Special awards are also presented at McDaniel’s Commencement. Award winners are not revealed until the ceremonies. These awards include:
- Undergraduate student awards: Argonaut Award given to the graduating senior with the highest cumulative grade-point average and The Edith Farr Ridington Writing Award for the best paper by a graduating senior. In addition, the Bates Prize for the most outstanding male graduating senior and the Mary Ward Lewis Prize for the most outstanding female graduating senior are awarded.
- Graduate student awards: The B. Jill Brooks Hodge Professional Development Award given to a graduate student who has demonstrated academic excellence with a strong compassion for individuals with special needs and an interest in serving the deaf or disabled.
- Faculty awards: The Ira G. Zepp Distinguished Teaching Award, recognizing inspired classroom work and dedication to students, and the Ira G. Zepp Teaching Enhancement Grant to further excellence in teaching. The Shelton Adjunct Faculty Award is also given to an adjunct faculty member at the graduate or undergraduate level whose teaching demonstrates a commitment to excellence and genuine care for students.
Additional Commencement-related events
In conjunction with Commencement, several events are scheduled for Friday, May 20:
Army ROTC Commissioning Ceremony
McDaniel’s Green Terror Battalion Army ROTC program hosts its Commissioning Ceremony at 3 p.m. May 20 in Baker Memorial Chapel with seven graduating seniors from McDaniel being commissioned as second lieutenants in the U.S. Army. Maj. Gen. Antonio V. Munera, commanding general of the 20th Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives (CBRNE) Command at Aberdeen Proving Ground, is the guest speaker.
Army ROTC has been a tradition at the college since 1919, and the Green Terror Battalion, which includes cadets from McDaniel, Hood College and Mount St. Mary’s, is one of the oldest ROTC programs in the nation. McDaniel’s Military Legacy Scholarship guarantees up to $120,000 over four years to all military veterans, active-duty military personnel and their children. McDaniel also participates in the Post-9/11 GI Bill and Yellow Ribbon Program.
Senior Investiture and Honors Convocation
The annual Senior Investiture and Honors Convocation takes place at 6:30 p.m. May 20 in WMC Alumni Hall. Graduating seniors receive academic, activity and leadership awards during the ceremony.
At 6 p.m. prior to the Senior Investiture and Honors Convocation, graduating seniors will process from Baker Memorial Chapel through Ward Memorial Arch to WMC Alumni Hall.