 for the daily blessings which sustain our lives and make our work and learn. Today, as we honor faculty who have dedicated their lives to the crafts of teaching, research and mentoring, we give thanks for the abundant knowledge present in this chapel and for our collective advances in wisdom and understanding. May this day be filled with rejoicing, wonder and gratitude. Especially welcome to this honors convocation, families, friends of our students, faculty who have taught them, administrators who have helped to guide them. In academic institution, this is one of the most important weekends of our year. It's a time when we can highlight and specifically recognize the academic accomplishments and the leadership shown by our students. For most of the year, the incredible teaching, learning and scholarship that happens in classes across this campus does not necessarily have public expression. During the year, our students are also leading and serving in incredible ways outside the classroom that benefit our campus and our broader community. Today, we are lifting up that work and honoring our most outstanding students. Faculty, I thank you for your work this year and every year in educating and inspiring our students because we know that their accomplishments are closely linked to the guidance you provide every day. Your passion and commitment to teaching are the foundation of this college and friends. I'm so pleased that you are here today to help us celebrate the learning and the leadership that truly is the foundation of the mission of this institution. And let's applaud with gusto, as gusties should do. And finally, students, my pride and joy, congratulations on your work and your achievements. This sets you up for the rest of your life. And remember that fully embracing and committing yourself to excellence will carry you through all your days. And now it is my distinct pleasure to introduce Dr. Greg Castor, who will provide this morning's special address. Dr. Castor is Professor in our History Department and has been a member of the Gustavus Faculty since 1986. Last year, he received the Edgar M. Carlson Award for Distinguished Teaching, and this is the college's highest honor for teaching. Dr. Castor teaches courses in American history with a special emphasis in his scholarship on the Civil War, slavery and abolitionism, masculinity and dissent. He is passionate about having students explore events and people in history, so they may gain a deeper appreciation and understanding of present day issues. Students value his classroom and his teaching as he masterfully creates informed and energetic discussion of the course materials. Dr. Castor embodies what is special about a liberal arts college that is having our students participate in engaging class discussions with passion, with a passionate and knowledgeable, deeply knowledgeable faculty member. So please now join me in welcoming Dr. Greg Castor. Honor is due. Assembled students on this occasion, you might reasonably assume these words are directed at you. In fact, they were the title of an 1865 editorial in the Boston Daily EV Voice, the leading publication of the hero's working mitts movement centered in the northern industrializing United States. As the title suggests, that movement was concerned not only with hours and wages or the terms of work, but also with the standing overpute of labor itself. The paper's editors and readers knew all too well, felt all too keenly, that for all the talk of labor's dignity, manual labor and those who performed it were widely held in contempt, were denied, that is, the honor due though, so the argument went, as the heroic source of all will. For labor activists, in other words, workers' exploitation was at once economic and cultural, and the two they believed were tightly intertwined. As the editorial's title also suggests, the problem for labor activists was not simply that labor was denied, the honor it was due, but also that honor was perversely bestowed on those who deserved it least, or not at all. And thus, even as labor movement language demanded honor from manual work and workers, it denounced those who exploited or shown both. My all-time favorite example of this denunciation is a sarcastically funny poem titled The Fault, Think Foolish Conceded and Extremely Vain Guy, printed in a Philadelphia work in its paper in 1829. The poem, the anonymous author explained, quote, was occasioned by hearing a contemptible cox column or fob ridicule some honest mechanics, and mechanic was the word used for skilled working. Thou worthless fob, thou useless fool, thou shame of humankind, despise the handler of a rule, and to thy folly mind. Shall the mechanic worthy man be ridiculed by you, being made to fill up nature's plan, but which he hardly do? Had not thy father had a purse, or some exertion's tried, to some almshouse, you'd been accursed, or on some dumb he'll die. Cease then, thou vainer, than the air, to spear at solid worth, since it is known to all that you are the most useless thing on earth. Every time I read this, I think I should send it to Bernie Sanders who lives with Bernie Sanders. As historian and part-time songwriter Ben Monroe Miranda has so cleverly evoked in the ten dual-commandment song in his musical Hamilton, and you knew I would go there, honor also played an important and times-deadly role in the politics of the early republic. As real historian, full-time Yale professor and Hamilton fan Joann Freeman, has detailed in her wonderful book Affairs of Honor, The Burr Hamilton Duel, is only the most famous of any such affairs from that period. Honor loomed large as well in the antebellum of pre-Civil War slaveholding South. Historian Kenneth Greenberg has wonderfully illuminated how for Southern white men of honor, one's public reputation was all-important, and how therefore as, quote, the part of the face that preceded a man as moved in the world, end quote, a man's nose was the all-important organ of honor. As a result, Greenberg argues pre-Foreign and Southern white gentlemen thought a lot and even dreamt about their noses. In this historical context, and for her historical