Newman University will hold the Fall 2010 Baccalaureate Mass and Commencement ceremony on Dec. 10 and Dec. 11, respectively. The university will also honor graduating nursing students, and will award honorary degrees to three distinguished members of the Wichita community.
Senior Class of 2010 Nursing Pinning Ceremony
The Newman University School of Nursing and Allied Health will honor candidates for the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree at the annual Nurses’ Pinning ceremony, from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 10 in Performance Hall, inside the De Mattias Fine Arts Center on the Newman campus. During the event, a tradition in the nursing discipline, the director of the School of Nursing and Allied Health will place nursing pins on graduate candidates’ lapels as a symbol of their completion of the BSN program. The ceremony will also feature the naming of the Distinguished BSN Graduate Award.
Baccalaureate Mass and Reception
The Fall 2010 Baccalaureate Mass will be at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 10, in the historic St. John’s Chapel on the Newman campus. St. John’s Chapel is located inside Sacred Heart Hall, the university’s main administration building. Mass will be followed by a reception at approximately 8 p.m. in the Dugan-Gorges Conference Center, inside the Dugan Library and Campus Center on the Newman campus.
Commencement
Fall 2010 Commencement will take place at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 11 at Central Community Church, 6100 W. Maple. This year, a total of 173 students – 32 candidates for associate’s degrees, 99 candidates for bachelor’s degrees and 42 candidates for master’s degrees – will take part in Commencement exercises.
The ceremony will include an address by Newman Associate Professor of Biology Susan Orsbon. Orsbon received the 2010 Newman University Teaching Excellence Award, an annual recognition of a full-time faculty member who has demonstrated an innovative or dynamic approach to courses, course revisions, and teaching techniques. The award recipient also has the honor of speaking at the following fall and spring commencement ceremonies.
Honorary Degrees
During Commencement, Newman officials will also bestow Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa degrees to three notable and accomplished members of the extended Newman community. The honorary degrees are awarded at each fall and spring commencement to individuals whose life and work reflect exemplary dedication to one of the university’s four Core Values: Catholic Identity, Culture of Service, Academic Excellence, and Global Perspective.
For the Fall 2010 ceremony, Paul and Bettie Eck will receive honorary degrees as models of Catholic Identity. Teresa Hall Bartels will be honored for Global Perspective.
