A College at Brockport tradition since 1994, Academic Convocation welcomes new students to campus and celebrates the beginning of the academic year.
Academic Convocation is the culmination of Welcome Week and is a celebration of Brockport pride and achievement. During the event, faculty, staff and students celebrate through a diverse array of presentations, highlighting aspects of Brockport’s excellence.
Date: Sunday, August 26
Location: SERC House of Fields
Time: Students, faculty and staff: please arrive by 3 pm for the ceremony. (The ceremony will begin promptly at 3:30 pm.)
For more information about Academic Convocation, contact Dr. James Whorton at jwhorton@brockport.edu.
Faculty: If you plan to process in the Academic Convocation ceremony, please RSVP by Friday, August 24 at noon by completing this form. We want to be sure that appropriate seating is arranged for all of our faculty participants.
Lindsey Brown returned to college in 2004 to complete a Bachelor's degree in Spanish, while her eight-month-old son attended Brockport Child Development Center. Lindsey participated in the Student Support Services Program and was a Ronald E. McNair Scholar. She also worked as a parent liaison in the campus daycare center. In addition to her bachelor’s degree, she completed New York State teacher certification in Spanish and Elementary Bilingual Education (2008), student teaching in the HOLA program at Robert P. B. Duffy School #12 in the Rochester City School District. Lindsey was awarded a graduate assistantship in the English program at The College at Brockport and earned a Masters degree in Creative Writing in 2009. Her six-year-old attended the graduation ceremony. During summers, Lindsey worked in the Upward Bound program at the University of Rochester, teaching writing skills to high school students from the Rochester City School District. Upon graduation, she accepted a position teaching Spanish to middle and high school students at Allendale Columbia School. Allendale Columbia offers a unique K-12 World Language curriculum featuring an immersion classroom experience and a 1:1 iPad program in grades 6 through 8. In addition to her classroom teaching, Lindsey continues to be an active community artist. Her work has appeared in Blip magazine and Love Rise Up: Poems of Social Justice, Protest & Hope. She recently founded Rochester Area Women Artists, a group designed to support the artistic practice of women artists across many disciplines.
Garrett W. Roe is a senior who is majoring in History with an Adolescent Inclusive Education concentration. He is a member of the Phi Alpha Theta history honor society, a member of Who's Who Among Students in American Universities & Colleges, and is a Ronald E. McNair Scholar. Some of the organizations and leadership roles that Garrett has held are Resident Assistant, Orientation Student Advisor, the History Forum, the Future Alumni Network, Scholar's Sleepover, Student Experience Team, the Leadership Development Program, Living Learning Communities, and he is currently a Student Ambassador and the President of the Swing Dance Society, which he founded in 2011. Garrett worked alongside Dr. Lauren Lieberman and Rick Lair to plan and raise funds for the canal dock that was completed this summer and is open for use to the College and the Brockport community.
The Sankofa African Dance and Drum Ensemble leads the procession of invited guests, faculty and staff in a ceremony that launches the start of the new academic year.
Sankofa is a symbolic, Ghanaian expression represented by a bird whose head turns back looking toward the past. The Sankofa African Dance and Drum Ensemble retrieves the cultural essences of the past and brings them into the present.
Sankofa presents dance and theater works expressing the dynamic presence of African culture in America. Some of the presentations are replicas of traditional African prototypes; and some are re-creations, employing contemporary themes and movement motifs.
Dance: Mandjani is a dance from Guinea West Africa celebrating the rites of passage of young girls. When a young girl comes of age she is taken away to be trained by the elders of the women’s society. The accumulated wisdom from generations of women is passed on to the new generation of young women. Upon their return to the community they perform Mandjani in celebration of their strength and feminine power. Fast high steps, acrobatics and flirtatious movements characterize this dance where the performer displays her highest dance talents
Song selection: Kumpa is a celebration of the fire god Kumpo, Kpanlogo is a celebration dance and Twe Twe is a children's rhythm song.
Arranged by: Michelle Whitt
Dancers: Sarah Johnson (alumna), Euridece Seche (alumna), Michelle Whitt (alumna), DuEwa Vallier (alumna), Kelly Johnson (alumna) and Lateefah Patterson
Members of The College at Brockport Symphony Orchestra Brass, Percussion and String Sections
Directed by: Jonathan Allentoff
Brass Section: Owen Cowling/Trumpet, Lydia Allen/French Horn, Henry Einheber/Euphonium, Adam Howard/Tuba
Percussion Section: Joseph Long/Percussion
String Section: Raisa Kislik/Concertmaster, Emory Morris, Samantha Millard, Michael Allentoff and Charles Edwards/Violin, Taylir Lorino, Dianne Howard and Alexis Howell/Viola and Tashauna Dyer, Rebecca Katz and Stephanie Sublett/Cello
We are excited to have Chemistry Professor Emeritus Dr. Emory Morris performing with us during Academic Convocation!
Career Services Candidate/EMSA Directors
8:45 am - 9:30 am
Career Services Candidate Open Forum
9:45 am - 10:30 am
Career Services Search Committee
1:30 pm - 3 pm
