Lighting of the Candles
Return to Program and Remarks

Lloyd Chapin
Vice President and Dean of Faculty
August 12, 2005

According to the Book of Genesis, light is the oldest gift - a sign of the victory of meaning and being over chaos and the void. In the academic world you are now entering, light also symbolizes knowledge and truth. Tonight, as we light these candles, we do so as a way of expressing our commitment individually and as a community to those values that will sustain us as individuals, nourish us as a community of learning, and enable us to serve the needs of others. As your faculty mentors pass among you to share the light of their candles, I invite you to join in passing the light to one another. We also invite family members and guests to share this moment by joining us in passing the light. When all the candles are lit, Dean Suzan Harrison will lead us in the Litany of Commitment found in your program.