context, it's key, why history can never really repeat itself, these gentlemen, these Southern slaveholders also, strangers still to us, pulled one another's noses and often or tweaked their noses. Nose-pulling was a way for one Southern gentleman to impute the honor of another, to call him a liar, thereby very likely leading to a duel. Greenberg recounts a long forgotten incident in which U.S. Naval Lieutenant and Perse Robert Grant Hall from Virginia, having been dismissed and disgraced for alleged embezzlement, plotted and executed to presidential nose-pulling against the president who had dismissed him. It was 1833, and the president in question was Andrew Jackson, whose nose Randolph assaulted on board a docked ship where Jackson was meeting visitors. The always even tempered Jackson, I'm kidding, right? Jackson leapt to his feet, ready to kill his sail and down the spot. Randolph however got away and though he was subsequently apprehended, Jackson never brought charges since in the culture of Southern honor, the duel, not the law, was the only proper way for a gentleman to avenge one's dishonoring. That duel never occurred, and Jackson always denied his nose had been pulled, thundering when the wife of a cabinet member teasingly reminded him of it, quote, no, my eternal god, madam, no man, no man ever pulled my nose. As you may already have detected for both white men and meshed in Southern honor and white workers, activists, in the industrializing force, honor was intimately bound up with their constructed manliness and whiteness, even if in different ways and for different ends. Honor in these contexts in short was both gendered and racialized and thus had powerfully shaped collective identities while simultaneously demarcating group boundaries. Not only does honor have a history, a history both ancient and global, like U.S. focus here notwithstanding, so also does honor's day at Gustavus have a history. For example, in a page one article on May 11th, 1951, the Gustavian Weekly reported, quote, in the past honor's day has been merely a recognition during chapel of honored students, but there has been felt, and we can guess by whom, there has been felt a need for more emphasis on the scholastic life here on campus. I just can't imagine the way. This year will be the first time an outside speaker has appeared to give the honor address and the first time that the academic procession has been held other than at commencement, end quote. The ceremonies will be on Thursday, May 17th at 9.40 a.m. in the Field House, outsider Charles Turp, president of Faraway McAllister College, was invited speaker and radio time had been reserved to broadcast it. Obviously, as this day suggests, honor in some capacities however attenuated is with us still. For example, in addition to their honors day, schools have honor codes. We refer to judges as your honor, and some of us, myself included believe it or not, have sworn the scout oath that begins on my honor. I should note that for a host of reasons, the scouts and I were rather a bad fit. For one thing it was the 1960s and the organization was not exactly at the leading edge of the year as Bergen and Ruth revolt, parts of which like nonconformity and questioning authority I embraced at least philosophically if not practice. Indeed my joining was involuntary, in other words my parents made me, a fit that if memory serves I sought to avoid or at least post home by running away honorably of course from home. And since I'm honorable, I'll be honest, I really what I did is I walked briskly to a nearby tree, climbed it and from that presumably safe perch stubbornly argued with my dad who was driven up in a family car, perhaps the better to chase me should I make a real run for it. What to make of all of the foregoing? Honor like everything including seemingly timeless things like death and taxes and even the very study of history itself has a history. Understanding the history of honor or anything else demands historical thinking. Precisely what my department colleagues and I are professionally trained experts in and love to practice and teach. As I hope my remarks here have already suggested historical thinking is not about accumulating or memorizing name states and other facts from or about the past to be sure those are important some more so than others. By themselves however they are not history. Rather history must be made and remade by historians and history students through repeated acts of historical thinking skilled and imaginative acts aided ideally by some luck aimed at finding evidence from the past and making meaning out of it to bring us as imperfectly close to a particular past as possible in the present. Like most things worth doing thinking historically is exhilarating if also quite challenging. It is even disheartening at times as we historians repeatedly encounter comforting myth and its close cousin heritage masquerading this history as well as hostility in some places worse as we expose counterfeit collective pasts that serve to empower some at the expense of others in the present. And yes the hard work of historical thinking is most definitely worth doing. Indeed it along with all the liberal arts is essential and never more so than in the present perilous though not entirely unprecedented historical moment a moment of virulent and digitally viral nativism, white supremacy, Islamophobia, antisemitism, misogyny and homophobia as well as extreme social inequality potentially catastrophic climate change and outright contempt for and worse indifference to democracy learning expertise and truth. Without historical thinking we are even more susceptible to lazy thinking and spurious claims about the past and present. Without historical thinking we cannot help individually and collectively who we are, where we have been, how we came to be, who what and where we are, where we might be going and whether and how we might change course should be not like our current direction. Thinking historically is essential too because it tempers hope with realism and it inflects realism with hope. Moreover all of us are inescapably part of history so observe the stave