NEWS

 

Tuesday afternoon Davidson College held their annual start of the academic year faculty and staff meeting in the Lilly Family Gallery.

The theme of the meeting was immediately apparent. Two stands of flags from nations around the globe flanked the podium. Closer to the podium the Davidson College flag was next to the American flag, and the North Carolina flag was next to the Olympic flag. Moreover, the meeting was renamed the faculty and staff “Opening Ceremony.”

The “Opening Ceremony” graphic, displayed on the big screen, also had a photo of Chambers building with the Olympic rings. President Doug Hicks opened the meeting with remarks, and not too far into those remarks he showed a slide with the article that appeared in The Wall Street Journal. While the article entitled “Which College Won the Olympics” gave Stanford the numerical nod, it included the following:

“In terms of medals per capita, few schools beat Davidson, which has a population of 2,000 students and two Olympic medalists. The first was Evy Leibfarth, a biology major who earned a bronze in canoe slalom. The other was some gold medalist who used to be on the basketball team, named Stephen Curry.”  

With that Hicks paused, and the theme from the Olympics began playing over the speakers. Professor Dan Boye, the College Marshal, jogged into the room holding the Davidson College mace as though it was the Olympic torch. He was followed by Davidson College cheerleaders waving pom poms, tiny American flags, and tiny Olympic flags.

Hicks then compared Olympic ideals to those of the college.. It was then time for the actual meeting part of the “Opening Ceremony” to take place. Subsequent speakers included Chris Gruber, Eileen Keeley, and Chris Clunie.

Chris Gruber talked about the members of the incoming Class of 2028, providing a snapshot of those new students who will be arriving in the coming days. Then Eileen Keeley, Vice President for College Relations, summarized myriad accomplishments during the most recent fiscal year. She specifically noted highly engaged alumni. Chris Clunie, Director of Athletics, spoke about the success of Davidson scholar-athletes on and off their fields of play.

As the formal remarks concluded, Hicks said there was still a special guest to introduce. He teased the introduction with comments such as “This is someone who knows what it means to deal with rough waters – even underwater, and then turn that into success. Someone who knows how it feels to go upstream against all sorts of challenges. Please welcome member of the Class of 2025, and Bronze Medalist from the Olympics in the Canoe Slalom, Evy Leibfarth.”

Evy, wearing her Team USA blue jacket and her Bronze Medal, entered from the back of Lilly Family Gallery and walked through the crowd to a standing ovation as the Olympic anthem played once again.

As she stood in the front the room, Hicks introduced Davidson Mayor Rusty Knox. Rusty presented Evy with the Proclamation that had been presented at last week’s Town Board meeting. After posing for a photo with the proclamation, Hicks gave Evy a Davidson College flag, and the three posed for another photo.

Evy made brief remarks, thanking everyone in attendance. She said, “Davidson College is really special because of all of y’all. It’s really crazy to me, when I travel and tell people I go to Davidson, everyone knows someone who went here. Everyone has a lot of love for this town, for this college, for all of you guys. I’m really proud to go here.”

She closed her remarks with the final introduction of the afternoon – the new Davidson mascot.

As the crowd flowed out of Lilly Family Gallery, a full array of snacks and drinks was available, including a cookie that was made to look like a Bronze Medal with the Olympic rings. Evy was gracious and stayed for more than an hour to greet and talk with hundreds of folks in attendance, taking photos and selfies with most.

Photos and videos from the event.