Greetings from the Dean's Office!
Congratulations to all our graduates for reaching a major milestone in their lives during an historic moment that presented a number of unique challenges. We look forward to celebrating together in-person during the Wilkinson College August commencement! This issue of We are Wilkinson includes some inspiring stories about how our students, faculty, and invited speakers are engaging with the issues of our day. We have concluded our hugely successful Engaging the World: Leading the Conversation on the Significance of Race series, but videos of past events and links to podcasts are available here. Coming this fall, Engaging the World: Leading the Conversation on Environmental Justice.
If you would
like to share a story for an upcoming newsletter,
please contact wilkinsoncollege@chapman.edu.
Pictured Above: Bovey Lee's piece "We Are All Mountaineers" is featured in the Escalette Permanent Collection of Art's virtual exhibition. This work is a series comprised of intricately hand cut Chinese rice paper. To read more about the piece, click here.
Robert E. Lee & Me: A Reckoning With Lost Cause Mythology
Dr. Ty Seidule, former head of the history department at the United States Military Academy, discussed his book Robert E. Lee and Me: A Southerner’s Reckoning with the Myth of the Lost Cause at a recent Engaging the World: Leading the Conversation on the Significance of Race event. Seidule is currently one of four members of the U.S. Department of Defense Confederate Base Naming Commission, a group charged with renaming the military installations still named after Confederates.
Tryphena Yeboah, MFA (’21)
Tryphena Yeboah Wins 2021 James L. Doti Outstanding Graduate Student Award
Tryphena Yeboah (MFA Creative Writing ‘21) has been awarded the highest honor for graduate students at Chapman University, The James L. Doti Outstanding Graduate Student Award. Yeboah shares, “a significant part of my service within the Chapman community and my overall enthusiasm and advocacy for the institution is rooted in gratitude."
Peace Studies Seniors Organize the Global Conflict Awareness Conference
Emily Lam and Sophia Morrissette ('21, Peace Studies) co-ran the first student-led Global Conflict Awareness Conference, featuring a full-day virtual experience with student, faculty, and activist panelists representing the conflicts of over fifty countries. Lam and Morrissette discuss their experience and their goal to build awareness of global conflicts not widely reported in the U.S.
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Wilkinson Professors
Receive Faculty Opportunity Awards
Congratulations to the faculty opportunity award recipients from Wilkinson College. Chapman University’s Faculty Opportunity Fund is a competitive merit-based internal funding opportunity
intended to support faculty in the development of new and innovative research, scholarship, and creative activity.
Career Corner: Creative and Cultural Industries
Creative and Cultural Industries (CCI) minors pursue internships that cover a vast array of different industries such as media, fashion, tourism, museums, video games, social media, emerging technologies, and visual cultures. With the help of the CCI professors and your career advisor, finding the right internship is possible.
Faculty Books: Game On
Susan F. Paterno, Professor of English and Director of the Journalism Program, unravels the hunger games of higher education’s opaque rules in her forthcoming book, Game On: Why College Admission is Rigged and How to Beat the System. Paterno’s book decodes the college admissions industry—the consultants, the tutors, the rankers, and the branding companies hawking "advantage."
Gift of the Month
Spring is an exciting time when parents give philanthropically through a Senior Gift. Recently, a generous Wilkinson parent gifted nearly $60,000 to be split between the Graphic Design program within the Department of Art and the college’s Creative and Cultural Industries interdisciplinary minor, in honor of the impactful experience their student had with these areas of study in Wilkinson College. We are thankful and humbled by the support of our amazing and philanthropic parents.
Events
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May 7, 2021 at 4 p.m.
Friday (May 7), join Engaging the World, Leading the Conversation on the Significance of Race, for "Reclaiming our Roots: Ethnic Studies as a Legacy of Intersectional Resilience and Resistance." Join us for the screening of the Chinatown Rising documentary at 4 p.m., followed by the "Origin Story: Panel Discussion" at 6:30 p.m., with the scholar activists featured in the documentary, facilitated by Attallah College of Educational Studies professors Dr. Cathery Yeh and Dr. Suzie SooHoo.
Commencement
Wilkinson College Commencement will be held Sunday, August 1, 2021, at 11 a.m. for 2020 graduates and Sunday, August 8, 2021, at 11 a.m. for 2021
graduates.
There is no limit to how many guests students may invite to their ceremony, however, they will be required to reserve tickets on guests’ behalf. Guests who cannot attend in person may view livestream of the ceremony provided by Chapman University that can be viewed at several locations on or off campus.
Note: The online RSVP start date has been postponed to May 3. Exciting enhancements to the RSVP process have become available, and we are working to incorporate MarchingOrder to improve the experience. Students will be able to personalize their commencement in new ways.
Graduates must order their cap and gown online. The deadline to order a cap and gown without expedited shipping costs is June 24, 2021.
Visit the Commencement Website frequently for updates and other important information.
Chapman University looks forward to celebrating our student's achievements.
Congratulations!
Wilkinson Alumni News
Check out what some of our awesome alumni are doing:
Erika Gibson ('19 MFA, War & Society, '17 BA, History) joined the International Center for Jefferson Studies Fellowship Program in 2017, and published her article, “Frenchified,” in the Food Studies and Interdisciplinary Journal in 2018.
Taylor Thomas ('17, CES, History) is an Education Specialist in a classroom for students with moderate to severe disabilities. Thomas was chosen as a department lead within two years of beginning her teaching career, and was chosen as Teacher of the Year in 2021.
Addison Rose Vincent ('15, Peace Studies, Women's Studies) is the founder and lead consultant of the LGBTQ+ consulting firm, Break The Binary LLC.
We want to know what you've been doing with your degree!
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