Commencement 2009: Pomp, circumstance & tradition
Years of hard work will come to a joyful conclusion Saturday for about 300 Heidelberg students who are set to become alumni following the commencement ceremony.
A busy weekend of events kicks off tonight (Friday) with the annual Medals Ceremony for undergraduates who have participated in the Honors Program and graduates who are receiving academic honors.
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A Saturday morning Baccalaureate service returns to campus and will be held at 10 a.m. in Seiberling Gymnasium. Rev. Robert Molsberry, conference minister for the Ohio Conference of the United Church of Christ, will be the keynote speaker at the service. Following baccalaureate, students earning master’s degrees will receive their graduate hoods in a ceremony at 12:30 p.m.
The commencement ceremony, featuring keynote speaker Heidelberg alumnus Eugene “Gus” Newport, activist, advocate and former mayor of Berkeley, .gif)
Calif., will begin at 2 p.m. in Seiberling Gymnasium. Admittance is by ticket only. The student commencement address will be given by senior Keenan Jones, who has served as president of Student Senate this academic year. Interim President Dr. Jim Troha also will address the graduates and their families and friends. Special music will be performed by the Heidelberg Concert Choir, under the direction of Dr. Grant Cook, and the Heidelberg Symphonic Band, under the direction of Dr. John Owen.
Calif., will begin at 2 p.m. in Seiberling Gymnasium. Admittance is by ticket only. The student commencement address will be given by senior Keenan Jones, who has served as president of Student Senate this academic year. Interim President Dr. Jim Troha also will address the graduates and their families and friends. Special music will be performed by the Heidelberg Concert Choir, under the direction of Dr. Grant Cook, and the Heidelberg Symphonic Band, under the direction of Dr. John Owen.Weather permitting, the pomp and circumstance of graduation begins when the Class of 2009 parades from University Hall, down Greenfield Street, to the commencement site, in keeping with a long-standing university tradition. Leading the parade will be flags from each country represented by students in the graduating class and the 2009 class banner. “Sweet Alma Home,” Heidelberg’s alma mater, is played on the University Hall carillon.
In addition to commencement, the university’s Board of Trustees is on campus for their spring meeting Friday. Many of the trustees will stay to participate in commencement festivities, which include the annual Trustee Luncheon on Saturday. Also participating in the weekend’s meetings is President-elect Dr. Robert Huntington, who will take office July 1.
Posted on May 8, 2009