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An attorney with an impressive record of public service will speak May 18 at Valparaiso University’s commencement ceremonies for approximately 685 students completing undergraduate and graduate programs.

Speaking will be Ambassador Clayton Yeutter, who has served in the administrations of four United States presidents. He served as secretary of agriculture and later as counselor to the president for President George Herbert Walker Bush, was assistant secretary of agriculture under President Richard Nixon, served as deputy special trade representative under President Gerald Ford and was U.S. trade representative for President Ronald Reagan.

As U.S. trade representative, he helped negotiate the 100-nation Uruguay Round, which culminated in creation of the World Trade Organization. As secretary of agriculture, he steered the 1990 Farm Bill through Congress, laying the ground work for a more market-oriented policy structure in American agriculture.

Yeutter’s record of public service also includes a year as Republican National Committee chair and time as chief of staff to the governor of Nebraska. He also served seven years as president and chief executive officer of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

He currently is a senior adviser to Hogan & Hartson, an international law firm with offices in 25 locations throughout the world. He also serves as a consultant to clients throughout the world, particularly on international agriculture and business issues, and is a member of the boards of numerous corporations.

He earned his bachelor’s and doctor of philosophy degrees from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and his law degree from the University of Nebraska College of Law.

Commencement ceremonies begin at 1:30 p.m. in the Athletics-Recreation Center on campus. The graduates also will be honored at Baccalaureate Services at 10 a.m. in the Chapel of the Resurrection.

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Taylor University Fort Wayne (TUFW) will hold its commencement exercises on Saturday, May 17 at 4 p.m. in the Gerig Activities Center. Approximately 70 men and women will receive bachelor’s and associate’s degrees from the University.

Paul D. Robbins will receive an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters. Robbins is a 1960 graduate of Fort Wayne Bible College and is the former president and publisher of Christianity Today International, where he served from 1977 until his retirement in 2007. Some of the publications from this company include Christianity Today, Leadership, Campus Life, Today’s Christian Woman, Men of Integrity, Christian History, Your Church Christian Readers and Marriage Partnerships.

Ordained by the Missionary Church denomination, Robbins began his career with Youth for Christ, International in Fort Wayne, Ind., and served on both the local and national level for more than 15 years. Positions he held include associate director of overseas ministries, vice president of teen ministries, and national field director.
Robbins has been involved in a vast network of Christian leaders, para-church organizations, mission agencies, church denominations, religious publishers and Christian educators. Currently, he serves on the boards of Christianity Today International and Taylor University and has previously served on the boards of International Students and Greater Europe Mission.

In 2003 Robbins was the recipient of the Mark O. Hatfield Leadership Award from the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities. He received the Legion of Honor award in 2004 from Taylor University. The Legion of Honor is Taylor University’s highest award, which has been given to only 14 individuals in the University’s 162 year history and to only one other Fort Wayne graduate.

Taylor University Fort Wayne provides a Christ-centered learning experience based on three core distinctives – Spiritual Formation, Applied Learning and Community Leadership Development – which interact to help shape a student’s calling. More than 1,000 students access TUFW’s responsive curriculum through residential, online, adult and blended delivery models. The total TUFW experience fosters the transformation of students and restoration of communities.

Media contact: Jennifer Sprunger, director of university relations, 260.744.8658

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The University of Evansville will confer 511 degrees on 493 graduating students during its 2008 Commencement ceremony Saturday, May 10, 2008. The ceremony will be held in Roberts Stadium beginning at 1:30 p.m., following a Baccalaureate service – where Chaplain Brian Erickson will be the keynote speaker – and a Commencement luncheon. J. Gordon Kingsley, principal of UE’s British campus, Harlaxton College, will be this year’s Commencement speaker.

Kingsley has been the principal at Harlaxton since January 2003 – a position he took after 27 years at William Jewell College. While at William Jewell, he served as a professor, dean, and – for his last 13 years on campus – president of the college. As president, Kingsley was named among America’s “most effective” collegiate leaders in a nationwide study of college presidents funded by the Exxon Foundation.

He holds doctorates – earned and honorary – from three institutions in America and Japan, and was a visiting fellow at Cambridge University in England. Kingsley also has held civic leadership roles in the Missouri Repertory Theatre, Kansas City Art Institute, National Council of Independent Colleges, the Kansas City Symphony, the Midwest Center for Holocaust Education, the University Academy, the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest, the Northern Baptist Theological Seminary, the Pembroke Hill School, the Independent Review Panel of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, and is currently on the board of the King’s School Charities, which oversees the Isaac Newton Trust.

This year’s Commencement ceremony also will feature the presentation of the University of Evansville Alumni Association’s Outstanding Teacher Award.

For more information, please contact UE News Director Joe Atkinson at (812) 488-2562.

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The Core Purpose of the University of Evansville is to provide life transforming educational experiences that prepare students to engage the world as informed, ethical and productive citizens.