as president John Candlelet opened the convocation of my first semester as a newly hired history instructor in 1986. His words thrilled me reassured me and they conveyed a profound truth whether or not we know our knowledge of that truth. As a slide on the flat screen near our history office is in Beck Hall, named by the way for Gustavus Alums and benefactors Warren and Donna Beck who majored in history and our history respectfully. As a slide for asserts quote history a trend that never goes out of style. And now I conclude where I began though this time dear students the words are indeed directed to you happily and proudly so honor to honor students. Professor Castor for your humorous and reflective comments. We are gathered here today to recognize the accomplishments of our students. As a whole the Gustavus student body consists of individuals who are in the top academic tier among all college students in this country and among the 2200 Gustavus students the students that we are recognizing today are the Gustavus elite. Students on behalf of the faculty I thank you for your commitment to your academic pursuits and commend you for all of your accomplishments. We know that for many students the support that they receive from their family and friends is critical to their success. I would also like to take this moment to extend a special welcome to your parents and other family members and friends. You honor our outstanding Gustavus students by your presence here today. However we also know that some students become so focused on their life at Gustavus that they may not offer their gratitude to family and friends who support their academic career. Thus we have started a tradition of appreciation at this convocation. Students I now invite you to take this moment to extend your own words of thanks to your family and friends for the ways that they support you as a student at Gustavus. If you do not have family here and have your phone with you take this time to send a quick text and refer to it as I recognize this first group of students we want to honor today are those who have been invited to join Phi Beta Kappa. Students who accept their nomination will be honored at a separate ceremony to be held later next week. To assist me with this recognition I ask Professor Elizabeth Jenner to come forward. Student nominees please come and line up across the front of the chancel with Professor Jenner. When all have come forward we will congratulate you collectively with our applause. Those students inducted as seniors Maripaz Alvarez Toscato Adam J. Bakken Daniel O. Barnes Connor C. Cox Naughty Dan Megan and Gustafson Anthony L. Gomez Chase O. Johnson Christian J. Martinez Chacelyn C. Miller Logan M. Morey L. Meyer R. Olinger Matthew J. Oren Haley L. Hessek Carl D. Satterlund Annika L. Schroeder Jack S. Schugel Alex H. Senju K. Singh Emma M. Thompson Naughty Min Alissa M. Welley Damian A. Wimpleman And those students who are being inducted as juniors Greta C. Dupesloth Brianna D. Joel Emma R. Jones Patrick C. Meadows Carly D. Miller Nicole C. Falls Katelyn M. E. I invite all of you to recognize these outstanding students who have received academic recognition from other national or state organizations. A special thanks goes out to Pamela Kittleson, Professor of Biology and Fellowship's coordinator who has guided many of these students through the application interview and selection process for these awards. Students, as I call your name, please come forward to be greeted by Dr. Kittleson, then line up across the chancel so that we can recognize you collectively with our applause. These award descriptions are found on pages seven and eight in your program. We start with the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship Award. We have three Gustavus nominees and one awardee for this prestigious national scholarship. Please hold your applause until all four students have been introduced. Abby Trout has been awarded a Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship for 2019. Abby is a biochemistry and molecular biology major who marvels at how four nucleotides encode all the biological information on earth. She started research as a first year student in Dr. Scott Burr's lab. She also worked in a lab last summer at the University of Illinois. In her application, Abby wrote persuasively about how the liberal arts, especially music, provided her with important perspectives in the research lab. This summer she is part of the RNA Bioscience Initiative summer internship program at the University of Colorado Denver. Ezekiel Haugen is a Barry M. Goldwater nominee. To date, Ezekiel has diverse experiences trapping and identifying ions with Dr. Jesse Patrika, analyzing reverse phase liquid chromatography columns with Dr. Dwight Stoll, and pursuing research related to ultrasonic fields with Dr. Tom Huber, and he is still only a junior physics major. After graduation, Ezek wants to pursue biomedical engineering specifically to invent new technologies that will enhance disease diagnoses. Ezek also extels as a scholar-athlete on the Gustavus Men's Tennis team. Goldwater nominee Hailey Moran cannot attend this morning, yet I wish to share a bit about her. Hailey has done research with doctors Brandy Russell and Scott Burr at Gustavus and at the Mayo Clinic, where her love of troubleshooting instrumentation and methodology led to the creation of a new vitamin K1 assay. This summer she will do research at the University of Minnesota, pertaining to regenerative medicine for congenital heart defects and muscular dystrophies. Hailey's future interest remains focused on biomedical research, and she may pursue an MD-PhD degree. Our final Goldwater nominee is Shelby Klump. Shelby has conducted research with Gustavus professor Dr. Chuck Neideriter, building a high altitude balloon to detect muons produced by cosmic rays. She has also conducted research at the University of Utah fabricating nanoparticles, and she will conduct one this summer at the University of California Davis, where she will work in a particle physics lab. Shelby encourages other girls to pursue physics, aiming to increase the percentage of