“Three formidable attributes”

Amid the flashing of cameras, occasional bursts of applause and a whistle or two, more than 80 students on Sunday (May 17) donned the formal attire signifying their completion of the highest academic degree awarded by the university.

The occasion was the annual doctoral hooding ceremony, held in the Zoellner Arts Center.

Before an audience of more than 300 people, the students filed into Baker Hall dressed in caps and gowns and with doctoral hoods draped over their left arms. As the university’s four academic deans read the students’ names, their faculty advisers placed the hoods over the shoulders of their students.

“You who receive your hoods today are the intellectual leaders of tomorrow,” Patrick V. Farrell, university provost and vice president for academic affairs, told the students. “That is no small responsibility, but I think it is one that you are well equipped to bear. After all, you possess three pretty formidable attributes.”

Those qualities, Farrell said, are intellect, passion and perseverance. To describe the third, he quoted America’s 32nd president.

“Franklin Roosevelt said that when you come to the end of your rope, you tie a knot and hang on. I am sure there were times that you felt at the end of your proverbial rope; maybe you were questioning your own theories or you were wrestling with a bad case of writer’s block.

“But you stuck it out.”

A need for rigor

Lehigh’s interim president, Kevin Clayton ’84, ’13P asked the doctoral candidates to remember the support they had received from their families and friends and then added:

“Whatever path you follow, use your talents and abilities—those special qualities possessed by Lehigh graduates—to their fullest. The world needs rigorous and independent thinkers like you. Take risks and find ways to make a difference.”

The tradition of academic regalia has its origins in 12th-century Europe, Farrell noted, but the distinct American system of caps, gowns and hoods was adopted in 1895 by an Intercollegiate Council at Columbia University.

That system, he said, assigns specific meaning to the colors used in the hoods. The velvet trim of the hood represents the major field of knowledge, such as deep blue for the doctorate of philosophy, orange for engineering, and light blue for education.

The lining of the hood, Farrell said, indicates the college or university where the degree was granted.

“Your lining,” he told the graduates, “will always be Lehigh Brown and White.”

Dissertation awards

At the ceremony, four students, one from each college, received the Elizabeth Stout Dissertation Award, which is given annually for doctoral dissertations that are judged to have made unusually significant and original contributions in their fields.

The award was endowed by the late Robert Stout, former dean of the graduate school and professor emeritus of materials science and engineering, in memory of his wife.

This year’s Stout Dissertation Award winners were:

•    Andrew N. Black received a Ph.D. in integrative biology from the College of Arts and Sciences. His dissertation was titled “An Integrative Assessment of the Ex Situ Conservation and Reintroduction of an Endangered Species of Pupfish (Cyprinodon bovinus): Investigation of Genetic, Morphological and Behavioral Variation.” Black’s adviser is Murray Itzkowitz, professor of biological sciences.
•    Mengcen Qian received a Ph.D. in business and economics from the College of Business and Economics. Her dissertation was titled “Three Essays in Health Economics.” Qian’s adviser is Shin-Yi Chou, professor of economics.
•    Bethany Perkins Detwiler received a Ph.D. in counseling psychology from the College of Education. Her dissertation was titled “Minority Stress in the Sexual Minority Older Adult Population: Exploring the Relationships Among Discrimination, Mental Health and Quality of Life.” Detwiler’s adviser is Grace I.L. Caskie, associate professor of counseling psychology.
•    Justin E. Barton received a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science. His dissertation was titled “Physics-Model-Based Optimization and Feedback Control of the Current Profile Dynamics in Fusion Tokamak Reactors.” Barton’s adviser is Eugenio Schuster, associate professor of mechanical engineering and mechanics.

The winner of the Dean’s Dissertation Award in the College of Arts and Sciences was Jennifer Hyest, who received a Ph.D. in English. Hyest’s dissertation was titled “Not Entirely Secular, Not Entirely Sacred: Women, Modernism and Religion.” Her adviser is Seth Moglen, professor of English.

The candidates were presented for hooding by Lehigh’s academic deans: Donald E. Hall, the Herbert J. and Ann L. Siegel Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences; Georgette Chapman Phillips, the Kevin L. ’84 ’13P and Lisa A. ’13P Clayton Dean of the College of Business and Economics; Gary M. Sasso, dean of the College of Education; and Daniel Lopresti, interim dean of the P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science.

Music for the ceremony was performed by Mainstreet Brass.

Lehigh conferred doctoral degrees on a total of 108 students at the university’s 147th Commencement on Monday, May 18.

Photos by Christa Neu