Connecticut College honors 16 seniors as Langer Scholars

Alongside friends, family and members of Connecticut College’s academic community, 16 seniors gathered in Blaustein Humanities Center on March 30 to join an esteemed group of Camels—the Langer Scholars—in a tradition that dates back nearly a century to 1928. 

The designation of Langer Scholar (formerly Winthrop Scholar) is the highest academic honor bestowed by the College. Reserved for students who demonstrate exceptional scholarship, the honor is named for the late Susanne K. Langer, a distinguished philosopher and professor emeritus of Connecticut College.

Langer Scholars are also the first members of their class selected for membership in Phi Beta Kappa, the undergraduate higher education national honor society founded in 1776. 

After giving a brief history of the Langer Scholar designation and of Langer’s work as one of the first nationally recognized female philosophers in the United States, Assistant Professor of English and Phi Beta Kappa Delta of Connecticut Chapter Officer Rae Gaubinger congratulated the scholars on holding GPAs in the top 3% of their graduating class.

“I want to give you a small taste of the beauty of Langer’s writing and the substance of her thought,” Gaubinger said. “At the conclusion of Philosophy in a New Key, she takes a moment to reflect on processes of growth and learning: ‘The continual pursuit of wider, clearer, more negotiable, more articulate meanings, is philosophy. … Language, art, morality and science have all given us pain as well as power.’”

Gaubinger added, “In your time at Conn, you have proven yourselves uniquely equipped for both the pain and the power of learning. We are so excited to watch you go out into the world and continue to pursue wider, clearer, more negotiable, more articulate meanings.”

After Professor of Mathematics and Membership Committee Chair Christopher Hammond presented each inductee with a certificate, President Andrea E. Chapdelaine offered her congratulations. “I want you to recognize and applaud your role in making academic excellence happen here at the College,” she said. “When I say I am so proud to serve an institution with academic excellence, I’m talking about you.”

Associate Teaching Professor of Astronomy Alex Gianninas gave the keynote address, “The Musings of a Traveling Astrophysicist.” He described his winding journey to Conn and shared some guiding principles that shaped that journey, including the saying, “All roads lead to Rome,” which was true in Europe during the ancient Roman Empire. 

“This represents the idea that all of us are trying to get to some destination, both personally and professionally, but that we can all take different paths to get there,” he explained. “Some of us might trace that path out and go straight from A to B, and that’s great, but some of us will have to take twists and turns.”

In keeping with the Rome theme, Gianninas quoted the ancient Roman poet Virgil, joking that he himself first encountered the saying on an episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine when Starfleet commanding officer Benjamin Sisko was preparing for battle. “‘Fortune favors the bold.’ … Don’t be afraid to take advantage of opportunities, not just to do the things that you know that you’re capable of, but to try things that you might not think you’re capable of,” Gianninas said.

In conclusion, the Montreal native shared a line from the poem In Flanders Fields by Canadian poet and soldier John McCrae. “‘The torch; be yours to hold it high’ is meant to invoke the idea that not only are you being passed the torch as you become the next generation of Conn alums and Phi Beta Kappa members, you are being asked to uphold a certain standard that has been set before you. The fact that we are all here today bestowing this honor upon you tells me that you’re all off to a great start already.”