Featured image for post: Barton College’s 114th Commencement Scheduled for Saturday, May 14

Barton College’s 114th Commencement Scheduled for Saturday, May 14

Photo – Faculty Marshal Ron Eggers with the Barton College Mace at Commencement

WILSON, N.C. — Gregg A. DeMar, chair of the Barton College Board of Trustees, will be the featured speaker at the 114th annual commencement exercises of Barton College scheduled for Saturday, May 14, on center campus at 1:30 p.m. Wilson Gymnasium is the rain site. Dr. Douglas N. Searcy will preside over his first commencement program as president of Barton College. Dr. Gary Daynes, provost and vice president for academic affairs, will present the 2016 Class of 237 undergraduate and graduate students.

DeMar will receive the Doctor of Business degree, honoris causa, from Barton College during the commencement ceremonies.

Participating in this year’s commencement ceremony will be students who completed their baccalaureate degree requirements in December 2015 and May 2016, as well as undergraduate candidates who expect to fulfill requirements over the summer. Also participating will be graduates of the Master of Science in Nursing degree and Master of School Administration degree programs.

The three highest honors presented to Barton students: the Coggins Cup, the Hilley Cup, and the Hemby Leadership Cup, will be awarded. The Coggins Cup is presented annually to the student voted best all-around by the Barton faculty and staff. The Hilley Cup is presented annually to the graduating senior with the highest cumulative grade point average. The Hemby Leadership Cup is presented to the graduating senior, who in the estimation of the college community (including students, faculty and staff) has demonstrated outstanding leadership throughout a career at Barton College.

The Lincoln Financial Faculty Member of the Year awards will also be presented. The awards, given annually to two faculty members, include a cash stipend for international study.

Brenda Hobbs Whaley, class of 1998, president of the Barton College Alumni Association and its Alumni Board, will bring greetings to graduating seniors on behalf of the Alumni Association.

Barton’s Commencement Day program will begin with the baccalaureate service Saturday morning, May 14, at 11 a.m. in Howard Chapel. The Reverend Jamie C. Eubanks, chaplain of the college, will officiate at the service, and the Reverend Blythe Taylor, assistant director of academic support, and an ordained minister in the Cooperative Baptist Church, will deliver the baccalaureate sermon.

Lunch will be served in the Hamlin Student Center Dining Hall from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. at no charge for seniors and $6.00 each for family members and guests.

Earlier in the week, the Hooding Ceremony for the Master of School Administration graduates in the School of Education will be held on Thursday, May 12, at 7 p.m. in The Sam and Marjorie Ragan Writing Center. Dr. Daynes will be the featured speaker. Tammie Noble will bring remarks on behalf of the M.S.A. graduates.

The Pinning Ceremony for the Bachelor of Science in Nursing graduates and the Hooding Ceremony for the Master of Science in Nursing graduates in the School of Nursing will be held on Friday, May 13, at 7 p.m. in Howard Chapel. The featured speaker at the ceremony will be the Honorable Gale Adcock, M.S.N., F.N.P. R.N., Representative for the 41st District in the N.C. House of Representatives and Chief Health Officer at S.A.S. Institute, Inc. Student speakers include Jacob William Andrew Sarvey, senior nursing class president, speaking on behalf of the B.S.N. graduates, and Susan Speed Suiter, speaking on behalf of the M.S.N. graduates.

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