Sewanee News

The Sewanee Review has announced the appointment of Danielle Evans, Sidik Fofana, and Brandon Taylor as editors at large. The Review has been fortunate to repeatedly publish these groundbreaking writers under the current editorship. In their new roles, they will not only introduce new voices to the quarterly but also be in dialogue with the editor and staff about everything from aesthetics to the magazine’s editorial direction. Read more about these writers and their new roles at the Review. 

The University plans an in-person College commencement service on Saturday, May 22, for its Class of 2021. The ceremony for approximately 375 graduates will be held outdoors and a limited number of guests will attend. Retired Admiral James Stavridis will give the commencement address.

Noting that April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, Vice-Chancellor Brigety announced that the University received a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice to reduce sexual assault on campus. New project director Maria Michonski will be dedicated to the work of the grant and the development of an effective prevention program.

Klarke Stricklen, C’22, an American Studies major and African American Studies minor, has been named one of only 62 new Truman Scholars. Chosen for their leadership potential, commitment to a career in public service, and academic excellence, Truman Scholars receive funding for graduate studies, leadership training, and internship and fellowship opportunities.

Alexa Fults, a senior politics major from Morrison, Tennessee, will spend next year with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace as a James C. Gaither Junior Fellow.

Bramwell Atkins and Mandy Moe Pwint Tu, both C’21, have been awarded prestigious Thomas J. Watson Fellowships for 2021-22. Selected from colleges and universities across the United States, winners of the fellowship receive a stipend supporting a year of independent study and travel outside of the U.S. 

Sustain Sewanee celebrates Earth Month with Saturday morning bird walks, music, discussions, wildflower hikes, a climate activism conference, a community clean-up, and more!

Sewanee is one of 10 universities awarded pro bono consulting services to help advance climate projects. The university will use the technical support to update the campus sustainability plan.

The Sewanee campus is galvanized by March 13 incident involving hate speech, and vows to fight racism in all forms. Students have vehemently rejected the behavior that a few displayed last weekend.

Eleven members of the Class of 2021 have been elected to membership in Phi Beta Kappa, joining eight classmates who were elected in the fall semester. An initiation ceremony was held on Friday, March 12. 

Members of the faculty recently have been published on topics as diverse as Horace’s lyric poems and the holy wells of Ireland.

The University of the South is one of more than 60 inaugural members of the Liberal Arts Colleges Racial Equity Leadership Alliance. Other member institutions include Amherst College, Davidson College, Oberlin College, and Washington and Lee University. The alliance will partner with the University of Southern California Race and Equity Center to offer workshops for faculty and staff and provide access to resources focused on racial equity solutions. 

College students are returning to campus during the last week of January for the start of the spring semester. Classes start Monday, Feb. 1.

Professor Sean O’Rourke and Lesli K. Pace will discuss their companion books Like Wildfire: The Rhetoric of the Civil Rights Sit-Ins and the forthcoming On Fire: Five Civil Rights Sit-Ins and the Rhetoric of Protest. Zoom event Jan. 7; registration required.

The Nashville Tennessean profiles the University’s efforts to become a more welcoming place for all. "We will spare no effort to ensure that there is ample space and a warm welcome for anyone who seeks its insights and who hungers for its inspiration," Vice-Chancellor Reuben Brigety says.

Recent Sewanee graduates and English majors Sydney Leibfritz, Briana Wheeler, and Carlos Zayas-Pons, all C'20, have founded a new literary journal called Ample Remains.

To further an initiative toward innovations in teaching and mentoring, the Office of the Dean of the College announces the first round of grants to faculty members for work focusing on diversity, equity, and inclusion broadly considered.

The grant will allow Sewanee to develop a Sewanee Public Interest Data Analysis Institute, and to build data analytics and technological capacity to address public health challenges in underserved communities.

Sewanee Dining began using reusable to-go containers at the end of August when students couldn’t all be seated in McClurg Dining Hall due to COVID-19 protocols. The boxes are “checked out” and returned, and over a six-week period kept almost 34,000 single-use containers out of the landfill.

Leadership changes will occur at the end of the year in the Division of Student Life. Dean of Students W. Marichal Gentry, C’86, will leave his position and Nicole Noffsinger-Frazier, C’97, will move into her new role of associate provost for student life and dean of students.