By Heather Campbell, student news writer
CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. – Campbellsville University will hold her 2007 commencement ceremonies Friday, May 4 and Saturday, May 5 in two locations. A record number of graduates, at 430, will receive degrees.
Degrees will be conferred, upon completion of all graduation requirements, to 430 students including 10 associate of science, 20 bachelor of arts, 11 bachelor of music, 159 bachelor of science, 35 bachelor of science in business administration, 15 bachelor of social work, 11 master of arts in education, 27 master of arts in music, 82 master of arts in special education, four master of arts in social science, 20 master of arts in business administration, one master of music in church music, two master of music in music education, six master of science in counseling and 27 master of theology degrees.
The graduate level ceremony will be Friday, May 4 at 7 p.m. in the Ransdell Chapel.
Undergraduate ceremonies will be Saturday, May 5 in Powell Athletic Center at 10 a.m. for those graduating with a bachelor of science degree and at 1 p.m. at Powell for those graduating with an associate of arts, associate of science, bachelor of arts, bachelor of arts in business administration, bachelor of music, bachelor of science in business administration and bachelor of social work.
Due to the renovation of the CU Finley Stadium football field, commencement ceremonies will be broken up into three sections and different locations to ensure that students are given adequate space for family and friends to attend.
For the graduate commencement ceremony, Dr. John Hurtgen, dean of the School of Theology, will be the guest speaker.
Hurtgen leads all phases of the graduate and undergraduate program in Christian Studies at CU. He received a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Louisville in 1981, his master of divinity in 1985 and Ph.D. in 1990 from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
He has been a member of the Society of Biblical Literature and the National Association of Baptist Professors of Religion since 1990. Hurtgen and his wife, Pamela Jo, a nurse, have three children, Eric, Joseph and Peter.
Dr. E. Bruce Heilman, chancellor of the University of Richmond and a member of the CU Board of Trustees, will be the speaker at the Saturday morning undergraduate ceremony, and Dr. David Morris, chair of the CU Board of Trustees, will speak at the afternoon ceremony.
Heilman is an alumnus of Campbellsville Junior College, and earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree, as well as a Ph.D., from the George Peabody College of Vanderbilt University. He also completed graduate work at the University of Omaha and University of Kentucky, and has attained additional education at the University of Tennessee and University of Wisconsin.
Heilman has received numerous honors and recognitions throughout the years, including being selected as one of the “100 Most Effective College and University Presidents in the United States” in the book, The Effective College President (1986), given the 1999 Humanitarian Award from the Richmond Chapter of the National Conference of Community and Justice, and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Public Service from Campbellsville College in 1995, among several others.
He also serves on numerous professional and educational boards, holds several professional memberships, is a consultant to many educational, religious and charitable organizations and is actively involved in many civic and public activities.
Heilman is married to the former Betty June Dobbins, also an alumna of Campbellsville Junior College, and they have five children, Bobbie Heilman Murphy, Nancy Heilman-Davis, Terry Heilman Sylvester, Sandra Heilman Van der Meer and Timothy Bruce Heilman, and 11 grandchildren.
The E. Bruce Heilman Student Complex is named in his honor; the Betty Dobbins Heilman House (the CU President’s home) is named in Mrs. Heilman’s honor.
Morris received a bachelor of science in economics and business administration from Northern Kentucky University, and is an executive with Procter and Gamble in Cincinnati. Morris, chair of the board of trustees, has served on the Campbellsville University Board of Trustees since 1995. He was also the chair of the board from 2001 to 2003.
Morris is also a deacon and treasurer of Paint Lick Baptist Church in Warsaw, Ky., clerk and treasurer of the Ten-Mile Baptist Association, a member of the Kentucky Baptist Mission Board and member of the Gallatin County Board of Education where he has served as chair.
Morris has held membership positions in the National Association of Purchasing Managers, Greater Cincinnati Minority Supplier Development Council and has served as a member of that council. Morris’ parents attended Campbellsville College in the late 1940s and were recently honored by the naming of CU’s new Wellness Center in their honor, the Tuggle-Morris Wellness Center. Morris and his wife, Shirley Ann Morris, have two children, Chad and Ryan, and two grandchildren.
This is the first time that the master’s commencement will have its own separate graduation ceremony, which will be in the new Ransdell Chapel, another first. They will also receive their master’s hoods as part of the commencement exercises.
The Graduate Walk will take place at 9 a.m. and noon for the respective commencement ceremonies with CU President Michael V. Carter and faculty on the lawn of Montgomery Library.
Rehearsal for commencement will be Friday, May 4 at 4 p.m. in Powell Athletic Center. A picnic for graduating students and guests will follow at 5 p.m.
For more information about commencement, contact the Office of Student Records at (270) 789-5233.
Campbellsville University, now celebrating her Centennial year, is a private, comprehensive institution located in South Central Kentucky. Founded in 1906, Campbellsville University is affiliated with the Kentucky Baptist Convention and has an enrollment of over 2,300 students who represent 95 Kentucky counties, 27 states and 34 foreign nations. Listed in U.S.News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges” 14 consecutive years as one of the leading Southern master’s colleges and universities, Campbellsville University is located 82 miles southwest of Lexington, Ky., and 80 miles southeast of Louisville, Ky. Dr. Michael V. Carter is in his eighth year as president.