Archives & Special Collections

Today’s blog post is written by Mollie Rance, Library Technician, who digitized the Commencement Files in the Fall 2019. The commencement files can be found online following this link. Here are her reflections on the project:
The commencement programs of Wilkes spans its entire history, from its humble beginning as Bucknell University Junior College in 1933, to Wilkes College in 1947, to present day.  The first commencement program in our collection is from 1941, the 7^th Annual Commencement of BUJC. I took note of the Junior College Song:

The spirit of the BUJC song remains in the current Wilkes Alma Mater song, but the gendered language, “To prove our way as men” has been modified in the current Alma Matter. While the language used in the BUJC song is a reflection of its time, the updated version reflects the inclusion of all Wilkes students. Eleanor Farley, wife of the first Wilkes President Eugene S. Farley, wrote the words and music to the Alma Mater song we still use today. The new lyrics “Guide us as a friend” replace the gendered language in the first verse.

The updates to reflect inclusion of all students, and “deeds of love and service” come as no surprise when one discovers that the Farleys advocated equal education for women and took note of their accomplishments. Indeed, when prominent Wilkes alumna Cathy DeAngelis received an honorary doctorate from Wilkes in 1994, Farley’s thoughts were noted.

The excerpt of the citation notes: “You encountered a very special tradition at Wilkes in which bright women students, especially in the sciences, were encouraged to aspire to reach the top of their chosen field at a time when this was still relatively rare. . . . In selecting you as their leader, your fellow students counted on your uncommon articulateness, self-confidence and savvy, qualities that Dr. Farley admired, especially in women.”

In scanning the earliest commencement programs at Wilkes, I took note of the interesting marginalia that was written on the Archives copies of the programs. While we don’t know whose notes in the margins are whose, given the interest of women’s accomplishments by Wilkes and Dr. Farley in particular, I do wonder if the marginalia on the 1950 Commencement Program was written by the man himself. The notes on the pages keep a tally of how many women received a degree versus how many men.

The following page includes the tally of how many women received Bachelor of Science degrees in Biology:

But tallies don’t always tell the whole story. In 1965, when Cathy DeAngelis graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree, graduates’ names were listed under “Bachelor of Arts” of “Bachelor of Science” only. Cathy DeAngelis received her first degree in Biology, but interestingly, hers was a Bachelor of Arts degree.

As an English major myself, I know little of the academic demands of a Biology major, but in digitizing these files, I learned that it is indeed an option for a student majoring in Biology to pursue and obtain a Bachelor of Arts degree in that field, instead of a Bachelor of Science. Those who do may focus on sharpening their writing and communication skills within the field, and it comes down to a student’s preference of what they would like to pursue when obtaining a degree in the Arts or Sciences. There is indeed a place for the skills of a BA degree within the Sciences, and vice versa.

It’s refreshing to know that Wilkes has a long history of encouraging the inclusion of all students in every academic field!