An all-faith baccalaureate ceremony will be held on Friday, May 12, at 5:30 p.m. also in the Charles Field House. The event is open to the public, and tickets are not required for entrance.

C-SC students receiving a degree in nursing are invited to participate in the ceremonial pinning, which will be facilitated by Blessing Rieman College of Nursing and Health Sciences on Friday, May 12, at 2 p.m. at The Crossing Church in Quincy, Ill.

Additional commencement week activities include the Honors Day Convocation and the Trustee Reception for Seniors. The Honors Convocation is set for Tuesday, May 9, beginning at 11:30 a.m. in the Alexander Campbell Auditorium of the Robert W. Brown Performing Arts Center. This is a convocation to recognize the academic achievements of C-SC students from the past year and honor the excellence of faculty and staff. Following the college-wide recognition event, each division will present awards at separate ceremonies for the Fine, Applied, and Literary Arts Division, the Business, Education and Law Division, and the Applied Liberal Arts and Sciences Division.

Commencement honors graduates, conferring degrees to undergraduates and graduate students within one ceremony. Tickets are required for commencement and can be obtained through the students’ MyCulver login. Each student can request up to six tickets, which are available now.

For immediate questions regarding commencement, please contact the Office of the Registrar at registrar@culver.edu or 573-288-6000, ext. 6330.

Elbe will address nearly 200 graduating �������� students who are receiving either undergraduate or graduate degrees. His speech titled “Achieving your Dreams” will reflect on Elbe’s educational journey, leadership path, and lessons learned. As a long-time coach, Elbe hopes to inspire the audience with personal lessons and offer a challenge to achieve one’s dreams best.

During the ceremony, C-SC will award Elbe an Honorary Doctor of Education (honoris causa) to commend him for his years of service to the educational community. Elbe shared, “It will be my privilege to address the Culver-Stockton graduates during this momentous occasion, and I could not be more humbled and honored to receive the Honorary Doctor of Education.”

C-SC students receiving a degree in nursing are invited to participate in the ceremonial pinning, which will be facilitated by Blessing Rieman College of Nursing and Health Sciences on Friday, May 13 at 2 p.m. at The Crossing in Quincy, IL. Additional commencement week activities include Honors Day Convocation and Trustee Reception for Seniors.

Honors Day is set for Monday, May 9, beginning at 11:30 a.m. in the Alexander Campbell Auditorium of the Robert W. Brown Performing Arts Center. This is a Convocation to recognize the academic achievements of C-SC students from the past year and honor the excellence of faculty and staff. Following the College-wide recognition event, each division presents awards at separate ceremonies for the Fine, Applied, and Literary Arts Division, the Business, Education and Law Division, and the Applied Liberal Arts and Sciences Division.

For immediate questions regarding commencement, please contact the Office of the Registrar at registrar@culver.edu or 573-288-6000, ext. 6330.

On Sunday, May 16 at 12:30 p.m. C-SC is pleased to welcome back the class of 2020, honoring the 164th commencement ceremony and celebrate the 209 degrees that were conferred in May 2020. Commencement activities will resume in the Charles Field House and be led by Dr. Kelly M. Thompson, President Emerita, with a student reflection provided by Madison Eisenberg ’20, who graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Healthcare Management.

C-SC has worked diligently to provide both graduating classes with the celebration and recognition that they deserve, amidst a global pandemic. Graduates are limited to four guests, arranged in pod-style seating to maintain social distancing guidelines. Each ceremony will be available for live streaming; links are available at culver.edu/commencement.

On Thursday, May 13, the board of trustees will host a reception honoring the graduating class as they make their transition to becoming alumni. At that time, the class of 2021 will present their senior gift to the College, lights in the iconic C-SC dome, to be dedicated by President Palmer.

Baccalaureate is scheduled for Friday, May 14 at 5:30 p.m., to be held in the Charles Field House. This event is closed to the public but will be available for live streaming. More information regarding all commencement activities can be found at culver.edu/commencement.

Commencement originally was scheduled for Saturday, May 16, but it was postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The ceremony now will be a part of homecoming weekend, which begins Friday, Oct. 23 with the Alumni Honors Banquet and the Blue and White Mixer.

Thompson said she discussed with the Senior Leadership Group a number of proposed dates for a rescheduled commencement.

“Then we decided to survey our seniors and ask what they thought, and more than half of them agreed that they would love to come back for homecoming weekend,” Thompson said. “It’s always such a wonderful weekend with the parade and the football game.”

Thompson added that their survey revealed that more than half of the students would bring eight people or more to the Oct. 25 ceremony.

President-elect Dr. Doug Palmer, who begins his duties on July 1, 2020, said he will allow Thompson to be “president for the day.” She will confer the degrees and congratulate students as they come across the stage.

“Clarke and I will do everything in my power to be here for that weekend,” she said.

The Senior Dinner for the Class of 2020 will be on the evening of Saturday, Oct. 24 in the Dining Hall at the Gladys Crown Student Center. A dedication of the Wildcat Plaza is scheduled for that night as well. The plaza, located between the Gladys Crown Student Center and the Carl Johann Memorial Library, will serve as a gathering area for students. A groundbreaking for the plaza is scheduled for the end of June.

Funds for the plaza were raised as part of the annual senior class challenge, which was created in 2011 by Ron Leftwich ‘64, chairman of the Board of Trustees, and his wife, Susie. The Leftwichs match every dollar donated by the senior class toward a gift to the College. The wildcat statue that was the gift of the Class of 2017 will be the centerpiece of the new plaza.

Thompson, the 26^th president in Culver-Stockton’s 167-year history, is retiring on June 30, 2020. She has led the college for six years and was the first woman president of the college.

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This honor is bestowed to junior students with top academic standing who have displayed the highest level of leadership and remain in good standing with the college. They will be prominent figures for Culver-Stockton’s Honors Day, Baccalaureate and Commencement ceremonies. The Office of Student Life selected this year’s marshals.

The marshals attend the planning sessions for Honors Day, Baccalaureate and Commencement. They will help direct the seniors as they assemble for each event, and they will lead the seniors in procession and direct them to their seats.

Barber is a biological chemistry major from Elsberry, Mo. Mansfield is a physical education major from Burton, England.

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Barry is a 1967 graduate of Duke University, and he served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy from 1967-70. He is a Vietnam veteran. He was president and chief executive officer of the Atlanta-based North Riverside Venture Group from 1984 to 1995 before going to Mighty Distributing Systems from 1996 to 2009. He served as director of a number of venture-backed companies and is founding director of the Atlanta Venture Forum. He is a past president of the Southeastern Association of Small Business Investment Companies.

Both of Barry’s parents are alumni of ��������. George Barry graduated in 1941, and Mary Barry graduated in 1942.

Barry now serves on the board of the Boys and Girls Club of the Plateau in Cashiers, N.C. He and his wife Claire divide their time between Cashiers and Amelia Island, Fla. They have three married children and seven grandchildren.

Commencement week at Culver-Stockton begins with the Honors Day Convocation at 11:30 a.m. May 7 in the Alexander Campbell Auditorium. The Senior Dinner will be at 7 p.m. May 9 in the Dining Hall at the Gladys Crown Student Center. Baccalaureate is at 5:30 p.m. May 10 in the Alexander Campbell Auditorium, and a breakfast before Commencement will be at 8 a.m. May 11.

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