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Baccalaureate begins week of Piedmont graduation events Piedmont College students are enduring final exams this week as the college gears up for another record commencement on May 8. Provided most of those students pass their finals and complete their senior capstone projects on time, as many as 658 students will receive degrees on Saturday, up from 536 who graduated this time last year. Because of the large size of the Class of 2004, two commencement ceremonies are planned. Undergraduate commencement will be held at 10 a.m. in the Johnny Mize Athletic Center on the campus in Demorest. About 220 students will receive bachelor of arts, bachelor of science, or bachelor of science in nursing degrees. The speaker is the Rev. Dr. Clifford D. Schutjer, pastor of The First Congregational Church of Mansfield (Ohio) and former moderator of the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches. A second ceremony for graduate students will be held at 1 p.m., when some 438 students will receive master's degrees in business and education or the education specialist degree. The speaker is James Ross LeMay, deputy managing editor for CNN Network News in Atlanta. Commencement activities got under way on May 2 as undergraduate students and their parents gathered in the college chapel for the annual baccalaureate service. The Rev. Ashley Cook, college chaplain, delivered the baccalaureate address, and President Ray Cleere presented several students with academic awards. L. Scott Davis of Clarkesville received the H.M. Stewart Sr. Award of Excellence, presented each year by Community Bank & Trust to the graduate with the highest grade-point average. Erin McGehee of Duluth received the Charles Spence Citizenship Award, and the Michael and Emily Robertson Kindness Award went to two students, Christopher Duran of Norcross and Viviana Robles of Lilburn, for their work in tutoring students at Cornelia Elementary School. Each school of the college presented an award to an outstanding senior. They were Gregory Shane Smith of Lawrenceville, School of Arts and Sciences; Cindy Williams of Morganton, School of Business; Julie M. Tolbert of Watkinsville, School of Education; and Mary Ann Dyer Gaddis of Blairsville, School of Nursing. Dr. Angela Brown, who teaches graduate education classes at the Piedmont Athens Center, was named the Outstanding Advisor of the Year. The Vulcan Teaching Excellence and Campus Leadership Award went to history professor Dr. Al Pleysier. -30- |
The Rev. Ashley Cook
delivers the 2004 baccalaureate address.