Generations of Success: U of R Bids Farewell to Graduates and Retiring Faculty During Its 117th Commencement

Video still via University of Redlands livestream

More than 500 seniors were conferred undergraduate degrees at the University of Redlands on April 24.

By David James Heiss

Redlands News Collective

The University of Redlands sent off more than 500 undergraduates and said goodbye to several longtime retirees during commencement ceremonies held April 24 in Ted Runner Stadium.

U of R President Krista Newkirk assured graduates that the “most meaningful change has been what’s been built within you. You arrived with questions. Today, you leave with direction. Four years ago you were looking for your place. Today, you are stepping into your purpose: you are researchers, artists, athletes, entrepreneurs, scholars and leaders.”

Newkirk shared attributes of the 511 seniors: 111 were athletes; 87 were members of Greek organizations; 85 were legacy students who had family members or relatives attend Redlands before them; 129 were transfers; and 246 were first-generation college graduates.

Newkirk told them that “the late nights, the better-than-expected performances, internships of discovery and development of lifelong friends all contributed to ‘the Redlands experience’: not just what you learned, but who you became. Class of 2026, wherever your path leads you, across the country or around the world, carry forward what you’ve learned here: curiosity, courage, and a commitment to making a difference. The world needs you, and we cannot wait to see what you will do next.”

Board of Trustees Chairman David Enzminger assured graduates that fulfilling graduation requirements when he finished at U of R 41 years earlier was not any easier than what this year’s class endured. He noted that when he went off to law school, none of his classes there were more difficult than the ones he took with retiring professor Art Svenson, who retires this year after 45 years of teaching at Redlands.

He also acknowledged his first-year seminar professor, Kevin O’Neill, who passed away earlier this year. O’Neill once told Enzminger, “I have never worked a day in my life, and I never intend to.”

“He so loved teaching that he never considered it work,” Enzminger said. “I think of that often.”

He encouraged graduates to “strive hard to find someone who will pay you to do what you like to do. You won’t regret taking chances, you won’t regret seizing the day, but you might regret failing to take chances.”

Video still via University of Redlands livestream

Taylor Whaley, of Olympia, Washington, delivered a student commencement speech to her fellow Class of 2026.

Taylor Whaley, graduating summa cum laude with her Bachelor of Science degree in business administration, was selected to address her peers as the student commencement speaker. She addressed a concept that brings conflicts and division to the forefront of a lot of people’s minds and addressed its encapsulation of fear.

Whaley interned with the LA Sparks and played on the U of R women’s basketball and flag football teams. She founded TW Thrifts, a resale business focused on curated fashion.

“During my time at the University of Redlands, I’ve realized something important. Fear doesn’t go away. What matters is how we respond to it,” she said. During her undergraduate career, “fear showed up in small quiet moments: being scared to make a mistake in front of a crowd. Pushing through when my body was exhausted. And, even questioning, ‘Am I good enough’ … You are capable of more than what your fears want you to believe.”

She talked about personal struggles of striking out on her own, meeting people for the first time, and having those “small, quiet moments” of fear help her grow stronger. “Don’t let fear hold you back. Fear can stop you, or shape you. Use it as motivation to move forward, to grow, to make a difference. Fear will always be a part of your life. But it does not get to define your future. You do.”

“Now more than ever,” she said, “it is on us to lead responsibly in a complicated and divided world. That means having courage, being thoughtful, being brave.”

Chuck O’Neill, an alumnus with the Class of 1985 who co-founded Park City, Utah-based MCAL Therapeutics, was the College of Arts and Sciences commencement speaker.

O’Neill talked about the “straightforward” scientific method applied to every genre of education and in everyday life, until we have good, valid data and fidelity in a path moving forward to solving a problem. Opening oneself up to criticism, 99% of the time it’s professional criticism from others trying to make the world a better place.

Passion, objectivity, integrity and a team that supports the ideals were elements O’Neill believes are necessary for progress, and he urged graduates to find their calling.

“You as graduates have been trained in critical thinking, to look at problems from multiple points of view, to solve those problems and build your teams to solve those problems down the road. This is what your calling is, at least to me,” O’Neill said.

Twenty-nine students graduated a day earlier from the Johnston Center for Integrative Studies, where graduates like Sophia Hernandez earned her degree with an emphasis on “Practical and Creative Perspectives on Social Environmentalism,” and Keegan Sherry graduated with an emphasis on “Sociocultural Analysis of Systems Domination.”

During an early evening commencement ceremony at Ted Runner Stadium, Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation Chairwoman Lynn Valbuena addressed 190 graduates in the School of Business & Society and 277 graduates of the School of Education, including 18 candidates who received doctorates in leadership and educational justice.

The university acknowledged retiring faculty who represented 478 years of service to the university: math professor Jim Bentley, 25 years; media and communications professor Penny McElroy, 40 years; business professor Jill Robinson, 30 years; Conservatory of Music instructor Melissa Tosh, 27 years; former provost and English professor Nancy Carrick, 46 years; race and ethnic studies professor Larry Gross, 15 years; Conservatory of Music instructor Kathy Hickey, three years; philosophy professor Xinyan Jiang, 26 years; environmental studies professor Dan Klooster, 18 years; psychology professor Fred Rabinowitz, 42 years; and political science professor Art Svenson, 45 years.