JSC Welcomes 532 New Students

August 24, 2009

Led by a trio of bagpipers and Dean of Students David Bergh, the Johnson State College Class of 2013 processed through the college Quad and into Dibden Center for the Arts for the annual Opening Convocation ceremony. As the students filed into Dibden, they were enthusiastically cheered on by a “Welcome Cordon” of robed faculty members, as well as current students, part-time faculty and staff.

After a short performance by JSC jazz musicians, JSC President Barbara E. Murphy welcomed the new students, new full-time faculty members Jerry Himelstein, David McGough and Elizabeth Powell, as well as the returning members of the community, and noted that the new academic year inspires the entire community to work hard and recommit itself to its goals. Academic Dean Daniel Regan addressed the new students in particular, encouraging them to not only think of themselves as college students, but to envision themselves as college graduates.

And Outdoor Education Professor Brad Moskowitz, who recently returned from a semester-long sabbatical, offered an often-humorous, motivational talk geared toward all the students entitled, “Being Alive (In College) 101.” Using his sabbatical research project, which involved a 100-day immersion experience with his wife and two young sons in Peru, Professor Moskowitz exhorted the students to seek adventure, take risks, and be awake to the possibilities that college offers.

The annual ceremony comes on the heels of New Student Orientation Weekend, a three-day event which helps new students settle in to their new community. In addition to the formal ceremony and a community barbecue, the day ended with a free, community-only concert by Montreal-based Iraqi MC The Narcicyst.

Johnson State College will begin its new academic year with 532 new first-year, transfer and External Degree Program students.