More than 1,000 students to graduate from Catholic colleges in archdiocese
Criterion staff report
Students, families, friends and educators will join in the celebration as the three Catholic colleges in the archdiocese hold their graduation ceremonies in May.
This year’s ceremonies will also include the commencement of the first class of the Marian University College of Osteopathic Medicine.
Here is a glimpse of each ceremony.
Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology
Fifty-nine students are expected to receive master’s degrees when Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology in St. Meinrad holds its commencement on May 13.
The ceremony will be at 2 p.m. Central Time in St. Bede Theater on the Saint Meinrad campus. The commencement address will be delivered by Benedictine Archabbot Kurt Stasiak, the 10th abbot of Saint Meinrad and the chair of the school’s board of trustees.
Mass for the graduates and their guests will be at 10:30 a.m. Central Time in the Archabbey Church of Our Lady of Einsiedeln.
Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College
Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College in St. Mary-of-the-Woods will celebrate its 181st commencement on May 6 when 100 graduates in its Class of 2017 will receive their associate’s, bachelor’s or master’s degree.
The Baccalaureate Mass will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. in the college’s Church of the Immaculate Conception. The commencement ceremony will begin at 1:15 p.m. in the college’s Jeanne Knoerle Sports and Recreation Center.
The commencement speaker will be Kristin Fleschner. A Terre Haute native and a graduate of Harvard Law School, she has worked on a broad range of national security and human rights issues for the U.S. government since 2008. She will receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree.
The college will also present its Distinguished Alumnae Award to Carmen Hansen Rivera.
The college will also posthumously honor Morna Shackelford Patrick with the Distinguished Alumnae Award.
Marian University
Marian University in Indianapolis will award 904 degrees at its two commencement ceremonies on May 6 and 7.
On May 6, 770 undergraduate and graduate students will receive bachelor’s and master’s degrees during the university’s 80th commencement ceremony at 10 a.m. at St. Vincent Health Field on the Marian campus.
The commencement speaker will be Dr. Lisa Harris, the chief executive officer of Eskenazi Health. She will receive an honorary Doctor of Science degree.
During the ceremony, William and Jane Drew will receive honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degrees, and Paul Norman will receive an honorary Doctor of Business degree.
On May 7, the first class—134 students—of the Marian University College of Osteopathic Medicine will receive doctorate degrees during a 2 p.m. ceremony at the Hilbert Circle Theatre in Indianapolis.
The commencement speaker for the medical school graduation will be John Lechleiter, chairman of the board of directors of Eli Lilly and Company.
During the ceremony, Jonathan Nalli and Bryan Mills will receive honorary Doctor of Business degrees, and William and Teresa Eckman will receive honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degrees. †