51����

A year at 51���� goes by quickly. Luckily, thanks to my work producing videos in the Office of University Communications, I capture a lot of it on camera. I recently looked back at 2016 — here are my favorite pieces from the last 12 months.

The best 51���� photographs of 2016.

Associate Dean of Admission Drew Riley found a small personalized note in his staff mailbox this week that simply read, “Happy holidays and thank you for all you do to make 51���� the incredible place it is!” It was signed by someone named Dana. Riley thought the nice gesture was perhaps from someone he met […]

With a backdrop of African flags and an Afrobeat soundtrack, students modeled colorful styles at the third annual African Student Union fashion show. Celebrating the continent and its nations’ cultures, this year’s event — called Love, Africa — filled the Hall of Presidents on November 12. Designers Bamboo Stitches, Obioma, Missy Temeke, Queen W, and […]

An exemplary student and a fierce advocate for LGBTQ awareness and promoting positive sexuality, Providence A. Ryan ’16, a biology and philosophy double major from Schenectady, N.Y., is the 2016 recipient of 51����’s highest student honor, the 1819 Award. The 1819 Award is given annually to one student representing character, sportsmanship, scholarship, and service above […]

Legendary vocalist Aretha Franklin will perform on campus at 7 p.m. on Saturday, March 5, in Sanford Field House. Known around the world by her first name, and as the reigning “Queen of Soul,” Franklin’s repertoire spans pop, soul, jazz, rock, blues, and gospel. Her sold-out appearance, part of the Kerschner Family Series Global Leaders […]

Suzy Nelson, 51����’s vice president and dean of the college since June 2012, has been named vice president of student life at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Mass., effective July 1, 2016. “From the very first days after her arrival in 2012, Suzy has been an accessible, collaborative, and compassionate leader dedicated to […]

Ilyasah Al Shabazz, daughter of civil rights leader Malcolm X, spoke to a packed Love Auditorium in Olin Hall last Wednesday, wrapping up this year’s MLK Week celebration. Shabazz is a community organizer, educator, social activist, motivational speaker, and author. Her most well-known book, Growing Up X, is both a personal memoir and a tribute […]

Dear Class of 2019, I had an experience the other day that forced me to think deeply about something that is of immediate importance to us all. I attended a holiday brunch, and my neighbor asked me: “Can you believe you finished your first semester of college?” My answer: “Not at all…I mean kinda yes?” […]

Editor’s note: The following op-ed was first published in the Huffington Post. Last year, students at my college staged a 100-hour sit-in to call for a more inclusive campus community. After sitting for hours in the lobby of the main administration building, listening to stories of students feeling isolated and marginalized, I knew we had to do […]