COVID Convening: Campus engagement in a virtual world
Centenary’s priority for the 2020-2021 academic year was maintaining as much in-person instruction as possible and preserving the residential college experience for students living on campus. One of the sacrifices necessary to achieve this goal was the effort to create a campus “bubble,” prompting a set of protocols that limited off-campus visitors and interactions in order to maintain a safe environment for students, faculty, and staff working at the College. Particularly in the fall of 2020, this approach meant a moratorium on the traditional way of staging many of the events and activities that give college campuses their energy and life. Live music and theatre performances, art exhibits, athletic events, lectures and forums, and alumni and community gatherings were all curtailed in favor of small, student-only events.
Campus life did not stop during the pandemic, however – like so much else, it simply evolved. Although any poll would probably reveal widespread “Zoom exhaustion” across the Centenary campus and the world at large, there is something to be said for the opportunity to attend a live Q&A session with an accomplished Centenary alumna (who was recently named the top editor at Teen Vogue!) from the comfort of your residence hall room. Centenary students and alumni took advantage of the many educational and cultural opportunities offered virtually throughout the year, from poetry readings to film screenings to artist talks sponsored by the College’s Meadows Museum of Art. The opportunity to record and share most of these events is an added bonus, meaning that these scholars, artists, and performers can continue to educate and enrich the Centenary community for many years to come.
Explore below for a glimpse at Centenary’s eclectic and expansive “virtual world” during the 2020-2021 academic year.
September 2020
A performance of “Wanderlust,” composed by Hurley School of Music student Anna M. DiMaggio and performed by Sally Horak Hundemer
Filmed by Thomas Hundemer and edited by Anna DiMaggio, Sherry Heflin, and Thomas Hundemer
An artist talk with Michelle Burdine, discussing her Meadows Museum of Art exhibit As Time Passed. Explore the exhibit in 3D here.
October 2020
A panel discussion with Due South Co-Op, a photography collaboration of Southern photographers formed in 2018. Due South Co-Op presented Between the Margins at the Meadows Museum in the fall of 2020. A 3D tour is available here.
Elizabeth DiSavino, associate professor at Berea College, joined the Centenary community for a discussion of her book on Katherine Jackson French, a former Centenary professor. The work of Katherine Jackson French is now changing how we view the people and culture of Appalachia.
November 2020
Artist Michelle Burdine returns to the Centenary virtual space to moderate a panel of Centenary faculty members: Dr. Michelle Wolkomir (sociology), Dr. Andia Augustin-Billy (French and Francophone Studies), Dr. Amanda Donohoe (political science), and Dr. Jama Grove (history). The discussion, Bodily Possession, focuses on how women’s bodies are entangled in larger structures of society and highlights the research of these four Centenary scholars.
Stephen Pitters ‘71, an accomplished poet and host of the Spokane Open Poetry Program on KYRS in Spokane, Washington, joined the Centenary community for a virtual conversation in November 2020. Pitters, one of the first black undergraduates to attend Centenary following the College’s racial integration in January 1966, reflected on his experiences at the College during the Civil Rights era and discussed some of the challenges of the present day with current students.
Photographer Odette England discusses her book, Keepers of the Hearth: Picturing Roland Barthe's Unseen Photograph. England was scheduled to visit Centenary and deliver this talk in person on March 18, 2020, but her visit was canceled by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Fall concert from the Centenary Youth Orchestra, filmed safely over a period of several weeks in accordance with COVID-19 safety protocols.
The Centenary Wind Ensemble performs outdoors in the Shell on a gorgeous November afternoon.
January 2021
Dream Week 2021 – Centenary’s annual celebration of the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
MLK Convocation with Bishop Cynthia Fierro Harvey
Dream Week 2021 – Centenary’s annual celebration of the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
MLK Alumni Convocation with Patricia Matthew '91, Ph.D., followed by Q & A facilitated by Jefferson Hendricks '75, Ph.D.
Dream Week 2021 – Centenary’s annual celebration of the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Stephen Pitters ’71 returns for a poetry reading and discussion
Centenary president Dr. Christopher L. Holoman moderates an expert panel on COVID-19 Vaccines: Myths and Facts, including Dr. Becki Murphy from the College’s biology department. Centenary presented this free virtual event for the community just as COVID-19 vaccines were becoming available in Shreveport-Bossier.
February 2021
Versha Sharma ’08, at the time a senior correspondent at NowThis, interviewed Josh Johnson ’12, a writer for The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, in this event organized by Centenary’s Convocations Committee and supported by the Attaway Professorships in Civic Culture.
On May 10, Versha was named editor-in-chief of Teen Vogue.
March 2021
College archivist Chris Brown and Dr. Jama Grove, assistant professor of history, delivered a presentation entitled “Institutional Memory and Accountability” during the annual Founders’ Day Convocation.
The Office of Alumni & Family Relations launched a new webinar series, Centenary Currents, in March. The first episode featured two Centenary alumni – Dr. Becki Murphy ’05 and Dr. Kathrine Weeks ’06, along with Dr. Andrew Yurochko from LSU Health – discussing “Solutions to a Science Crisis.”
April 2021
Nico Van Thyn, son of Holocaust survivors Rose and Louis Van Thyn and author of a book highlighting their extraordinary lives and legacy, delivered a virtual lecture on Thursday, April 8, as part of the College’s Dr. Rose and Mr. Louis Van Thyn Memorial Lecture Series named for his parents.
The kick-off event for the 2021 Centenary Research Conference was a 72-hour virtual screening of the award-winning documentary Picture a Scientist, followed by a virtual panel discussion and Q&A with three successful and respected women working in STEM. The virtual screening began April 11 and concluded with the panel discussion on April 14.
May 2021
Ok, so this one happened in person…the long-awaited commencement exercises for the Class of 2021 and the Class of 2020! The College was thrilled to safely host graduates, faculty, staff, family, and friends for two joyous celebrations in the Gold Dome on Saturday, May 8, 2021 (Class of 2021 at 10:30am & Class of 2020 at 4:00pm).