women exploring the physical universe beyond 20%. In addition to her Goldwater nomination, Shelby has also been awarded our next award, the Rossing Physics Scholarship. Please join me in celebrating our Barry M. Goldwater Award and nominees and our Rossing Physics Scholar. Thank you students. We now recognize a nominee and a recipient of the Swedish Council of America Awards. We have two students being recognized. Please hold your applause until both students come forward. First, Carl Satterland is the nominee for the Swedish Council of America Glenn T. Seaborg Science Scholarship. Carl has maintained a stellar academic record as a senior physics and Scandinavian studies double major. In the past, he won a Swedish Council of America Language Award and studied away in Sweden. Carl's mentors speak highly of his strong interpersonal competencies, specifically his curiosity, graciousness, and desire to make genuine connections with different people. Next year, Carl will pursue a graduate degree at Arizona State University in electrical engineering, where he will study power electronics and solid state devices with the goal of working in renewable energy. Next, we honor Elizabeth Johnson as the recipient of the Swedish Council of America Language Award. Lisa is a political science and Scandinavian studies double major who will use the Swedish Council of America Language Award to study away in a program titled Public Health and Migration in Sweden. Drawing from her own family history and stories of Swedish immigrants, she heard as part of a Swedish American performance group, Lisa will pursue research related to immigration, specifically contrasting US and Swedish policies and how lifestyle and culture can connect to the well-being of immigrants. Congratulations Carl and Lisa. Next, we will recognize three nominees for national awards or scholarships. Thomas Schumann is the Gustavus nominee for the George T. and Emma Tourism Scholarship. Thomas is a biology major who will attend medical school next fall with the support of the US Navy's Health Professions Scholarship Program. Thomas's interests in medicine are broad now, but during his naval commission he may focus on orthopedic injuries, oncology, or neurological diseases. At Gustavus, Thomas has embodied service with integrity. He has been a counselor at Royal Family Kids Mankato, the big partner to an elementary school boy, and a coach for children. He balances excellence in academics while being a member of the swim team, serving as a teaching assistant in biology and volunteering in hospitals and clinics. Next, we honor Kristin Eggler as the recipient of the Donald G. Patterson Award. Kristin is a senior honors psychological science major and management minor. Her honors research project focuses on how motivational factors improve creativity and performance. Outside of the classroom, she is a member of the Chapel Choir and Sigma Sigma Sigma Sorority. She has also served as a collegiate fellow residence hall advisor and a Nobel conference speaker host. She plans to pursue a career in research and consulting with the goal of helping organizations build healthy work cultures. Our next honoree is Nathaniel Williamson, who is a nominee for the Boren Award. Nate is a junior Russian and Eastern European Studies major with minors in philosophy and military science. Nate applied to study in Latvia due to his interest in national security issues, specifically interactions among the Baltic states, Russia, and the U.S. Nate teaches and mentors other cadets as part of the Army ROTC Maverick Battalion. This summer, he will participate in training at Fort Knox. Next year, he will graduate as a second lieutenant with an intention to work on national security issues related to Eastern Europe or Russia. Congratulations, Thomas, Kristen, and Nate. The next awards are the nominees for the Udall undergraduate scholarships in the environment. We have four nominees for this scholarship award. Nominees, please come forward as I read your name, and please hold your applause until all four students are recognized. Rachel Belvedere is a junior environmental studies and geography double major. She is co-president of the Environmental Action Coalition, the EAC, and is a member of the President's Environmental Sustainability Council. She helped co-found the EAC, which is focused on action related to environmental issues. She has been particularly focused on reducing waste to zero. Her ultimate goal is to advocate for agricultural systems that aim to minimize carbon emissions, pollution, and maximize rural livelihoods. To that end, Rachel will be working with a firm in Minneapolis this summer, where she will learn how nonprofits can improve organizational strategies to expand their impact on the communities they serve. Sydney-Hedberg is a junior environmental studies and biology double major. Sydney helped plan our upcoming Nobel Conference 55, Climate Changed, and will spend part of this summer studying the implications of climate change on glaciers. Last summer, Sydney completed a National Science Foundation research project related to warming, ocean temperatures, and the ability of marine species to adapt. She presented this work at a national conference. She is also on the Executive Board of the Gustavus Environmental Action Coalition and is working with the Marketing and Communications Office to develop content related to sustainability. Brianna Joel is a junior environmental studies and biology double major who will put her minor in geographic information systems to work this summer studying glacial change in Ecuador. She works closely with the Linnaeus Arboretum facilitating appreciation for and conservation of the natural world via environmental education. She was co-founder of the Environmental Action Coalition and an integral part of the Building Bridges Conference on grassroots movements. She helped plan this past fall's Nobel Conference 54 and was the student host for Dr. Ratan Lal. James Miller is a sophomore double major in geography and biology. This summer, James will work on campus at Big Hill Farm and conduct water quality research. He will be co-chairing next