Joe Atkinson
News Director
University of Evansville
(812) 488-2562
ja122@evansville.edu

One of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize winners, Dr. Susan Solomon will offer the keynote address for Butler University’s 2008 Commencement on Saturday, May 10. The University will grant close to 900 undergraduate and graduate degrees during the 10 a.m. ceremony in Hinkle Fieldhouse.

Butler will award the honorary degree of Doctor of Sciences to Solomon, who is a senior scientist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. She co-chairs Working Group 1 of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, whose members were co-recipients of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize along with former Vice President Al Gore. The prize honored their efforts to gather and disseminate knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for counteractive measures.

In the late 1980s, Solomon played a pioneering role in the international scientific community’s efforts to discover the cause of depleted atmospheric ozone in the Antarctic, known as the ozone “hole.” Her research helped institute a global ban on chemicals that destroy atmospheric ozone and, consequently, threaten human health worldwide.

Two founders of The Four Freshmen singing group, Ross Barbour and Bob Flanigan, will each receive the honorary degree Doctor of Arts. The two were music majors at Butler in 1948 when they began the quartet with Ross’s brother Don Barbour and classmate Hal Kratzch.

With their complex open harmonies and high tenor lead, The Four Freshmen produced a new sound that set them apart. After their first hit record, “It’s a Blue World,” in 1952, the quartet remained on top of the popular music charts for more than a decade.

Don Barbour and Kratzch, now both deceased, left the group by 1960. Ross Barbour performed until 1977, and Flanigan put in the longest stint with the Freshmen, retiring in 1991. Over six decades, more than 20 singers have carried on the distinctive Four Freshmen sound and released close to 50 albums.

About Butler University
Challenging and enabling students to meet their personal and professional goals has guided Butler University since 1855. Today, Butler is a nationally recognized comprehensive university that blends the liberal arts with first-rate pre-professional programs. Butler is known for its vibrant campus, superior academics and dedicated faculty. The university enrolls more than 4,000 undergraduate and graduate students in five academic colleges: Business Administration, Education, Liberal Arts and Sciences, Pharmacy and Health Sciences, and Fine Arts. Located just six miles from downtown Indianapolis, Butler’s urban setting affords students internship opportunities that provide excellent graduate school and career preparation.

Related website: www.butler.edu/commencement

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Contact: Mary Ellen Stephenson
(317) 940-6944
(317) 481-8917 - cell
mestephe@butler.edu

Marian College's 71st commencement will take place at 10 a.m. on May 10, 2008, at the Allen Whitehill Clowes Amphitheater. Over 380 degrees will be conferred this year, and nearly 350 students will participate in the graduation ceremonies. This year will mark the sixth class of graduates from the Master of Arts in Teaching program and the second class of San Damiano Scholars to graduate. Also, there will be a record number of graduates from Marian's Adult Programs.

Some Statistics
• 382 graduates
• 121 graduates from Marian’s Adult Programs
• 18 master of arts in teaching degrees will be conferred, including one posthumously, to Michelle Sharp
• 20 San Damiano Scholars will receive degrees
• Three seminarians from the Bishop Simon Bruté College Seminary will receive degrees

This year’s honorary degree recipients include Mary McNulty Young ’47, a Marian College trustee and former attorney. She will receive an honorary doctor of humanities degree. A 1947 graduate of Marian College, she was one of only two women in a class of 150 students at Indiana University School of Law and credits her Marian College education as the “bedrock” for her legal career. She helped build the law firm of Young and Young into a practice that emphasizes social justice and incorporates the teachings of Saint Francis—particularly dignity of the individual—into each client relationship. She is a well-known and loved volunteer, fundraiser, and community leader in central Indiana.

William A. Cook, founder of Cook Group Inc., will receive an honorary doctor of business degree. He and his companies share a philosophy of reinvesting in the communities of Bloomington and southern Indiana. Cook earned a bachelor of science degree in biology from Northwestern University in 1953. After graduation, he joined the United States Army as a medic and taught the physics of anesthesia to Army resident anesthesiologists. In 1958, he co-founded MPL Incorporated, which became the third-largest hypodermic needle manufacturer in the United States. In 1963, Cook Incorporated was founded in Bloomington, Indiana, with $1,500 capital and Bill and his wife, Gayle, as the only employees. Today, the company is a conglomerate of 50 companies, with manufacturing facilities in the United States, Australia, Denmark, and Ireland, and sales organizations around the world. A perpetual entrepreneur whose personal interests have often led the creation of community service organizations, Cook founded the Monroe County YMCA, now the largest in Indiana, and was the sponsor of the Star of Indiana Drum and Bugle Corps, a traveling performance group of young people. He produced the Tony and Emmy winning Broadway show Blast, about the drum and bugle corps.

