A total of 264 Anderson University graduates received their diplomas during a spring commencement ceremony May 7 under blue skies and in the shade of the 100-year-old oaks of Alumni Lawn.
One of the South’s most scenic graduation ceremonies, the AU commencement also featured the awarding of 40 master’s degrees. The day also marked the official conclusion of a year of commemorating Anderson University’s centennial.
Belle S. Wheelan delivered the commencement address. Wheelan is president of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools’ Commission on Colleges and is the first African-American and first woman to serve in such a capacity. Her career spans more than 30 years and includes the roles of faculty member, chief student services officer, campus provost, college president, and secretary of education. In several of those roles, she was the first African-American and/or woman to serve in those capacities.
Wheelan challenged the graduates to be agents of change in society, to bring back lost civility and manners to the next generation, and to find creative ways to enhance the education of others.
In addition to having another record-setting number of graduates for spring commencement, the ceremony also featured, for the first time, the awarding of the master of arts in teaching and the master of criminal justice (from the Command College of South Carolina, which is a part of Anderson University).