year's Building Bridges Conference, which will be the 25th anniversary of this student-led event. James is also a public deliberation and dialogue fellow, which draws on his long-term dedication to social and environmental justice. He will facilitate conversations related to climate change at next year's Nobel Conference. Congratulations Sydney, Rachel, Bri and James. Now I invite the Vice President for Student Life and Dean of Students, Jonas Van Hecke, to the podium to introduce the next group of student honorees. For the awards in the National Estate Categories, I invite Assistant Vice President for Student Life, Megan Rubel, who will congratulate the recipients. The first recipient is the Minnesota Campus Compact Awards. Please hold your applause until both recipients have come forward. Brian Mayan is the recipient of the Minnesota Campus Compact Student Leadership Award. Brian is the coordinator for the Language Buddies Program. This program pairs Gustavus Spanish-speaking students with English language learners in the St. Peter and Le Center school systems. Brian's leadership has strengthened the partnership with the school and the experience of all of the students involved. The recipient for the Minnesota Campus Compact Civic Engagement Stuart Award is Martin Lang. Dr. Lang, Associate Professor in Communication Studies, Film, Media Studies, and Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies, has integrated civic engagement into multiple courses. This year he produced a documentary, Midwest of Somalia, and held multiple screenings and discussions throughout the community. This film exemplifies Martin's commitment to civic engagement and social justice. Congratulations to you both and thank you for your work. The next group of students to be recognized are recipients of college sponsored scholarships and prizes. The first group consists of new members of the Guild of St. Ansgar. Will the students listed please come forward to the Chancellor to be recognized? Please hold your applause and students please stand on the stairs while I have read all of your names. You can begin coming forward now. Chase O. Johnson. Sarah A. Knutson. Alicia M. Ladka. Haley R. Ladka. Benjamin G. Madigan. Mia R. Massarro. Logan M. Morey. Kayla R. Mortensen. Emma L. Meyer. Nikki N. Niquay. Matthew J. Oren. Haley L. Pasik. Nicole C. Falls. Katrina J. Rinky. Benjamin A. Roram. Jack S. Shugal. Michelle A. Simmons. Prabhu K. Singh. Joran Tanggestal. Alexander the Ship Rosales. Riley D. Thone. Alyssa M. Welley. Laura M. Wilberts. And Damian A. Winkleman. Let's give them a round of applause. I now ask Barb Larsen Taylor, advisor to the Guild of St. Lucia and a few of the senior members of the Guild to join me here to welcome the new members to the Guild of St. Lucia and present each new member with a rose. Will the students elected to the Guild of St. Lucia please come to the chancel? And again, audience, let's hold our applause until all names have been read. Joyce Amakawe. Sarah B. Anderson. Abby C. Begner. Manali M. Badka. Rachel E. Belvedere. Rianne S. Idol. Greta C. Dupesloff. Sarah S. Hinderman. Bri D. Joel. Taylor M. Kamitsch. Amanda L. Jensen. Dede C. Kovey. Carly D. Miller. V. H. Nguyen. Please join me in congratulating all of the nominees. I would now invite back to the chancel Megan Rubel, and I'm pleased to have with us today the honorable Judge Paul Magnussen. Judge Magnussen is a member of the class of 1959, Chief Judge for the U.S. District Court of Appeals in St. Paul, a former member of the Board of Trustees, and the individual for whom the next awards have been named. The first recipient of this year's individual Magnussen award is Mohamed Rafay Arshad. Rafay, an international management major from Pakistan, has served both Student Senate and Building Bridges as their Chief Financial Officer. He is a collegiate fellow, an ambassador, and a member of the Board of Trustees Student Life Committee. He is the founding president of the Oxfam Club and has also led alumni relation efforts for Epsilon Pi Alpha fraternity. In addition, he's been a volunteer teacher of English to immigrant workers at a local employer. Zachary Kroonquest. Zach is a double major in psychological science and religion from New Hope, Minnesota. He has brought his talents and passions to student co-curricular life as a collegiate fellow, a community coordinator, and a gusty greeter. Zach has served as a mentor in the Gustavus Academy of Faith, Science, and Ethics, as well as holding significant leadership positions in both United Christian Ministries and Alpha Chi Delta Christian Fraternity. Caitlyn Hansen. Caitlyn is a communication studies major from Little Falls, Minnesota. She has volunteered significant time and energy to the community-based service learning office as an intern and a multi-year lead coordinator for the Big Partner Little Partner program. She has served in the Gusty Buddies program for two years and volunteered as a tutor for Somali immigrants. She is a Gustavus ambassador and one of the lead planners of the Discover the Outdoors. Brian Mayan. Brian is from St. Peter, Minnesota and has a triple major in political science, Spanish, Latin America, Latino, and Caribbean studies. He is a multi-year coordinator of the Language Buddies volunteer program and a Spanish-English interpreter at North Elementary School. He is past editor of El Tintarero, Gustavus' Spanish literary journal, and a past coordinator for the Summer Institute of Academic Success. These contributions have earned Brian the Schwann Brostrom Award in 2018 and a Minnesota Compact Award, President's Award, excuse me, for civic engagement this spring. Benjamin Roram. Ben, an honors physics major from North Mankato, has been a big partner and a member of the Environmental Action Coalition. He is deeply committed to the Gusty Greeter orientation program, having served as its student coordinator this past year. In addition to being co-president for the Society of Physics Students, Ben has won numerous awards and scholarships and secured multiple competitive research opportunities in his field. Alex the Shiprazalis. Alex is an environmental studies