This year’s commencement speaker will be Arturo Sarukhán Casamitjana, the current ambassador of Mexico to the United States and a former consul general at New York City. He will speak about Mexico-United States relations. He will also receive an honorary degree, a doctor of international relations. Sarukhan graduated from El Colegio de México with a bachelor's degree in international relations and received a master's degree in U.S. foreign policy at the School of Advanced International Studies, where he was a Fulbright Scholar and Ford Foundation Fellow. He is a career diplomat who joined the Mexican Foreign Service in 1993. Assigned to the Mexican Embassy in the United States, he served as chief of staff to the ambassador. In 2000 he became chief of policy planning at the Foreign Ministry and was appointed by the president as Mexican consul general to New York City in 2003. He joined the presidential campaign of Felipe Calderón, were he was foreign policy advisor, international spokesperson, and coordinator of foreign affairs for the transition team. In February of 2007, he was appointed Mexican ambassador to the United States.

About Marian College
Marian College (www.marian.edu) is the only Catholic liberal arts college in central Indiana. It is a private, co-educational school offering classes to both traditional and non-traditional students. Located two miles north of downtown Indianapolis, Marian College is a Catholic college dedicated to excellent teaching and learning in the Franciscan and liberal arts traditions.

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The University of Indianapolis is expected to award 879 undergraduate degrees and 473 graduate degrees for the 2007-08 academic year, with commencement ceremonies on the home campus scheduled for Friday, May 2, and Saturday, May 3.

This year’s projected graduates total 1,153 in Indianapolis and 199 at partner institutions in Greece, China, Belize and Cyprus. The graduates represent 18 states and 22 nations, with international students – non-U.S. citizens – accounting for 20 percent of the total.

Notable among this year’s graduates are:
• Southport resident Timothy Koharchick, who shipped out in January for a year in Iraq as a staff sergeant with the National Guard’s 76th Infantry Brigade Combat Team. Before leaving, he managed to complete the requirements for his master’s degree in occupational therapy. The occupational therapy faculty voted unanimously to award Koharchick the annual OT Service Award, which his wife, Maggie, will accept on his behalf at approximately 3:45 p.m. May 2 during a ceremony in UIndy’s Christel DeHaan Fine Arts Center.
• Franklin Township resident Patricia Biggs, who will become her family’s third generation registered nurse when she receives her bachelor of science diploma on May 3. Her grandmother, Noreen Feller, received associate’s and bachelor’s degrees and worked at Riley Hospital for Children before retiring. Patricia’s mother, Susan Gent Biggs, earned her associate’s, bachelor’s and master’s degrees at UIndy and now is a Clarian nurse-educator at Methodist Hospital, where the university has an on-site degree program. Patricia is starting her career in the intensive care unit at Riley, where she began working while still a student. The School of Nursing will honor all three generations with a special award during a ceremony from 6 to 7 p.m. Thursday, May 1, in UIndy’s Ransburg Auditorium.
• 39 business and English majors from China, the first graduating class from a unique joint-degree partnership with Ningbo Institute of Technology. Students must complete two years of coursework in China before applying for the second phase, which includes study under UIndy faculty, either at NIT or the Indianapolis campus for those who qualify. A group of 30 parents and dignitaries from China have obtained visas to attend the UIndy ceremony May 3. UIndy President Beverley Pitts and other representatives will travel in June for the graduation of 109 students who completed the program in China.

Arthur Levine, president of the New Jersey-based Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, is the featured speaker for the graduate programs commencement at 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 2, in UIndy’s Nicoson Hall, located at Hanna Avenue and State Street. Levine also will receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree.

Christel DeHaan, the former RCI owner now known for her international charity work, will speak at undergraduate commencement, which begins at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 3, in Nicoson Hall. DeHaan has served 18 years on UIndy’s Board of Trustees and 11 years as chair, though she is stepping down from that position in May.

The undergraduate ceremony also will include the presentation of an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree to the Rev. Boniface Hardin, founder and former president of Martin University. His years of community involvement have earned him honors including being named International Citizen of the Year by the International Center of Indianapolis as well as a Living Legend by the Indiana Historical Society.

Graduate programs commencement
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 2
Where: Nicoson Hall, Hanna Avenue and State Street
Speaker: Arthur Levine, president, Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation
Honorary degree recipient: Levine will receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree.

Undergraduate commencement
When: 2 p.m. Saturday, May 3
Where: Nicoson Hall, Hanna Avenue and State Street
Speaker: Christel DeHaan, Indianapolis-based philanthropist and civic leader
Honorary degree recipient: The Rev. Boniface Hardin, founder and former president of Martin University, will receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree.

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This news release was sent by the University of Indianapolis communications office.
Phone: (317) 788-3298
University of Indianapolis - http://www.uindy.edu
University News - http://www.uindy.edu/news

More than 500 students will graduate at Bethel’s two commencement ceremonies which will take place Saturday, May 3 at 2:30 p.m. for adult students and Sunday, May 4 at 2:30 p.m. for graduate and traditional students in Wiekamp Athletic Center.

Senior pastor of Nappanee Missionary Church for 29 years, the Reverend David J. Engbrecht, will bring the commencement address at the graduation ceremony for graduate and traditional students held on Sunday, May 4, 2008. Rev. Engbrecht is a current member of the Bethel College Board of Trustees, serves on the General Board of the Missionary Church (with whom Bethel is affiliated) and on various other national and international ministry boards. He is in demand as a speaker at conferences, leadership training events, retreats and camps in North America, India, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Kenya, Russia, Romania and Armenia.

