Robert Hitchcock
Chapman University officially welcomed nearly 2,000 first-year and transfer students, along with their parents and supporters, during Opening Convocation at Wilson Field. This annual tradition marks the start of the students’ academic journey.
The ceremony featured several inspirational speakers and was especially significant as President Daniele C. Struppa presided over his ninth and final Convocation. He is stepping down as President and returning to teaching mathematics, as President-Elect Matt Parlow, who was also in attendance, assumes the role of Chapman’s 14th president on September 2.
In his remarks, President Struppa welcomed students to the Chapman family and encouraged each of them to embrace the deeper meaning of higher education.
“We don’t go to school only because we want to get a good job,” Struppa told those in attendance. “I think there are deeper reasons why we want to go to college. And I think that the real answer is we do it because we want to prepare ourselves for a life as curious, engaged, enthusiastic students of life.”
Student Government Association President Cintya Felix also welcomed students and offered words of encouragement. She challenged them to step into their new community with courage.
“Here is my challenge for you – take that leap, sit beside the person you don’t know, ask the question you have been holding back,” Felix said. “Chapman is not just a place to learn, it’s a place to risk, to fail, and to rise stronger than before. Let every uncertain step become the fire that fuels your courage and shapes the person you are destined to be.”
In what could be described as the students first collegiate-level lecture, Dr. Vikki Katz, School of Communications Fletcher Jones Foundation Endowed Chair in Free Speech, spoke to Chapman’s newest students and their supporters about the importance of connection and purpose in this digital age.
“In our post-pandemic world where students report rising loneliness despite constant connectivity, our classroom can become sanctuaries of belonging,” Katz said. “Places where deep ideas and deeper relationships take root. Because learning at its best is a collective act, a conversation between past thinkers, present peers and future possibilities.
“And so I see our shared task as educators today to be this, to teach habits of mind and the habits of heart that will help our students flourish in a world of uncertainty, to help them beyond the shallow satisfaction of likes and shares, to the deeper satisfaction of purposeful disagreement and hard-won connection to each other. If we can do that, if we can help them cultivate deep knowledge and even deeper human connection, then we will have given all you a far greater gift than any course grade or credential.”
The ceremony concluded with music and a fireworks display that served to ignite the students’ passion and launch them on their new journey at Chapman University.
Congratulations Panthers, and welcome to the Chapman family!
To view the entire 2025 Opening Convocation ceremony, click here.