major from Chanhassen. He is an active member of the Gustavus Youth Outreach, a leader in the Environmental Action Coalition and a Gusty Greeter. He has worked to create a new student organization, The Root, which focuses on inclusive discussion of major life questions, and he spent time in New Zealand last spring creating a documentary about spirituality and environmental awareness. Alex has served for two years as a mentor of the Gustavus Academy for faith, science, and ethics. Let's congratulate all of the recipients of the individual Magnuson Award. I now invite forward the four following men who represent the Adelson ILS House, Matthew Blomquist, Matthew Williams, Brandon Snowburger, and Paul Dolan. Last spring, six Gustavus men applied to live in an intentional living learning service house with a focus on and a commitment to Special Olympics. Since then, this group of students have helped with many events in the St. Peter and wider Mankato community, such as basketball, track and field, softball, flag football, bowling, and swimming. The students volunteered at the local polar plunge event in February and served as unified partners on the local Special Olympics basketball team. Student Matt Blomquist has served as the house's president this year. Other residents, Michael Hench and Robert Ricotta, are currently competing at today's track meet and are unable to join us. And finally, I invite forward Caitlin Hansen and Jason Larson representing Discover the Outdoors. Discover the Outdoors is an event that began with the intention of getting people of all ages outside to see what our beautiful earth has to offer. Coordinators Caitlin Hansen and Jacob Larson got 13 organizations together to make one large educational and fun event for the community with approximately 600 people in attendance at the event last year. The goal is to make kids, families, and Gustavus individuals enjoy spending time off their screens and in nature and to treat every day like Earth Day. The program was offered again just this past weekend and it continues to grow. Please join me in congratulating these outstanding student leaders. We now recognize the recipients of the Oven League and Schwarm-Brostrom Awards. Please come forward as I call your name and hold your applause until all three students are recognized. The recipient of the Oven League Award is Amanda Jensen. Amanda is a junior from Cambridge, Minnesota, majoring in political science. She has been co-president of the Women's Action Coalition for two years as well as being involved in building bridges, gusty greeters, and feminist Bible study. A nominator says, Amanda is a passionate advocate for women's rights, LGBTQ awareness, racial diversity, and overall inclusiveness in every aspect of her life. She should be awarded this honor because of her large heart and fiery activism. Next I invite forward Caitlin Hansen, recipient of the Schwarm-Brostrom Leadership and Service Award. You've already learned a little bit about Caitlin and I will add that she was selected for this award specifically for her work as coordinator for the Big Partner Little Partner Program in the last three and a half years, serving the past two as the lead coordinator. The recipient for the Schwarm-Brostrom Leadership in Faith Award is Jorn Tangestal. Jorn is a psychological science major with minors in management and Scandinavian studies. He exemplifies servant leadership both on and off campus. His service to others include leading through the gusty greeters, Student Senate, Hall Council, the Badminton Club, Special Olympics, Relay for Life, raising $1,300 for the Children's Miracle Network, and working to prevent sexual assault. Next year he'll go to the University of Angkoron to join the PhD program in industrial and organizational psychology. Congratulations to these awardees. Next we recognize three students receiving the Bruce A. Grade Diversity Honors Award. Please hold your applause until all three students are recognized and come forward as I read your name. Although not present today, Andy Kukochka has been the vanguard of advocacy for marginalized communities since their arrival at Gustavus. Andy has worked in support of LGBTQIA Plus and people of color throughout their time here. Particularly important is Andy's affirming approach to inclusion. Kalea Perkins also is not able to join us today. She has been a leader in many groups, most significantly the Radicals and the Pan-African Student Organization. She is widely respected among her peers for the ways her leadership has positively impacted our campus. Carrie Villa-Rial, Carrie you got to make your way up. I hope she's here today. There she is. Carrie is involved in numerous organizations which support diversity, equity, and inclusion. She strives to give voice to those on campus who are underrepresented due to their background. She embodies what is meant to serve not in the pursuit of power but in order to keep the campus fun, inviting, and equitable for all walks of life. She is determined to keep this mindset and she moves forward next year in her role as co-president of the Student Senate. Congratulations. Finally I wish to recognize the recipient of the R. John Van Duzan Award, Julia Isburner. Julia is a geography major and peace studies minor who is diagnosed with learning disabilities as a senior in high school. A staff member in our Center for Academic Resources and Enhancement who nominated her said for Julia I have observed that having a learning disability has meant putting up with four times as much work to do in academics and having to spend additional time with professors and support people explaining her needs, investigating courses to ensure a good fit. It's also meant that Julia has developed the underappreciated power of being vulnerable and asking for help while also being resilient, persistent, and determined. She applies her tenacity to understanding the problems plaguing her community and her world and has a deep passion for doing her part to solve them. Julia has studied abroad in both India and Indonesia during her time at Gustavus, has completed an internship with Big Hill Farm, and has tackled