Engbrecht earned a bachelor’s degree from Vennard College in Iowa and a Master of Education degree at Concordia University in Nebraska. A South Bend native, he currently resides in Nappanee with his wife, Christy. They have two married children, both of whom, along with their spouses, are graduates of Bethel College.

During the ceremony on Sunday, Bethel College will grant Belsazar Núñez a Doctor of Divinity honoris causa. Núñez is the founder and director of a variety of ministry opportunities in Honduras. He is currently the head of the Theological Education program at the Nacional Holiness Church, pastor at Emmanuel Holiness Church, professor at the Guatemala Nazarene Seminary, Theological Seminary of Honduras and Evangelical University of Tegucigalpa. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Theology from the Seminario Bíblico Latinoamericano and his Master of Ministry degree from Bethel College. Núñez and his wife reside in Honduras with their two children.

The ceremony for adult students will be held on Saturday, May 3, 2008, with Dean of Adult Studies John R. Mow, M.S., as speaker. Mow will be retiring from the college in August after serving 11 years as the dean of the School of Adult Studies. He obtained a bachelor’s and master’s degree in industrial engineering from Purdue University. His career has included positions in production management, industrial engineering, plant engineering and management consulting. Mow joined Bethel College in 1978 as an adjunct professor and began to teach full time in 1987. He was born and raised in Mishawaka. Mow and his wife, Connie, have two children and five grandchildren.

Bethel College is an accredited Christian college of the arts and sciences offering associate, bachelor’s and master’s degrees in more than 50 areas of study. The current enrollment of more than 2,000 includes students from 34 states and Puerto Rico, 12 countries, more than 25 denominations and 16 percent from culturally diverse backgrounds. Scholarships are available based upon a variety of factors including academic achievement, talent in the arts or athletics, ethnicity and church affiliation. Bethel offers classes at four locations: the Mishawaka campus, the Elkhart Campus and two satellite locations (in Nappanee and in Dowagiac, Mich.). The main Bethel campus is situated on 75 wooded acres in Mishawaka, Ind.

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Band compositions inspired by the musical traditions of several nations will be presented by Valparaiso University’s Chamber Concert Band during a May 4 concert.

The Chamber Concert Band will perform at 3 p.m. in the Chapel of the Resurrection on campus. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for senior citizens and students and may be purchased at the door or by calling the VU Box Office at (219) 464-5162.

The concert program includes Dmitri Shostakovich’s “Folk Dances,” based on native melodies of the former Soviet states; Gustav Holst’s Second Suite in F for Military Band, inspired by English folk songs and dances and one of the most important works in the concert band repertoire; H. Owen Reed’s “La Fiesta Mexicana,” which depicts a Mexican religious festival dedicated to the Virgin Mary; and Alfred Reed’s “Armenian Dances,” based on five Armenian folk songs.

The Band also will perform Cecile Chaminade’s Concertino, featuring solo flautist Jillian Palfreeman from Redmond, Wash., a junior music education major who will be a student teacher at Crown Point High School next fall.

The Chamber Concert Band, Valparaiso’s premier concert band, is an auditioned symphonic ensemble of University students that regularly tours throughout the United States and internationally. The Band is one of three ensembles featured on a DVD of Valparaiso’s 2007 Christmas Concert that was released this spring in conjunction with the celebration of the University’s 150th anniversary during the 2008-2009 academic year. The ensemble’s fourth solo album, “Spirit of the March King,” was released in 2006 and includes live recordings from its authentic Sousa concerts. Both are available from Valpo ArtsMedia
(valpo.edu/vuca/valpoartsmedia).

The band is conducted by Dr. Jeffrey Doebler, associate professor of music. He received the 2006 Outstanding University Music Educator Award from the Indiana Music Educators Association in honor of his outstanding achievements in the field of music education. Dr. Doebler is a past president of the IMEA, frequently serves as a guest conductor and clinician, and has led concert bands on tours in China and Australia.

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Art historian Heidi Holland searches for fulfillment and a sense of identity in Valparaiso University’s upcoming production of “The Heidi Chronicles,” a poignant, yet humorous, look at the Baby Boomer generation.

Directed by R. Andrew White, associate professor of theatre, performances of “The Heidi Chronicles” are April 25 and May 2 at 8 p.m., April 26 and May 3 at 2 p.m., and April 27 and May 4 at 7 p.m. in the University Theatre at Valparaiso’s Center for the Arts (1709 Chapel Dr.). Talk back sessions with the director and cast will immediately follow the April 26 and May 3 matinee performances.

From the political turbulence of the 1960s through the generation’s move into the mainstream during the 1980s, Wendy Wasserstein’s Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning play follows Heidi’s coming of age, marked by an untimely and unfulfilling affair, a meaningful relationship with her best friend who is almost her ideal man, and encounters with friends from childhood and college.

Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for senior citizens and students and may be purchased by calling the VU Box Office at (219) 464-5162. Groups of at least 10 may reserve seats together and get a $3 discount for each ticket by calling at least two weeks in advance of a performance.

