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Class of 2010: By the Numbers



Some members of the Class of 2010 team up on Biddle Field to showcase their graduating year.

Graduation 2010: Diplomas, gowns and ... trays?

Dickinson College’s commencement ceremony was held Sunday, May 23, on the John Dickinson Campus at Old West under a cloudy but, for the most part, dry sky.

The commencement address was given by Jon Meacham, editor of Newsweek magazine and Pulitzer Prize-winning author. Meacham received an honorary degree in journalism. Honorary degrees also were awarded to Paula S. Apsell, senior executive producer of the science television series NOVA; Deborah Bial, president and founder of Posse Foundation Inc.; and Marcia Dale Weary, founder and artistic director of the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet.

Each graduate was awarded a diploma and a souvenir cafeteria tray, the latter a humorous tribute to the college’s decision to eliminate the use of trays as a way of enhancing sustainability.

Faculty and student awards

The Constance & Rose Ganoe Memorial Award for Inspirational Teaching was given to Michael S. Poulton, senior lecturer practitioner, international business and management. Philip Grier, the Thomas Bowman professor of religion and philosophy, received the 2010 Distinguished Teaching Award. The award is based on votes by faculty.

The following student awards also were announced at commencement and given to graduates:

The James Fowler Rusling Prize, which recognizes excellent scholarly achievement: Simon Matthew Dosovitz, a biochemistry and molecular biology major from Washington D.C. He plans to conduct scientific research this summer at Vanderbilt University. The John Patton Prize for High Scholastic Standing: James Yarnall Watson-Krips, an East Asian studies major from Norristown, Pa. He has been accepted into the Nan Jing Program at Johns Hopkins University where he will pursue a master’s degree in Chinese studies.

Hufstader Senior Prizes (awarded annually to the senior man and senior woman who, in the judgment of President William G. Durden, Class of 1971, have made the greatest contributions to the good of the college during their undergraduate years: Alexandra Cara Baranick, an economics major from Scarsdale, N.Y. She plans to return to New York and pursue employment in event planning. Lee Evan Tankle, a law and policy major from Huntingdon Valley, Pa. He will attend the College of William and Mary Law School in the fall.

Key trends and stats

The class is composed of 543 graduates, including 23 who completed their degree requirements last summer and February.

The class ratio: 59 percent women, 41 percent men.

Seventy-nine percent of the students who entered Dickinson as first-years in the fall of 2006 graduated within four years.

Seventeen percent are students of color (excluding international students). There are 30 African Americans, 23 Asian Americans, 22 Hispanic Americans, one Native American/Alaska Natives and 15 other, or unknown.

Forty-one percent of the class graduated with Latin Honors (10 percent summa cum laude, 13 percent magna cum laude and 18 percent cum laude).

Sixty students graduated with departmental honors: American studies (one), anthropology (two), art and art history (one), biochemistry and molecular biology (three), biology (five), chemistry (two), computer science (two), East Asian studies (three), English (two), environmental studies (one), geology/earth science (three), history (four), international business and management (five), international studies (nine), music (one), neuroscience (one), philosophy (one), physics (three), policy studies (one), political science (three), psychology (three), religion (one), sociology (two) and Spanish (one).

What they studied

How many majors: Eighty-five percent graduated with one major. Fifteen percent are double majors. One student, Oscar Beltran, graduated with a triple major in international business and management, Latin American, Latino and Caribbean studies, and Spanish. 

What majors were they?

  • Eighty percent of graduates were awarded bachelor of arts degrees; 20 percent were awarded bachelor of science degrees.
  • Five percent majored in the Arts (art & art history, music, and theatre arts).
  • Twelve percent have language-based majors (French, German, Russian, Spanish, East Asian studies, classical studies and Italian studies).
  • Forty-three percent majored in an interdisciplinary field such as Africana studies, American studies, archaeology, biochemistry and molecular biology, classical studies, East Asian studies, environmental science, environmental studies, international studies, Italian studies, Judaic studies, Latin American, Latino and Caribbean studies, law and policy, Medieval and early modern studies, Middle East studies, policy management, or women’s and gender studies.
  • Thirty-five percent majored in an international area such as foreign languages, international studies, international business and management, or area studies.


