Commencement ceremony features largest group of students, theme of service

Janel Shoun | 

 

 
“There is a time for everything.”
 
So started Lipscomb University’s 119th commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 8, in Allen Arena, with a reminder from Ecclesiastes that despite the disastrous floods that ravaged the city of Nashville just a week before, there is a time for celebration.
 
“It’s hard to put aside what we have suffered, but I ask you today to take a refreshing moment for celebration, for today is truly a day for joy,” said Jim Thomas, professor of communication who introduced the ceremonies.
 
In its largest graduating group ever to gather, Lipscomb announced 420 degrees:
  • Five graduate degrees in Bible,
  • 44 graduate degrees in business,
  • One graduate degree in conflict management,
  • 55 graduate degrees in education,
  • 10 graduate degrees in psychology,
  • Five graduate degrees in sustainability (first graduates),
  • 92 bachelor degrees in the arts,
  • 41 bachelor degrees in business,
  • One bachelor degree in fine arts (first time degree),
  • 125 bachelor degrees in science,
  • 26 bachelor degrees in nursing, and
  • 15 bachelor degrees in social work.

 

Students completing their degree in August 2010 were included in the Saturday ceremony.
 
 

“You are well on your way”

 
During the president’s charge, Lipscomb President L. Randolph Lowry praised the students for their attitude of service during the prior week, when Nashville was recovering from a weekend of floods that left billions in damage and more than 300 people spending at least one night in the Red Cross shelter opened on the Lipscomb campus.
 
Lowry presented a video to “share the spirit of those you have served,” and congratulated students for taking time out to volunteer during a busy exam week and for donating T-shirts and clothing to flood victims.
 
“I should send you off with a wealth of advice, but I feel no need to do that,” Lowry said after showing the video. “You have been here; you have served. You know what is required of you; you proved that during this past week… You are well on your way.”
 
 

Alumnus of the Year

 
The introduction of the 2010 Alumnus of the Year Dr. Paul Kyo Jhin underscored the theme of service in the ceremony. Jhin, CEO of the Information and Technology Corps (ITCO), a United Nations partner organization, is chief executive officer of the ITCO 500/13 Initiative, providing 500,000 computers to 10,000 schools impacting 33 million students in 60 nations by 2013.
 
Jhin, a graduate in 1960, referenced his days as a Lipscomb cheerleader in his acceptance remarks.
 
“I am filled with emotion and gratefulness for this honor that I never dreamed of when I became your cheerleader 50 years ago,” he said. “Being a cheerleader gave me hope, faith, determination and self-confidence. If I could lead thousands of people in a cheer to victory (and we won a lot of games back then), then I could use that same determination to serve mankind.
 
“I was your cheerleader then, and I’m still a cheerleader for you now,” Jhin said.
 
 

Awards & Honors

 
Lipscomb Provost Craig Bledsoe presented various awards during the ceremony.
  • Katie Elizabeth McClung, summa cum laude, of San Antonio, Texas, was awarded the Stephen Lee Marsh Christian Example Award,
  • Gary Hall, professor of mathematics; Kimberly Reed, professor in English and foreign language; and Leanne Smith, instructor in management, were awarded the Outstanding Teacher of the Year Awards,
  • Bledsoe announced that the Lipscomb Class of 1960, honored at the ceremonies, had established a scholarship for a student working to become a SALT Scholar, the top achievement in Lipscomb’s Serving and Learning Together (SALT) service-learning program,
  • A representative of the Class of 2010 announced that the senior class had established a scholarship for a rising senior,
  • Seven SALT Scholars (the top achievement in Lipscomb’s Serving and Learning Together [SALT] service-learning program) were honored: Emma Boyd, Michael Garrison, Benjamin Hargis, Catherine Lynn, Jacob Morgan, Mary Katherine Schrenger and Ansley Smith.
  • Seven Honor Graduates were honored: Jessica Barker, Kayce Gill, Jennifer Jackson, Samuel Marcrom, Emily McBride, Meredith Thornton and Ashley Whitehouse.