White has enjoyed “The Heidi Chronicles” for many years and said Wasserstein was one of the most prominent female playwrights of the last century. After her death in 2006, he decided to direct the play and explore the questions Wasserstein raises about the feminist movement and identity in “The Heidi Chronicles” and her other works.

“The play sheds some light for a younger generation of women on what women did in the 1960s and the years that followed to influence the lifestyles and careers they have today,” White said.

In some ways, such as scenes in which characters discuss the onset of the AIDS epidemic in the United States, White says “The Heidi Chronicles” is a period piece. Yet at the same the play is a timeless coming of age story.

“It causes viewers to think about how someone balances his or her career with the desire to have a family and whether individuals can really have everything they want at the same time,” White said. “I find it also raises interesting questions about the factors that make your life meaningful. Is it family? Is it career? And do those factors change over time?”

White’s previous directing credits at Valparaiso include “Miss Julie” last fall, as well as “Noises Off,” “Romeo and Juliet,” “Anna Karenina,” “Chekov in Light and Shadow” and “August Snow.” White has worked as an actor in numerous Chicago theatres including Steppenwolf, European Repertory Company, Wisdom Bridge and Plan B Productions, as well as in Russia at the Tabakov Theatre and American Studio of the Moscow Art Theatre.

Those attending “The Heidi Chronicles” may also view the exhibition “Popping Out, Blending In: Identities Defined?” at Brauer Museum of Art prior to each performance. The exhibit, curated by art history major Lindsey Gargas of Crown Point, features contemporary artwork that examines notions of personal, social, racial, ethical and cultural identity. Brauer Museum (valpo.edu/artmuseum) is free and open to the public, and will remain open until the start of the evening performances April 25 and 27 and May 2 and May 4.

For more information about Valparaiso’s theatre season and ticket information, call the VU Box Office at (219) 464-5162 or visit the Department of Theatre Web site at valpo.edu/theatre.

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ANGOLA, Ind.—John M. Mutz, a consultant and private investor who served Indiana as lieutenant governor, senator, and congressman for over 20 years, will be the speaker for Tri-State University’s 149th commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 3. The processional begins at 10 a.m.

Mutz has over 45 years of executive experience in the fields of politics, philanthropy, and business. He now chairs the Lumina Foundation for Education, a billion-dollar private charitable organization dedicated to expanding access to higher education.

For more than three decades, Mutz has helped to further the interests of the state and its residents. Prior to being named president of PSI Energy, Indiana’s largest electric utility, in October 1993, he served four years as president of Lilly Endowment Inc., one of the five largest private foundations in America. As head of the endowment, he led the foundation’s effort to support the causes of education, religion, and community development. Under his leadership, the endowment expanded its community development work outside the Indianapolis area by using matching grants to encourage the creation of more than 45 local community foundations.

Before joining the endowment, Mutz built a sizeable record of community service as a public official, serving two terms as Indiana’s lieutenant governor from 1981-89. While in office, he served as president of the Indiana Senate and led the Department of Commerce and the Department of Employment and Training Services, in addition to serving as Commissioner of Agriculture. As lieutenant governor, he initiated an agenda of job creation, training, and placement. Under his guidance, Indiana dramatically altered its investment in economic development, which resulted in the state taking the lead in job creation among the Great Lakes states.

Prior to his terms as lieutenant governor, Mutz was a member of the Indiana General Assembly for 13 years. A state senator from 1971 to 1980, he served as chairman of the state budget committee from 1977 to 1978. He served as state representative from 1967 to 1970. During his tenure he helped write the Unigov legislation, which created unified government in the Indianapolis metropolitan area.
Mutz is a former columnist for the Indianapolis Business Journal and is the author of Fundraising for Dummies.
In addition to devoting over two decades to public life, he has been a successful entrepreneur and manager. His successes include the development of 31 Burger Chef restaurants and the formation of equipment company Circle Leasing Corp., which was ultimately sold to Xerox Credit Corp.

Mutz is a director of Clarian Health Ventures Inc., a for-profit affiliate of Clarian Health Partners Inc. which provides capital for business enterprises Salin Bank and Trust Company. He is a member of the advisory boards of CID Equity Partners, Indiana’s largest venture capital firm, and Langham Transport. In addition, he serves on the board of managers of Ontario Systems Inc., the largest provider of accounts receivable software in America. His community service directorships include the Indiana Economic Development Corp., the Indiana Stadium and Convention Building Authority, the Indiana and Indianapolis chambers of commerce, Indianapolis Zoological Society, Indianapolis Museum of Art, and the United Way of Central Indiana, as well as other civic boards.
Mutz formerly served as a trustee of Hudson Institute, as well as a director of five public corporations: ADESA Corp., Conseco Inc., CCP Insurance Co. (a subsidiary of Conseco), National City Bank Indiana, and PSI Resources. He also is a former director of Security Group Inc., Senex Financial Corp., and Walker Information, and has served as national chairman for Ways to Work, a program to help former welfare recipients stay off welfare. Long active in school reform, Mutz has been a director of the 21st Century Charter School Program, the first charter school designated in the state of Indiana, and serves as co-chairman of All Children Matter Indiana, a leader in the advocacy of choice in education.

