ADRIAN COLLEGE'S SPRING COMMENCEMENT SCHEDULED posted 4/20/04

Approximately 148 students are participating in Adrian College's spring commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 2. The ceremony begins at 3 p.m. at the Merillat Sports & Fitness Center. The traditional Baccalaureate ceremony is scheduled prior to commencement in the chapel at 10:30 a.m.

Thomas Courtice, president of Ohio Wesleyan University, will give the commencement address "Your Syllabus for Life After Adrian." He will also receive an honorary doctor of law degree.

An honorary degree will also be presented to Molly C. Turner, senior pastor of the Grand Ledge First United Methodist Church.

Following the conferral of degrees, the college will hold its Cane Ceremony, an Adrian College tradition dating back to 1875. During the ceremony, the graduating class presents the College's beloved Shepherd's Crook to the undergraduates as a symbol of achievement and a transfer of responsibility. Before passing the Crook, the president of the graduating class attaches a ribbon bearing the name of each class member.

2004 HONORARY DEGREE RECIPIENTS

Thomas B. Courtice, Doctor of Laws

Thomas B. Courtice, president of Ohio Wesleyan University, will retire this summer from his third college presidency. Prior to his time at Ohio Wesleyan, he served as president of West Virginia Wesleyan College (1986-1994) and Westbrook College (1977-1986). Earlier in his career, he held a number of faculty and administrative positions at Hamline University in Minnesota.

He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Pittsburgh in 1965, a MBA from Indiana University in 1967, and a Ph.D. in Education and American Studies from the University of Minnesota in 1974.

Courtice's professional involvement includes serving on the Board of Directors
and Executive Committees of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities and the National Association of Schools and Colleges of the United Methodist Church and on the Board of Trustees for the Council for Ethics in Economics. He is a Consultant-Evaluator for the North Central Association and he has also been active in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), having served as President of the Division III President's Council and as a member of the NCAA Executive Committee.

Molly C. Turner, Doctor of Divinity

Molly C. Turner was one of the first women to be ordained in the West Michigan Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. After serving four churches in urban and rural settings, in 1990, she was appointed to the Bishop's Cabinet for the West Michigan Annual Conference as Central District Superintendent. In 1993, she became the Clergy Assistant to the United Methodist Bishop of the Michigan Area, a position she held for a decade. In that capacity, she provided leadership on a variety of issues including Children and Poverty. She is now the senior pastor of the Grand Ledge First United Methodist Church.

Rev. Turner is a frequent preacher and leader at conferences and seminars. She also has served in a number of national leadership positions including membership on the General Commission on the Status and Role of Women and jurisdictional commissions on Town and Country and Urban Ministries and Volunteers in Mission.

She received a bachelor's degree from Kalamazoo College, a master's degree from Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Ill., and has done postgraduate work at Drew Theological School in Madison, NJ.

Release by Rebekah Hoffman '07