Posted by William Nunnelley on 2007-05-03

Samford will graduate about 838 seniors during May commencement programs. A total of 683 are scheduled to graduate during the last commencement in Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex Arena Saturday, May 26, at 10 a.m.

Dr. Eric L. Motley, vice president of special initiatives at the Aspen Institute in Washington, D.C., and former White House special assistant for presidential personnel, will deliver the commencement address. The 1996 Samford graduate spent four years working in the Bush White House before transferring to the State Department in 2005 as director of the Office of International Visitors.

In his new role at Aspen, he is also managing director of the Henry Crown Fellowship program designed to develop a new generation of community-spirited leaders.

Samford President Andrew Westmoreland will speak at Cumberland School of Law commencement Saturday, May 19, at 1 p.m. in Wright Center Concert Hall. Cumberland will graduate 155.

Dr. Charles T. Carter, the James H. Chapman Fellow of Pastoral Ministry at Beeson Divinity School, will deliver the baccalaureate sermon Friday, May 25, during 5 p.m. services in Wright Center. Dr. Carter is a longtime Alabama Baptist leader and is pastor emeritus of Shades Mountain Baptist Church.

The president's reception for seniors and their families will be at 2:30-4 p.m. Friday, May 25, in the main dining room of Ralph W. Beeson University Center.

Also during Commencement Weekend, the Ida V. Moffett School of Nursing will hold its Pinning Ceremony Friday, May 25, at 1 p.m. in Hodges Chapel, and the Air Force ROTC Detachment will hold its commissioning ceremony Saturday, May 26, at 3 p.m. in Reid Chapel.

The Samford School of Business will hold its MBA Hooding Ceremony at a dinner Friday, May 18, at 6:30 p.m. at the Marriott Grandview Hotel. The business school also will celebrate the 40th anniversary of its first MBA graduates during this program.

Samford began holding commencement in the downtown arena in 1990 after the annual program outgrew Wright Center. But completion of the new Pete Hanna Center this fall will enable next year's graduation to move back to campus.

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 6,101 students from 45 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.