Mutz earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in advertising and business management from Northwestern University. He and his wife, the former Carolyn Hawthorne, are parents of two grown children, Diana and Mark, and have five grandchildren.

Tri-State University, an internationally recognized, private, independent, co-educational institution, offers associate, baccalaureate, and master degrees in programs to students in engineering, mathematics, science, computer science, business, teacher education, communication, criminal justice, golf management, social sciences, and various other fields of study. TSU is a member of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association and offers 21 varsity sports. Founded in 1884 and accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, TSU operates a 400-acre main campus in Angola, Ind. with off-campus centers in Angola, Fort Wayne, Howe, South Bend, and Merrillville, Ind., Centreville, Mich., and Bryan, Ohio.

Yvonne Schroeder
Communications Specialist
Tri-State University
1 University Ave.
Angola, IN 46703-1764
260.665.4133 (phone)
260.665.4830 (fax)
schroedery@tristate.edu
For more information, access: www.tristate.edu

St. Joseph’s College graduates its 113th class of seniors at this year’s Commencement ceremony, taking place in the Richard F. Scharf Alumni Fieldhouse on Saturday, May 3, at 1 p.m. CDT. Among the honorees is the Most Reverend Daniel M. Buechlein, OSB, fifth Archbishop, eleventh Bishop of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, upon whom the college will confer the degree of “Honoris Causa.” Delivering Buechlein’s Commencement address on his behalf will be Monsignor Joseph F. Schaedel, vicar general/moderator of the curia of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis.

Buechlein, a native Hoosier, attended St. Meinrad Seminary High School, St. Meinrad College of Liberal Arts (earning his Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy) and St. Meinrad School of Theology, all of which are located in St. Meinrad, Ind. He immediately went on to earn his Licentiate in Sacred Theology in Sacred Liturgy from the International Benedictine University of Sant’ Anselmo in Rome, Italy.

Following his education, Buechlein spent several years employed at his St. Meinrad alma maters, serving as professor, Assistant Dean of Students, Director of Spiritual Formation and President-Rector. He most recently completed his duties as Co-Moderator of Disciples of Christ-Roman Catholic International Dialogue, his term coming to an end in March 2008.

Currently, Buechlein is the Fifth Archbishop, Eleventh Bishop of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, having been installed on September 9, 1992. He serves as a consultant for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Ad Hoc Committee to Oversee the Use of the “Catechism of the Catholic Church,” as well as a member of the USCCB Committee on Catechesis. Additionally, he is a consultant for the Vatican Congregation for Clergy.

SJC’s valedictorian Elizabeth Genova, an international studies and German major from Chicago, Ill., will also be honored. Genova, recipient of SJC’s prestigious full-tuition Presidential Scholarship and the national Vance Scholarship, will address her classmates before receiving her diplomas awarded with highest honors. President of the senior class Liz Power, a psychology major from Evergreen Park, Ill., will also speak at the ceremony.

For more information about SJC’s Commencement activities, visit http://www.saintjoe.edu/grad/commencement.html.

St. Joseph's College, named a "character-building college" by the Templeton Foundation and a "best Midwestern college" by the Princeton Review, is a four-year, Catholic, liberal arts college offering 74 major, minor and pre-professional programs. Founded and sponsored by the Missionaries of the Precious Blood, SJC is located in Rensselaer, Ind., approximately 90 minutes from both Chicago and Indianapolis, on a park-like campus of 180 acres and has an enrollment of over 1,000 students.

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Becky Scherer
Director of Publications and Media Relations
Saint Joseph's College
www.saintjoe.edu
219.866.6177

More than 500 students will graduate at Bethel’s two commencement ceremonies which will take place Saturday, May 3 at 2:30 p.m. for adult and graduate students and Sunday, May 4 at 2:30 p.m. for traditional undergraduate students in Wiekamp Athletic Center.

Senior pastor of Nappanee Missionary Church for 29 years, the Reverend David J. Engbrecht, will bring the graduation address at the graduation ceremony for traditional students held on Sunday, May 4, 2008. Rev. Engbrecht is a current member of the Bethel College Board of Trustees, also serves on the General Board of the Missionary Church (with whom Bethel is affiliated) and on various other national and international ministry boards. He is in demand as a speaker at conferences, leadership training events, retreats and camps in North America, India, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Kenya, Russia, Romania and Armenia.

Engbrecht earned a bachelor’s degree from Vennard College in Iowa and a Master of Education degree at Concordia University in Nebraska. A South Bend native, he currently resides in Nappanee with his wife, Christy. They have two married children, both of whom, along with their spouses, are graduates of Bethel College.

