Soon 3,500 white chairs will be set up on Clyde Hall Graduation Court to recreate this view in preparation for Commencement morning.
The Austin College community is looking toward Commencement Exercises on Saturday, May 21, to celebrate its Class of 2022. The ceremony begins at 8:30 a.m. on Clyde L. Hall Graduation Court, just north of Caruth Administration Building. The Class of 2022 includes more than 330 bachelor’s degree candidates and 15 Master of Arts in Teaching degree candidates.
President Steven P. O’Day, J.D., L.H.D., will officiate at the Commencement exercises along with Dr. Elizabeth “Beth” Gill, vice president for Academic Affairs and dean of the faculty, who presents the students; and Board of Trustees chair David Corrigan, who approves the conferring of degrees to students on behalf of the board. Corrigan, a 1981 graduate of the College, is president and CEO of Corrigan Investments, a commercial real estate development and investment firm in Dallas.
Opening Activities
Student Body President Amie Johnson kicks off the morning with the ringing of the Sam Houston Bell to begin the procession of faculty, seniors, trustees, the Senior Leadership Team of the College, and special guests. The procession enters through Williams Founders Plaza and onto the Clyde Hall Graduation Court, accompanied by three bagpipers and led by flagbearers and College Marshal Nate Bigelow, professor of political science, carrying the official Austin College Mace. As the morning’s activities get underway, Reverend Leslie King, pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Waco, Texas, and mother of graduating senior Katie King, will offer the invocation.
Speeches
Sara Schuster, Class of 2022 and elected by her classmates, will present the Senior Address. Sara, from McKinney, Texas, is the daughter of Christine and Jac Schuster and has completed a major in chemistry and minors in biology and Spanish. She also was named Outstanding Senior this spring and has been active in Senior Committee, Campus Activities Board, and Omega Zeta sorority. This fall, she will attend Vanderbilt University to pursue a master’s degree in biomedical science, and then she plans to attend medical school.
President Steven O’Day will present the Commencement Address. He became the 16th president of Austin College in 2017 and under his leadership, the College completed a record-setting $125 million POWER Campaign. His presidency also saw record first-year enrollments, implementation of new curricular and co-curricular initiatives, important capital improvements, and the first minority/majority population on campus. All these moves were part of a bold strategic vision designed to position Austin College for enduring success. During the past two years, the College also saw the renovation of two major campus buildings and other projects now underway.
Student Honors
Following the speeches, President O’Day, Corrigan, and Dr. Gill recognize several graduating seniors for special academic honors, including 16 students who have completed departmental honors. The honors also will include recipients of the Kidd and Robinson Medals, two outstanding graduates with no distinction between them, based on the students’ entire academic records as reflected on the transcript, the balance in course distribution, cumulative grade point average, credits earned, and faculty decision.
Presentation of Degrees
Honorary Degree Recipients
Honorary degree presentations allow the Austin College community to acknowledge and celebrate the achievements of leaders from a variety of backgrounds. The process also brings graduates into contact with distinguished recipients.
Dr. Theodore “Ted” Wardlaw, Honorary Doctor of Divinity
Rev. Dr. Theodore “Ted” Wardlaw, president of Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary and the speaker at the College’s Baccalaureate on Friday evening, will receive an Honorary Doctor of Divinity. Since taking on the seminary presidency in 2002, he has led the seminary in capital campaigns raising more than $100 million and many other advancements. He preaches and teaches widely across the country, has contributed to several edited books, and has written multiple articles for periodicals. Before the move to the seminary, he worked 30 years in pastoral ministry, including a pastorate at Grand Avenue Presbyterian Church in Sherman.
Chief Gary Batton, Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters
Gary Batton became the 47th Chief of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, the third-largest Indian tribe in the United States, in April 2014. He is 15/32 Choctaw and began working for the tribe while attending Southeastern Oklahoma State University. After graduating with a degree in Business Management, his work roles grew, and in 1997, he was appointed executive director of health for the Choctaw Nation by Chief Gregory E. Pyle. Batton’s first project was the successful completion of the first tribally funded health facility in the U.S. Improvements in the health system were noted, and Batton was named Assistant Chief in May 2007, charged with bringing similar growth to businesses and improved profitability to Choctaw members. Upon Chief Pyle’s retirement in 2014, Batton took the leadership role and quickly became involved in the growth of the entire Choctaw Nation. Chief Batton maintained the position by an overwhelming vote of the Choctaw People in the July 2015 general election. He continuously looks for ways to improve and expand services and develop programs to best benefit tribal members.
Master of Arts in Teaching Degrees
Bachelor of Arts Degrees
Finally, the moment for student degrees will be on the agenda, and Dr. Beth Gill will begin to announce the graduates—first the Master of Arts in Teaching degrees, then the Bachelor of Arts degrees for the Class of 2022. Austin College Alumni Board president Clint Buck, Class of 2007, will offer words of welcome to the new alumni on behalf of the Alumni Board, representing the full alumni of the College.
President O’Day will offer closing remarks and good wishes to graduates as he sends them out into the world. Chaplain John Williams will offer the benediction, followed by the traditional choral response, Lutkin’s “The Lord Bless You and Keep You,” by members of the A Cappella Choir, current and former, to close the event. The bagpipes will begin again to call the recession to action.
The Class of 2022, then alumni, will head into the world as engaged citizens.