This Week in Photos: Bicentennial Kick-off

On Friday, Feb. 11, the Hobart Bicentennial kicked off at Trinity Church Wall Street in New York City, the home of John Henry Hobart where he served as the third Episcopal Bishop of New York State and established the college that today bears his name.
Opening the ceremony, Trustee Garrett A. Mathieson ’74 offers an acapella performance of the alma mater.
Board Chair Craig R. Stine ’81, P’17 recalls the history of the founding of Hobart College on the shores of Seneca Lake in 1822.
Board Chair Craig R. Stine ’81, P’17 shares how HWS shaped him into a critical thinker, and gave him a community filled with supportive friends and faculty.
In her address, President Joyce P. Jacobsen points to entrepreneurialism and determination as having shaped the Colleges’ past and helping to outline its strategic and bright future.
President Joyce P. Jacobsen reflects on how the Colleges have ably steered through great changes in history, from the Civil War to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Keynote speaker the Most Rev. Michael B. Curry ’75, D.D. ’20 recalls being inspired by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s image of the “beloved community,” a just and equitable world where people care for one another as family. Curry is the Presiding Bishop and Primate of The Episcopal Church and the Honorary Chair of the Bicentennial Committee.
“Love for others besides the self will show us the way to take our “jangling discords” and make a “beautiful symphony” of love, compassion, justice, goodness and kindness…I learned that at Hobart and William Smith Colleges,” says Bishop Curry, quoting Dr. King.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions at Trinity Church, in-person attendance was restricted and a live streaming made the event widely available.
President Joyce P. Jacobsen and the Most Rev. Michael B. Curry ’75, D.D.’20 enjoy the opening event in Trinity Church.
Student Trustees Thomas “Gib” Shea ’22, Nuzhat Wahid ’22 and Irini Konstantinou ’23 join with Bishop Curry following the celebration.
In memory and respect for his service, a monument of Bishop John Henry Hobart resides in Trinity Church Wall Street.
The inscription on the monument for Bishop Hobart.
Bishop John Henry Hobart, who died in 1830, is buried along with his wife in Trinity Churchyard; the catacombs are two-floors beneath the church altar.