During the ceremony on Sunday, Bethel College will grant Belsazar Núñez a Doctor of Divinity honoris causa. Núñez is the founder and director of a variety of ministry opportunities in Honduras. He is currently the head of the Theological Education program at the Nacional Holiness Church, pastor at Emmanuel Holiness Church, professor at the Guatemala Nazarene Seminary, Theological Seminary of Honduras and Evangelical University of Tegucigalpa. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Theology from the Seminario Bíblico Latinoamericano and his Master of Ministry degree from Bethel College. Núñez and his wife reside in Honduras with their two children.

The ceremony for adult and graduate students, which is to be, held on Saturday, May 3, 2008, with Dean of Adult Programs John R. Mow, M.S., as speaker. Mow will be retiring from the college in August after serving 11 years as the dean of the School of Adult Studies. He obtained a bachelor’s and master’s degree in industrial engineering from Purdue University. His career has included positions in production management, industrial engineering, plant engineering and management consulting. Mow joined Bethel College in 1978 as an adjunct professor and began to teach full time in 1987. He was born and raised in Mishawaka. Mow and his wife, Connie, have two children and five grandchildren.

Bethel College is an accredited Christian college of the arts and sciences offering associate, bachelor’s and master’s degrees in more than 50 areas of study. The current enrollment of more than 2,000 includes students from 34 states and Puerto Rico, 12 countries, more than 25 denominations and 16 percent from culturally diverse backgrounds. Scholarships are available based upon a variety of factors including academic achievement, talent in the arts or athletics, ethnicity and church affiliation. Bethel offers classes at four locations: the Mishawaka campus, the Elkhart Campus and two satellite locations (in Nappanee and in Dowagiac, Mich.). The main Bethel campus is situated on 75 wooded acres in Mishawaka, Ind.

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Two hundred-twenty students will receive degrees during Tri-State University’s 149th commencement ceremony Saturday, May 3. Graduates are from the main Angola campus and the university’s branch campuses.

John M. Mutz, a consultant and private investor who served Indiana as lieutenant governor, senator, and congressman for over 20 years, will be the commencement speaker. Students will begin entering Hershey Hall for the processional at 10 a.m.

The university plans a number of activities during the two weeks preceding the ceremony. On Honors Day Sunday, April 20 in Fabiani Theatre, graduates from TSU’s five schools of study will receive awards for scholarship. Family members, friends, and other guests are invited to attend.
Students from the Allen School of Engineering & Technology and the Franks School of Education will be honored from 1-2 p.m. Students in the Jannen School of Arts & Sciences and the Ketner School of Business will receive awards from 3-4 p.m. School of Professional Studies students will be recognized from 5-6 p.m.

Engineering graduates will repeat the oath of their profession when they participate in the Order of the Engineer ceremony on Wednesday, April 30 in Best Hall Room 229.

On Friday, May 2, graduates-to-be are invited to kick back with family and friends and celebrate their accomplishments at Senior Celebration, an evening of food, fun, and entertainment beginning at 6 p.m. in Hershey Hall’s Ketner Sports Center. Live music and a variety of food will be featured.

At 7:45 a.m. on commencement day, the university’s administration, faculty, and staff will meet in Ketner Sports Center, Hershey Hall, for an annual breakfast, followed by the presentation of awards by TSU President Dr. Earl Brooks II at 8:15 a.m.

Seating for graduates’ family members and friends who cannot climb stairs will be reserved in the lower bleachers of both balcony sections for commencement exercises at 10 a.m. Handicap parking is available on the west side of Hershey Hall, which faces Witmer Clubhouse on Zollner Golf Course.

Tri-State University, an internationally recognized, private, independent, co-educational institution, offers associate, baccalaureate, and master degrees in programs to students in engineering, mathematics, science, computer science, business, teacher education, communication, criminal justice, golf management, social sciences, and various other fields of study. TSU is a member of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association and offers 21 varsity sports. Founded in 1884 and accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, TSU operates a 400-acre main campus in Angola, Ind. with off-campus centers in Angola, Fort Wayne, Howe, South Bend, and Merrillville, Ind., Centreville, Mich., and Bryan, Ohio.

Yvonne Schroeder
Communications Specialist
Tri-State University
1 University Ave.
Angola, IN 46703-1764
260.665.4133 (phone)
260.665.4830 (fax)
schroedery@tristate.edu
For more information, access: www.tristate.edu

More than 160 students from 23 states are expected to participate in Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College's 167th Commencement Ceremony on May 3, 2008.

During the ceremony, Eva Mozes Kor, founder and executive director of CANDLES Holocaust Museum and Education Center, will receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from the College, and she will deliver the 2008 Commencement address.

Kor was born in the small village of Portz, Romania, on Jan. 30, 1934, and at the age of 10, the Nazis took her and her family to the Auschwitz Concentration Camp. After being separated from the rest of their family, Kor and her twin sister Miriam became the subjects and survivors of Dr. Josef Mengele's famed genetic experiments on twins. During the experiments, Kor and her sister were subjected to horrible atrocities and abuses, but through it all, they persevered.

