For decades, Spring Commencement has been a cherished memory for Methodist University graduates – from receiving their diploma, to the hooding ceremony, to the heart-warming hugs from family and friends that follow.
For decades, Spring Commencement has been a cherished memory for Methodist University graduates – from receiving their diploma, to the hooding ceremony, to the heart-warming hugs from family and friends that follow.
Before they embark on their next journey, the Class of 2022 will be honored during this year’s Spring Commencement Ceremony at Segra Stadium on Saturday, May 7 at 10 a.m. This marks the second-straight year Methodist University will hold the ceremony at the state-of-the-art facility in downtown Fayetteville.
To continue a long-standing tradition, graduates will not only receive a diploma, but they will also each take part in an academic hooding ceremony that will include participation from their individually selected sponsor (often a parent, spouse, child, professor, or friend). The academic hood is a visual representation of the students’ level of academic achievement and the scholastic degree being conferred.
“I am both proud and a little sad to see the MU Class of 2022 graduating” said Methodist University President Stanley T. Wearden. “I am proud to see such a remarkable group of graduates going out into the world and sad to see them leaving because they have brought such vitality and joy to our campus. They have shown tremendous courage, care, energy, and focus during one of the most trying times in American history. Not only have they persevered through a lot of challenges, but they have done so with grace and love. I can’t wait to hear about their many successes in the coming years.”
This year’s Distinguished Graduate Award will go to Henry Murray, who will address the graduating class. Murray was selected by his peers and is among the five students in his class with the highest GPA.
Meanwhile, Fayetteville Technical Community College President J. Larry Keen, Ph.D., will deliver the commencement speech.
Serving as the president of FTCC for nearly 15 years, Keen has led an effort to provide educational programs of study for college transfers along with career technical education and workforce development to all students. Keen plans on retiring from his post at the end of 2022.
“I am honored and humbled by the opportunity to speak to the new graduates of Methodist University,” said Keen. “Their studies have resulted in the opportunities for the fulfillment of their dreams and aspirations as they celebrate this momentous time in their respective lives. It is a time of celebrations of the past in all its beauty, and at times frustrations, but it also represents opportunities for new beginnings.”
The commencement speech continues an important relationship between MU and FTCC. In December 2021, the two institutions signed a Memorandum of Understanding that creates a seamless path for students to transfer from FTCC and pursue a four-year degree at MU.
The Class of 2022 consists of approximately 285 graduates including three international students who are the first from their country to graduate from the University – Teboho Motselekatse from Lesotho, Nerketa Damiba from Burkina-Faso, and Ali Hussain from Pakistan. All three graduates will be honored during the commencement and their country’s flags will be displayed year round – along with dozens of other flags representing international students that have graduated from MU – at the Berns Student Center.
A Baccalaureate service recognizing the accomplishments of the Class of 2022 will be held Friday, May 6, at 7 p.m. in Matthews Chapel.
For directions, ticket information, partner hotels, parking, stadium policies, and more, please visit methodist.edu/graduation.