the problems of low water levels in her hometown of White Bear Lake. She played French horn in the Gustavus Wind Orchestra and provided leadership on the campus activities board. Congratulations to all of today's recipients. Two endowments have been established to support the next two awards for the highest GPAs earned by junior and senior students. These endowments provide a prize for the honored students. This year we are giving each student a book entitled The Last Girl by Nadia Marad winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. The academic deans Dean Micah Mottman and Dean Mary McHugh will assist me in greeting these students. All of the Gerhardt-Alexis award winners may now come forward. As I call the winners up the deans will hand you a book then please line up across the chancel. Please hold your applause until all names are read. The winners of the Gerhardt-Alexis Scholars Award for juniors who have earned a cumulative GPA of 4.0 are Rachel L. Andrini, Alyssa M. Freeman, Kira E. Holton, Rachel A. Huber, Emma R. Jones, Hannah N. Marr, Hailey M. Moran, Michael K. O'Neill, Aung B. Tran, Abby D. Trout, James M. Wittrig. Congratulations to our Gerhardt-Alexis award winners. Thank you students. Now we call forward the winners of the Albert G. Swanson Scholars Award for seniors who have earned a cumulative GPA of 4.0. These students are Taylor J. Klays, Megan E. Ide, Hailey R. Latka, Ellen M. Stoll, Riley D. Tone, Sophie I. Wicklund. Congratulations to all of these outstanding students. Next we recognize students who have served this year as departmental academic assistants. Many faculty and administrative assistants say that the department academic assistants are critical to the success of the department. The nature and scope of work varies for our academic assistants from helping faculty with specific courses, work on departmental projects, serving as a resource to other students, providing student input on departmental decisions, conducting research, coordinating the departmental tutoring program to name a few. These students are selected by the departmental faculty for their proven academic ability, leadership, and commitment to the department. The students are listed on page 11 of your program. Would the departmental academic assistants please rise to be congratulated and thanked? Now we recognize a large number of students who had earned a cumulative GPA of 3.7 or better by the end of January term 2019. These students have been named to the president's honors list. Their names are printed on pages 12 and 13 in your program. Maintenance of a 3.7 GPA is a significant accomplishment at Gustavus. Our students are encouraged to dive in to all aspects of the college. Most Gustavus students participate in a multitude of co-curricular activities along with their curricular activities. Sometimes these activities are at odds with one another, requiring a student to balance and distribute their time. Among the students on the president's honors list, we have athletes and musicians, members and leaders in student organizations, students who volunteer in the community, and students who are employed on and off campus. Plus, as a residential college, a Gustavus student's life needs to include time for fun relationships and community building. Our honors list students have found a way to manage all aspects of college life while maintaining a high level of academic achievement. This is a major accomplishment. Would all of the students on the president's honor list please rise to be recognized? Many of our academic department and programs also have scholarships or awards. Faculty choose these student recipients based on merit, so these awards represent the highest honors granted by each department. The recipients, together with a brief description of the particular award scholarship, honor society membership, or competition, are found on pages 14 to 21 of your program. Please take a moment to review this incredible list of awards and the additional academic awards listed on page 22. Students, even though we do not have time to name you individually during this program, in being chosen for a department or program award, Gustavus faculty extend their highest praise for you and your academic work. You are among a short list of the most outstanding students from your major or minor. I invite all of the students listed on pages 21 or 14 to 22 who have received a departmental or program honor award or additional academic awards to please rise and be recognized. This concludes our student honors. Let's give all of the student award recipients one final round of applause. Turning toward faculty awards, I now invite Pascal Kyo, professor of modern languages, literatures, and cultures, and last year's recipient for the presentation of the 2019 Gustavus Faculty Scholarly Accomplishment Award. Good morning. I have the privilege of presenting this year's faculty scholarly achievement award winner to a fine colleague who has produced scholarship that is distinguished by its quantity and quality alike. This professor has authored as many as four books and is currently working on a fifth one. In addition, this colleague has published 17 articles and book chapters, seven review articles, and has done scores of academic conference presentations. This is what one nominator says about the professor. Many respected scholars only write one or two books during their career and yet this colleague already has four. This is especially impressive given the kind of research that he does which involves closed and painstaking reading of ancient texts in multiple languages which are sometimes preserved only fragmentarily. This kind of work is not done quickly. This professor's work has appeared in prestigious venues. His most recent monograph appeared with Oxford University Press which is widely recognized as one of the most exclusive and respected publishers in biblical studies and his current book project is also under contract with them. He was specifically recruited by the series editor to contribute this volume. The nominator goes on to say, after reading chapters from this book I was struck by his command of a wide