Kor became a US citizen in 1965. She graduated from Indiana State University with a BS in Education in 1990, and in 1995, she founded the CANDLES museum, which has provided education about the Holocaust to thousands of school children and adults. In 2003, arsonists burned down the museum, but Kor and her supporters rebuilt it in 2005. She has received many awards in her life, including a Martin Luther King Spirit of Justice award in 2004 and a Hoosier Heroes award in 2006.

On March 25, Kor gave a presentation at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College, and several SMWC students, faculty and staff, as well as members of the local community, signed an "Addendum to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights."

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was issued by the United Nations in 1948 and details in the inalienable rights of all human beings, regardless of age, race, sex, creed, national origin, or any other status. Kor's addendum focuses on the right of every human being to forgive their enemies and themselves of the pain of the past.

"People cannot be captive their whole life," Kor said during her presentation at SMWC.

During the 2008 Commencement ceremony, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College will also award an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree to Donald E. Smith, Chairman of the Board of First Financial Bank and President of First Financial Corporation.
Smith is recognized as an individual who places great emphasis on giving back to his community, and he has given generously of his time and talents to various civic and philanthropic endeavors in the Wabash Valley and throughout the state.

He has served as president and member of the Alliance for Growth and Progress and the Greater Terre Haute Chamber of Commerce; he was a member of the Terre Haute Economic Development Commission, Indiana Department of Financial Institutions, and the Southwest Indiana District Council of the Department of Mental Health; and he has served as a board member for Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Indiana State University, Wabash Valley Community Foundation, St. Anthony's Hospital, Swope Art Museum, the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame and the Indiana Racing League. He also served as director of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Foundation.

He has received numerous awards for his contributions to the local community and the state of Indiana. He is a Sagamore of the Wabash, and he has received the Chapman S. Root Award from Hospice of the Wabash Valley, the Harry S. Truman Award, the Business Person of the Year Award from Junior Achievement, the Eddie Edenburn Award from the United States Auto Club, the Gibault Excellence Award from the Business Sector and the Community Award from Rotary. He also received an honorary doctorate from Indiana State University.

The 2008 SMWC Commencement Ceremony will begin at 2 p.m. in the Cecilian Auditorium of the College's Conservatory of Music. Seating in the Cecilian Auditorium is reserved, however, members of the community are invited to watch the Ceremony in the O'Shaughnessy Dining Room of the Providence Center via a live video feed. The Baccalaureate Mass will be held at 10:30 a.m. in the Church of the Immaculate Conception. Tickets are not required for Baccalaureate.

For more information, contact Lynn Hughes, director of public relations, at LHughes@smwc.edu or 812-535-5212.

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About Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College
Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College, a Catholic women's college sponsored by the Sisters of Providence, is committed to higher education in the tradition of the liberal arts. The College serves a diverse community of learners in undergraduate and graduate programs, while maintaining its historical commitment to women in its campus program. By participating in this community, students develop their abilities to think critically, to communicate responsibly, to engage in lifelong learning and leadership, and to effect positive change in a global society. SMWC is located on a beautiful 67-acre campus near Terre Haute, Indiana. For more information, call 1-800-926-SMWC or visit www.smwc.edu.

Lynn V. Hughes
Executive Director of College Relations
and Special Assistant to the President
Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College
Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, IN 47876

Phone: 812-535-5212
Fax: 812-535-5010
Email: LHughes@smwc.edu
Web: www.smwc.edu

When the University of Indianapolis conducts its commencement exercises May 2 and 3, a national education expert and one of Indiana’s best known philanthropists and civic leaders will be the featured speakers

The graduate programs commencement will begin at 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 2, in UIndy’s Nicoson Hall, located at Hanna Avenue and State Street. Addressing the graduates will be Arthur Levine, president of the New Jersey-based Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation.

Among the foundation’s many ventures is a national effort, starting in Indiana, to guide top college students into careers as math and science teachers in underserved communities. Levine, who will receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree during the ceremony, previously served as president of Bradford College and Teachers College, Columbia University.

Undergraduate commencement will begin at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 3, also in Nicoson Hall. The address will be delivered by Christel DeHaan, who has served 18 years on UIndy’s Board of Trustees and 11 years as chair, though she is stepping down from that position in May. Since the 1997 sale of her business, RCI, she has devoted much of her time to international charity work. Her Christel House organization operates schools and provides other assistance to impoverished children around the world.

The undergraduate ceremony also will include the presentation of an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree to the Rev. Boniface Hardin, founder and former president of Martin University. His years of community involvement have earned him honors including being named International Citizen of the Year by the International Center of Indianapolis as well as a Living Legend by the Indiana Historical Society.

Graduate programs commencement
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 2
Where: Nicoson Hall, Hanna Avenue and State Street
Speaker: Arthur Levine, President, Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation
Honorary degree recipient: Levine will receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree.

Undergraduate commencement
When: 2 p.m. Saturday, May 3
Where: Nicoson Hall, Hanna Avenue and State Street
Speaker: Christel DeHaan, Indianapolis-based philanthropist and civic leader
Honorary degree recipient: The Rev. Boniface Hardin, founder and former president of Martin University, will receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree.