Matriculation Convocation Live Stream
The Matriculation Convocation will be live-streamed for those who are unable to attend in person.
Convocation Program
Prelude
Perpetuum Mobile
Kristina Arakelyan (b. 1994)
Dr. Daniel Schwandt, University Organist and Lecturer of Music
Procession of the Faculty*
Processional in E-flat Major
David N. Johnson (1922–1987)
Dr. Daniel Schwandt, University Organist and Lecturer of Music
Celia Barnes, Associate Professor of English and Faculty Marshal
Welcome Week Musical Selection
Threads of Joy by Amanda Quist and Tim Brent
Holding the Light by Brittney E. Boykin
Welcome Week Choir
Directed by Dr. Shannon Gravelle, Assistant Professor of Music and Co-director of Choral Studies and Dr. Phillip Swan, Professor of Music and Co-director of Choral Studies
Kristin Roach, Collaborator and Assistant Professor of Music
Text for Threads of Joy:
I have noticed joy, how it threads below the darkness.
I have noticed joy, have you seen it too?
I have noticed joy. Have you heard it, how it speaks the unspeakable, the bliss?
A kind of silence, a light beneath pain. Have you noticed? Have you seen it? Have you heard it?
-Text by Laura Foley
Text for Holding the Light:
it all comes down to this:
In our imperfect world
we are meant to repair
and stitch together
what beauty there is, stitch it
with compassion and wire.
See how everything
we have made gathers
the light inside itself
and overflows? A blessing.
-Stuart Kestenbaum, from Only Now (Deerbrook Editions, 2013).
Copyright © 2013 by Stuart Kestenbaum. Used with permission of the author.
Land Acknowledgement
Robert Babcock, Assistant Vice President of Institutional Access and Belonging
Invocation
Terra Winston-Sage ’00, Julie Esch Hurvis Dean of Spiritual and Religious Life and University Chaplain
Welcome, Announcement of the 2026-2027 Convocation Series and Introduction of President Laurie Carter
Peter Blitstein, Provost and Dean of the Faculty and Associate Professor of History
Matriculation Convocation Address
President Laurie Carter
Video
Recessional*
Recessional
Robert Cundick (1926–2016)
Dr. Daniel Schwandt, University Organist and Lecturer of Music
*Please stand for the processional and the recessional.
Notices
- As a courtesy to the artists and to those in attendance, please be aware that sounds such as whispering and the rustling of paper and cellophane wrappers are magnified in the hall.
- Please silence all cell phones and other electronic devices during convocations.
- Convocations may not be recorded, photographed, or broadcast without the written consent of the speaker and Lawrence University.
- Bag lunches for students, faculty & staff will be available to go in the Music-Drama Center lobby following the Convocation.
- Please refrain from talking during all musical selections.
An American Sign Language interpreter will be available and located on the stage.
Next Convocation
Honors Convocation
Friday, May 28, 2027, 12:30 p.m.
For more information, please see the Convocation Series.
We collectively acknowledge that Lawrence University is situated on the ancestral homelands of the Menominee and Ho-Chunk people.