Newman University will hold the Baccalaureate Mass and Commencement ceremony for spring and summer 2011 graduates on May 13 and May 14, respectively. The university will also honor graduating nursing students on May 13, as well as Occupational Therapy Assistant students on May 15 who have completed coursework and will begin internships. Details on these events are listed below.
Baccalaureate Mass and Reception
A Baccalaureate Mass will be at 7 p.m. Friday, May 13, 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. A reception will follow in the Dugan-Gorges Conference Center on the Newman campus.
Commencement
The 2011 Commencement for spring and summer graduates will take place at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 14 at Central Community Church, 6100 W. Maple. This year, 354 candidates for associate’s degrees, bachelor’s degrees and 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 to a full-time faculty member who has demonstrated an innovative or dynamic approach to courses, course revisions, and teaching techniques. The award recipient 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 upon two notable and accomplished members of the extended Newman community. The honorary degrees are awarded 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 Spring 2011 ceremony, Mildred “Mickey” Frances (McCoy) Armstrong will be honored for the Core Value of Culture of Service. Armstrong worked with her late husband Pete in the family business McCormick-Armstrong and has been a generous supporter of many organizations throughout the Wichita community for many years. The Armstrongs have been substantial contributors to Wichita State University and to Newman University, where Mickey created two scholarships and was a longtime supporter of the university’s annual Laurie Bell Memorial Jet Open Charity Golf Tournament. She also made major gifts to support the creation of both O’Shaughnessy Hall and the Dugan Library and Campus Center on the Newman campus.
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Marjorie “Marj” (Westwood) Chance will receive an honorary degree for her commitment to Academic Excellence. Chance was married to the late Harold Chance, founder of Chance Manufacturing Co., Inc., and spent much of her career serving as company representative and working in the international activities of the business. She was the first lay woman to serve on the Kansas Newman College Board of Directors, and was a member of the Lay Advisory Board of St. Francis Hospital. When the nursing program at St. Francis needed a collegiate home, Chance played a key role in connecting St. Francis with Newman and establishing the nursing program at the university.
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Senior Class of 2011 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, May 13 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 recipient.
Occupational Therapy Assistant Pinning
Newman’s Occupational Therapy Assistant students will be recognized with a pinning ceremony at 2 p.m. on Sunday, May 15 in Performance Hall of the De Mattias Fine Arts Center, with a reception following in the Tarcisia Roths, ASC Alumni Center on the second floor of the Dugan Library and Campus Center. This ceremony honors the completion of coursework and the beginning of two professional internships for students in the program. Upon completion of the internships, students prepare for a December 2011 graduation.
Revised May 6, 2011
