2008 commencement features tribute to late Willard Collins, 400+ graduates
Janel Shoun |
To see Tennessean coverage of two of our outstanding graduates click here.
The largest group of students in Lipscomb University’s 117-year history gathered Saturday to celebrate “the end of the beginning.”
Coordinated by student leaders, the graduates carried out a touching tribute to the late Willard Collins, beloved long-time Lipscomb president, during the ceremony, by each dropping a penny in a jar as they crossed the stage.
Early in Collins’ tenure in the 1970s, one group of graduates decided to each drop a penny on the stage as they received their diploma, to show President Collins that although they could not provide much financial support for Lipscomb then, they were pledging to support the school in the future.
The 2008 graduates copied the tribute in the first graduation ceremony since President Collins’ death at age 92.
“My prayer is that you will take four things with your from your time here,” Lipscomb President L. Randolph Lowry told the graduates in his charge. “I hope you will take the knowledge needed to make wise decisions. I hope you will take a sense of faith, to sustain you in your difficult moments. I hope you will take a spirit of service, and I hope you will take memories of this institution and you will be thankful you came here.”
President Lowry quoted Winston Churchill, saying that while former students may think of graduation as the end of homework, the end of tests, the end of curfews, it is actually “not the end; not even the beginning of the end; but perhaps the end of only the beginning.”
Churchill also said, “It’s what you learn after you know it all that really matters,” Lowry noted. “We hope we have taught you how to ask questions, and that this is just the beginning of your education.”
At this year’s commencement ceremonies:
- More than 400 students, the largest group ever, walked the stage to get their degrees;
- 90 masters-level graduates, the largest group ever, received hoods;
- 50 education masters graduates, the highest number ever, participated in the ceremony. Considering all graduates, 33 general education teachers, 9 special education teachers and 15 potential principals or administrators are headed into the state’s classrooms and schools with master’s degrees;
- The first master’s of accountancy graduates were awarded degrees;
- The first professional master’s of business graduates were awarded degrees; and
- 33 graduates of the Lipscomb/Vanderbilt Nursing Partnership participated in the ceremony.
With almost a quarter of the graduates receiving a master’s hood, Randy Bouldin, associate provost for graduate studies, hopes the undergraduate students will be inspired to continue their education and professional development.
One of the primary factors in the past year’s positive enrollment was the creation of several new masters programs designed to meet targeted needs in the community. Graduate student enrollment in fall 2007 increased by 107 to 381, the largest increase in graduate enrollment ever.
Lipscomb now offers 11 graduate degrees and is on track to begin offering its first doctoral program – in pharmacy – this coming fall.
“The large number of masters-level graduates in the ceremony this year indicates that not only are we expanding the number of graduate programs, but we are offering programs that are appealing and successful for the student,” said Bouldin, who was appointed as associate provost for graduate studies in 2007. “We are dedicated to provide providing the encouragement and support graduate students need to complete their degrees.”