array of primary texts as well as this sophistication of both his careful interpretation of textual data and his construction of a larger theoretical framework for discussing them. This professor has developed a sterling reputation in his field. When I attend scholarly conferences myself and people ask who my Gustavus colleagues are, they invariably recognize this professor's name and have a high opinion of his work. A second nominator comments that this professor is recognized by colleagues in his field as a significant and valuable contributor. I quote, in all cases he combines clarity, a comprehensive knowledge of the inter-testamental and early church periods and insightful reading of texts. He is an internationally recognized scholar on the Dead Sea Scrolls, early Christianity, and first century Judaism. A reviewer says about one of his books and I quote, this book stands out because of its scale and thoroughness and its overall excellent presentation and discussions. Resurrection of the Dead in Early Judaism deserves to remain a standard volume on this subject for quite some time. And these are the titles of the four books. The first one, Resurrection of the Dead in Early Judaism, 200 BCE to CE 200. The second one, Life After Death in Early Judaism, The Evidence of Josephus. The third one, The Bible and the Dead Sea Scrolls. And the fourth one, The Statues of the King, The Temple Scrolls Legislation on Kingship. This professor obtained his doctoral degree from Princeton University, specializing in biblical studies in the New Testament. He did post-doctoral studies in Israel at an institution called École Bibliique Archaeologique Française de Jérusalem, which means French Biblical and Archaeological School of Jérusalem. I would like to end on one impressive note. This professor does his research in as many as eight different languages, not counting English. And the languages are Hebrew, Arabic, Akkadian, Syriac, Greek, Latin, French, and German. Congratulations to our colleague of the Religion Department, Dr. Casey Ellige. Congratulations, Professor Ellige. Please welcome Student Senate Co-Presidents Asan Ali Asker and Kaili Lamberti for the presentation of the 2019 Swenson and Bun Memorial Award for Teaching Excellence. Good morning, everyone. First of all, we would like to congratulate all the recipients of today's awards, including you, Janesh. We are privileged to announce today the winner of the Swenson Bun Award for Teaching Excellence. This award honors a faculty member whose teaching is judged exemplary by the student body. Each spring, after obtaining nominations from the student body, a Student Senate Committee selects one faculty member to receive the award, named in the memory of Greg Swenson and Holy Bun, two students active in the Student Senate who died in an automobile accident in 1989. The award this year is going to a well-deserved member of the Gustavus faculty. It was hard to choose the winner, as there were so many amazing nominations from many of our outstanding faculty. This professor goes above and beyond of normal day-to-day teaching expectations. They teach courses in two departments, offer workshops, and help many students to conduct independent research. I'm personally very lucky to have had this professor myself, and I've enjoyed every moment of her course. And not only is she a fabulous teacher, but she makes a point to reach out to her students and get to know them on a personal level and to help them attain all of their goals. Some of the comments about her from the nominations, she goes above and beyond the role of a professor and serves as a role model for me and many other students. She is willing to offer advice on academics, sports, and life in general. She continually reaches out to me offering up important opportunities, even though I'm not a student in her department. She sets the bar high for her students, herself, and herself, all the qualities that I greatly respect and admire. One of her colleagues writes, she is thoughtful about pediology, meaning she thinks deeply about how people learn and how, therefore, a prof can best teach. She designs individual assignments with care and intention, ensuring that students get the most out of her classes as possible. She is unfailingly fair and compassionate. I want to take one of her courses. Also, her students develop a fierce devotion to her. She has honest got groupies. She expects the highest quality of work of not only her students, but of herself. While many professors are willing to help students outside of class, she is willing, but more importantly, very genuinely interested and happy to help students. She shows compassion for her students and concern for her students. She displays a lot of compassion for Gustavus in general, and I'm very excited to award this, award the Swenson Bun Teaching Excellence Award to an assistant professor in the health and exercise department, DeHaley Russell. Congratulations, Dr. Russell. Before we conclude today's service, I invite you to review the schedule of events listed on the back of your program. Upon review of this extensive list, there is an event to fulfill most everyone's interest. One of the many joys of our faculty is to celebrate the success of our students with their families. There are numerous opportunities for this to happen today. Several departments have specific activities for students and families, as noted in the program. For those who do not have a department specific event to attend, and for everyone, we would like to invite you to a reception on Ekman Mall outside of the chapel, immediately following this convocation. This is a reception open to all faculty, staff, students, and families. We encourage and invite everyone who is able to attend. Now please stand for the benediction. Receive this blessing. May we never give up on our quest to discover what is true and honorable and just. May we nurture kindness and compassion for self, others, and even opponents. And may we build each other up so that we might employ the full force of our passion and power for the common good of all humanity and for the flourishing of this earth, our home. Amen.