuses and our society.”

She expressed confidence that, just like other challenges faced by the College in its long and storied history, including world wars and most recently, a global pandemic, Union will weather any challenges placed in its path.

“We will do it by leaning into what makes Union, Union,” she said. “Our DNA from our founding is about bringing people together across boundaries and creating an inclusive community of teaching and learning. That original commitment to be cross-denominational, a radical idea in the late 18th century, has expanded into embracing and supporting students of diverse religious faiths or none, of different racial and ethnic backgrounds, and of diverse views and viewpoints.”

She cited Union’s curricular innovations of the 19th century -- to teach natural sciences, modern languages and engineering, and said it now informs the College’s efforts to help students combine and integrate disciplines and experiences, both within and beyond the classroom. Those efforts, she said, prepare students to lead and thrive in a world being reshaped by powerful new technological tools and global challenges.

“Those integrative experiences are what will prepare our graduates to lead with wisdom, empathy and courage whatever the world throws at them,” she said.

Also at Convocation, Michele Angrist, the Stephen J. and Diane K. Ciesinski Dean of Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs, presented the winners of the College’s top faculty awards.

Chad Rogers, associate professor of psychology, received the Stillman Prize for Faculty Excellence in Teaching. Rogers teaches courses in Introductory Psychology, Psychology of Language and Cognitive Neuroscience.

In nominating Rogers for the award, Angrist shared that one student said simply, “He is the best professor ever.” Rogers works to optimize students’ learning via his clarity, availability, ability to provoke thought, and efforts to keep students engaged – including via pop culture references.

Another student described Rogers’ “vibrant energy, his ability to engage, his passion and excitement about the material, and his encouragement of deep learning.”

Angrist said departmental colleagues praised Rogers’ enthusiasm; his attention to inclusion and his ability to connect with students; his intentionality with respect to course design, utilization of technology, and evidence-based teaching and assessment practices; and his broad and deep scholarly skillset, which his students benefit from.

Rogers joined Union in 2018.

Bunkong Tuon, professor of English, received the Stillman Prize for Faculty Excellence in Research. He focuses his research on Asian American literature, trauma studies, refugee studies and translation studies.

Angrist said Tuon writes poems, stories and personal essays that establish space for Cambodian American literature while investigating the subjects of war, trauma, migration, identity, home and family.

She noted that he has been extraordinarily productive over the past three years, publishing a novel, a poetry chapbook, more than a dozen individual poems, and two essays. The novel – his first – was published in 2024. “Koan Khmer” tells the story of a boy who comes to the U.S. from Cambodia fleeing genocide.

In 2024, Tuon received a Pushcart Prize for his poem, “What Is Left,” a piece about ghosts, trauma, language, and violence.

One departmental colleague wrote that they were “spellbound” by Tuon’s output, Angrist said. They noted his wide-ranging ability to move between different writing genres, stating, “This is an exceptional and outstanding output of writing that is, in the case of the creative work, beautifully and skillfully wrought, and, in the case of the scholarly, astute and critically adept.”

Tuon joined Union in 2008.

Both faculty prizes were created by Abbott Stillman ‘69, David I. Stillman ’72 and Allan Stillman in honor of their father and grandfather, Abraham Stillman.

Paisley Parmenter ’27 was presented with the Music Department Convocation Prize by Jennifer Matsue, professor of music and chair of the department. A biomedical engineering major, Parmenter displayed her vocal prowess with a powerful performance of “Quando me'n vo” from Giacomo Puccini's 1896 opera La bohème. She was accompanied by Akina Yura, affiliate artist in the Music Department.

Angrist also recognized the students who made the Dean’s List last year. They will be honored at a reception during Homecoming and Family Weekend.

Convocation opened with remarks from Stacie Raucci, College Marshal and the Frank Bailey Professor of Classics; Julie Swidler ‘79, chair of the Board of Trustees; Kristina Striegnitz, associate professor of computer science and chair of the Faculty Executive Committee; and Kassandra Smeltzer ’26, Student Forum president.

Fall term classes begin Wednesday, Sept. 3.