For Dean George M. Langford’s last Convocation before stepping down, Sandra Hewett will give the faculty address. Hewett is the Beverly Petterson Bishop Professor of Neuroscience, as well as a professor in the Department of Biology.

Langford was appointed dean in 2008, and will step down on June 30. He plans to return to full-time teaching in his specialty of cell biology and neuroscience after a one-year sabbatical. During his research leave, Langford will divide his time between the Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole, Mass., and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) in Chevy Chase, Md.

The Convocation will take place May 10 at 9 a.m. in the Carrier Dome.

The ceremony will begin with the academic procession of the college’s outgoing department chairs, faculty members and the platform party. Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Gerald R. Greenberg will make introductory remarks, then Langford will greet the students and their families.

The Senior Address will be given by Margaux Grace Deverin, an English and textual studies major in Arts and Sciences and an education major in the School of Education, one of three college marshals. The other marshals are: Dylan Lustig, an international relations major in Arts and Sciences and the Maxwell School; and Michael Hu, a biochemistry major in Arts and Sciences. 

College pins will be presented to degree candidates by Dean Langford; Greenberg; Associate Dean Kandice L. Salomone; Gail A. Bulman, chair and associate professor in the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics; and Mary E. Lovely, chair of the the Maxwell School’s Department of International Relations, Maxwell Professor of Teaching Excellence and Melvin A. Eggers Economics Faculty Scholar. Members of the audience are asked to refrain from coming forward to take photos; a professional photographer will snap a photo of each candidate.

Following the presentation of college pins, Zoe Christina Bates Johnson, a candidate for master’s of music in voice performance, will lead the singing of the alma mater. The audience is then asked to stand for the recessional.

Students, parents and guests are invited to join College of Arts and Sciences faculty and staff for light refreshments at department receptions immediately following the Convocation. Receptions for the humanities, sciences and mathematics departments will be held under five large tents on the Quad. Faculty members will be assembled near signs corresponding to their departments.

Receptions for social science departments will be held in Maxwell and Eggers halls as follows: anthropology, policy studies and sociology, Maxwell Hall foyer, first floor; economics and international relations, Eggers Hall, Strasser Commons, second floor; geography and history, Eggers Hall, rooms 151 and 155; and political science, Eggers Hall, Public Events Room, second floor.