    Sixty-one percent studied off campus     at some point during their undergraduate years—either abroad or on a domestic exchange program.

  • Fifty-eight percent studied abroad during their undergraduate years, either in a January globally-integrated program, a summer, semester, or full year program. These students studied in 38 countries: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Cameroon, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Poland, Russia, Senegal, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Tanzania, Tunisia, Turks & Caicos, United Kingdom and Venezuela.
  • Forty-six percent of men and 66 percent of women studied abroad. Forty-five percent of students of color studied abroad. Fifty-one percent of students majoring in the sciences studied abroad.
  • Nineteen students participated in off campus study programs in the United States, such as the Washington Center.

Where are they from?

Members of the class reside in 35 states and the District of Columbia. Twenty-five percent are from Pennsylvania, 12 percent are from New York, 11 percent are from Maryland and seven percent are from New Jersey.

Thirty-two international students from 17 countries graduated.

Eighteen graduates are direct legacies (whose parents are alumni), and two are children of alumni couples. Another 32 graduates are related to other Dickinson graduates such as siblings, uncles, aunts and grandparents.

Where will they go from here?

Three graduates were awarded Fulbright Scholarships this year, all to teach English in Germany:

  • Matthew Hayden (cum laude with a double major in German and Archaeology)
  • Katelyn Monfet (magna cum laude with a double major in German and English) and
  • Jessie Strasbaugh (magna cum laude with a double major in German and English)

Other students with noteworthy plans include:

  • Brendan Gallagher (cum laude with a biology major), has accepted a fellowship position at Environment America, a federation of state-based, citizen-funded environmental-advocacy organizations.
  • Sarah Gold (summa cum laude with a biology major), has accepted a position as a teacher with Teach for America.
  • Elizabeth Humes (summa cum laude with a biochemistry and molecular biology major), has accepted a position as a post baccalaureate fellow at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., where she will conduct biomedical research on retroviruses in a genetics lab.
  • Edward Small (summa cum laude with a history major), has accepted a position through the AmeriCorps Match program as a tutor at a middle school in Boston, where he will work with students in math, reading, writing and extracurricular activities.
  • Anna Valiante (sociology major), has been awarded a $10,000 grant by the Kathryn Wasserman Davis Projects for Peace program to support her proposal, “Pirambu Peace Project: Building skills and empowering the children of the Pirambu neighborhood in Fortaleza, Brazil, summer 2010.” This is an eight-week project designed to empower adolescents from the Pirambu neighborhood of Fortaleza through photography and English language skills. Valiante is the fourth Dickinson student in as many years to win the prestigious grant.
  • Amanda West (summa cum laude with a political science major), has accepted a youth mentoring position at Cispus AmeriCorps in Packwood, Wash.)

Four members of the class received their commission into the U.S Army as 2nd lieutenants:

  • Sarah Compton (cum laude with an East Asian studies major), will be assigned active duty and Branched Military Intelligence with initial duty at Fort Lewis, Wash.
  • Benjamin Greenlee (international studies major) will be assigned active duty and Branched as an Infantry Officer at Fort Drum, N.Y. Greenlee has been awarded high honors as a distinguished military graduate—awarded to only the top 10 percent of all ROTC graduates.
  • Gregory Leak (biology major), will be assigned active duty and branched ordnance with initial duty at Fort Lewis, Wash.
  • Michael Yosua (double major in East Asian studies and political science), will be assigned educational delay for law school.

These are only a few of our distinguished graduates. For more information about the class of 2010’s post-graduation plans, visit Life Beyond the Limestone.