On Oct. 20, 115 high-achieving seniors were inducted into Manhattan College’s storied tradition of academic excellence at the annual Fall Honors Convocation.
The ceremony honoring new members of Epsilon Sigma Pi, the oldest college-wide honor society on campus, was held in the Chapel of De La Salle and His Brothers.
Students representing Manhattan College’s five undergraduate schools received certificates and keys as tokens of achievement for holding GPAs of 3.5 or higher throughout their college careers and engaging in cultural and intellectual activities on campus.
Mary Ann O’Donnell, Ph.D., professor emerita of English, gave the keynote address, reminding students of their responsibility as part of Manhattan’s unbroken tradition.
“You have experienced firsthand the value of studying together in the Manhattan tradition of small classes and close faculty-student collaboration, with a curriculum rich in the liberal arts and sciences, in a Catholic college community that values each individual and his or her talents.”
O’Donnell started her career at the College in 1971 and later became the acting dean of the School of Arts in 1993 and then dean in 1994, before retiring in 2009.
Throughout her career in higher education, O’Donnell witnessed many trends, some of which Manhattan wisely chose to embrace, such as becoming a coed institution in 1971. Others, such as digital learning, the College continues to proceed with caution in order to liberally invest in each student’s intellectual development.
She cited the O’Malley Library as a symbol of the College’s commitment to both tradition and renewal. Instead of pulling down the old library, the College found a way to converge the traditional with the modern — never losing sight of its history, but making sure Manhattan was solidly in the 21st century.
“You have been entrusted with a broad liberal education,” O’Donnell said in closing. “Much has been asked of you already. Much more will be asked of you. Your induction today into Epsilon Sigma Pi is evidence that you are prepared to answer that demand.”