CAMPBELLSVILLE UNIVERSITY CELEBRATES THIRD DECEMBER
COMMENCEMENT WITH 168 STUDENTS RECEIVING DEGREES

 

By Joan C. McKinney, news and publications coordinator

CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. - “Much of what we have made you learn does not kick in until you are older, wiser. But one day you will thank God that the professors here have told you about places to go when life has caused you to ask why.”

Dr. R. Alton Lacey, president of Missouri Baptist University and director and chair of the International Association of Baptist Colleges and Schools, addressed 168 graduates at Campbellsville University Dec. 11 in the third December graduation in the university's history.

 

Dr. R. Alton Lacey, president of Missouri Baptist University, was the commencement speaker at CU's commencement

Dec. 11. (Campbellsville University Photo by Ashley Zsedenyi)

 

The students were told to be “bolder, more resilient and more willing to take risks” by Lacey in the Ransdell Chapel. He urged them to embrace and manage change.

“Use the knowledge that you have obtained here to lead by example and do not be afraid of change,” he said.

Lacey also told the graduates of choice. He said we live in a society that entices us to have the latest clothes, electronics, cars, etc., and “Most of the Biblical prophets' warnings were sounded to nations that were made up of endangered souls who had the same problem.”

He said the graduates will be faced with the choice between people and things, between time against drivenness, between sufficiency over satiation and contentment against consumption.

“We live in a society in need of transformation,” he said. “Your generation has shown itself to be courteous and polite…but it is your responsibility to be informed and make good choices.”

“This university has prepared you to serve,” Lacey said. “Liberal education is education that liberates. It is designed to free us from the conventional, the contemporary and the local.”

But he said liberal education does more than that - it also “sets us free in order to choose wisely, to pursue knowledge, to behave responsibly and to bind up the wounds of a bleeding humanity.”

Lacey said, “I challenge you to take as your example the One who rejected the throne in favor of servant hood and the cross. This is the noblest expression of a truly enlightened mind.

“There are millions who are hungry. Feed them. Multitudes cannot read or write. Teach them. Masses of men, women and children have never experienced freedom. Liberate them. All about us are persons who know nothing about pain. Relieve them. Countless numbers still walk in spiritual darkness. Show them the Light.”

Lacey was presented the Campbellsville University Leadership Award by Dr. Jay Conner, chair of the CU Board of Trustees; Dr. Michael V. Carter, president of CU; and Dr. Frank Cheatham, vice president for academic affairs. Conner also gave the invocation, and Cheatham presented the graduates.

Carter urged the graduates to “make a difference for yourself and many others.” He urged them to live by the Campbellsville University seal of fellowship (to live in harmony and respect for people on our planet); leadership (to take others to a higher destiny); and scholarship (to be informed, to be committed learners and to live your life through the power of knowledge and wisdom.”

DeMarcus Steven Edward Compton, a December graduate, said the graduates had “run the good race and fought the winning battle” and told them now to “show what you are made of to lead lives as Christian servant leaders.”

DeMarcus Compton, right, of Greensburg, receives his diploma from Campbellsville University President Michael V. Carter at commencement. Compton also gave the response to Carter's charge on behalf of the seniors. (Campbellsville University Photo by Ashley Zsedenyi)

Ginger Shely Warren, president of the CU Alumni Association and class of 2000 member, said faculty and staff at CU had fostered zeal for lifelong learning. She urged the graduates to keep in touch with CU and stay connected with their alma mater.

Co-valedictorians of the graduating class were Sarah Ellen Adkins of Somerset, Ky., and Joshua Ryan Petrey of Eubank, Ky., who both had 4.0 grade point averages. Christa Miriam Hatfield of Willisburg was salutatorian.

The following students received degrees: nine, master of arts in music; two, master of arts in social science; 40, master of arts in special education (learning and behavior disorders); four, master of business administration; one, master of music in church music; one, master of music in performance; seven, master of science in counseling; four, master of theology;

Five, bachelor of arts; two, bachelor of music; and 71, bachelor of science; 16, bachelor of science in business administration; three, bachelor of social work; and three, associate of science.

Dr. Wesley Roberts, professor of music, played the organ for the ceremony. The CU Graduate Flute Quartet, director, associate professor of music, played special music. Dr. C. Mark Bradley, professor of music, led in the singing of hymns. Dr. Helen Mudd, associate professor of social work, gave the benediction.

Campbellsville University 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 3,006 students who represent 97 Kentucky counties, 30 states and 37 foreign nations. Listed in U.S.News & World Report's 2010 “America's Best Colleges,” CU is ranked 23rd in “Best Baccalaureate Colleges” in the South, tied for fifth in “most international students” and fourth in “up-and-coming” schools in baccalaureate colleges in the South. CU has been ranked 17 consecutive years with U.S.News & World Report. The university has also been named to America's Best Christian Colleges® and to G.I. Jobs magazine as a Military Friendly School. Campbellsville University is located 82 miles southwest of Lexington, Ky., and 80 miles southeast of Louisville, Ky. Dr. Michael V. Carter is in his 11th year as president.