Rev. John Denning, C.S.C. Installed as Stonehill College’s Tenth President

The Presidential Inauguration for Rev. John F. Denning, C.S.C., the tenth President of Stonehill, was held today, Friday, September 20th in the College’s Sports Complex. The event was held in conjunction with academic convocation where members of the Class of 2017 received their first-year pins and members of the Class of 2014 received their senior pins. The recipient of this year’s Louise F. Hegarty Award for Excellence in Teaching, Rev. Richard Gribble, C.S.C., was also announced.

In addition to Stonehill faculty, staff and students, in attendance for the historic event were alumni from every graduating class in the College’s history, members of the College’s Board of Trustees, members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, friends of the College and delegates from 35 colleges and universities.

Officially installing Fr. Denning as President was Thomas May ’69, chair of Stonehill’s Board of Trustees.

Embracing Opportunities

In her address, student speaker Laura Dzgoeva ’14 told first-year students, “Stonehill will be what you make of it…There are mind-blowingly incredible opportunities, experiences, and people around you on this campus.”

“The students, faculty, and staff at this College are simply delightful and they want you to succeed. If you reach out and create relationships, if you grab these opportunities, you will undoubtedly be successful here,” she continued.

In introducing the faculty speaker, Professor of Foreign Languages John Golden, Dzgoeva said, “His teaching style is dynamic and interactive, and he’ll stretch you to your intellectual limit, but he’ll make sure never to make you uncomfortable. He doesn’t single out one person to call on- it’s not about that. It’s not about a professor asking a question. It’s about a real conversation, flowing seamlessly between Professor Golden and the students.”

Find Your Passion, Do The Work, And Go Away

Golden, last year’s Hegarty award winner, offered students, particularly those just beginning their journeys at Stonehill, three points of wisdom- “find your passion, do the work and go away,”

“Finding your passion is only job one. No amount of wishing and hoping and wanting will turn your passion into reality. For that to happen, you need to do the work. Stonehill will not do this for you but, we will certainly help you do it. Your front line of help is the faculty,” Golden said.

In explaining his advice to “go away,” Golden referenced a poster which hangs outside his office that reads, “Other cultures are not failed attempts to be you.”

“We claim that one of the outcomes of a Stonehill education is ‘valuing the diversity of persons and cultures.’ How do you do that? How do you really get it? Go there- experience directly another culture…We have lots of ways to get you there.”