SHERMAN, TEXAS — Austin College will hold graduation activities May 17-18 to close the academic year and celebrate the accomplishments of approximately 344 graduating seniors. Another 18 students will complete the Master of Arts in Teaching degree.
Stuart Baskin, senior pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Tyler, Texas, will present the Baccalaureate sermon Saturday, May 17, at 7 p.m. in Sid Richardson Center of the Robert T. Mason Athletic/Recreation Complex.
A native of San Antonio, Texas, Baskin received a bachelor’s degree in international studies from Davidson College and master’s degrees in divinity and theology in church history, as well as a doctorate in theological ethics from Union Theological Seminary. Baskin formerly was senior pastor at First Presbyterian Church of Greenville, Mississippi, previously holding ministry positions at Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church of Houston and Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church of Richmond, Virginia. He also served as Presbyterian campus minister at the University of Richmond.
The 2008 Commencement exercises will begin Sunday, May 18, at 8:30 a.m. on the Clyde L. Hall Graduation Court, north of Caruth Administration Building. Students’ years of study will culminate as they receive their diplomas from Austin College President Oscar C. Page as Mike Imhoff, vice president for Academic Affairs and dean of the faculty, calls the name of each graduate. College marshal is George M. Diggs, professor of biology.
The Commencement address will be presented by the Honorable Antonio “Tony” Garza, Jr., U.S. Ambassador to Mexico. Before his appointment as U.S. Ambassador to Mexico in 2002, Garza was the first Hispanic Republican elected to statewide office in Texas, winning the seat of chairman of the Texas Railroad Commission in 1998. A leading role in government was not new to Garza. In 1988, he was the first Republican elected to countywide office in traditionally Democratic south Texas. He served six years as Cameron County Judge, the county’s top executive. . In 1994, Texas Governor George W. Bush named Garza Secretary of State and Senior Policy Advisor. Before taking over the Texas Railroad Commission, Garza was a partner in the Austin office of Bracewell & Patterson (now Bracewell & Giuliani), a Houston-based law firm.
Garza’s public service highlights his belief in the importance of education. Texas Governor Rick Perry appointed Garza to his Special Commission on 21st Century Higher Education. Garza was a member of the Board of Directors of the Texas Exes, the alumni association for the University of Texas at Austin. He currently serves on the Advisory Boards of the George H. W. Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University and the SMU School of Law. In 2004, the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, which provides support for young Hispanics to pursue higher education, honored Garza as a member of its Alumni Hall of Fame for demonstrating the power of higher education and mentorship. Garza has delivered commencement addresses at the Universities of Texas at Austin, Edinburg, El Paso, and San Antonio, as well as SMU and Texas A&M.
Garza and Baskin, baccalaureate speaker, will receive honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degrees from Austin College during the Commencement ceremony.
Axel Nze Akoue of Libreville, Gabon, Africa, was selected by his classmates to serve as senior speaker at Commencement. He is majoring in international relations and completing a minor in communication studies. An expert in martial arts, he teaches weekly kickboxing lessons for students, sponsored by the Student Life Office. He also has been involved with Student International Organization and Black Expressions. The A Cappella Choir, directed by Wayne Crannell, associate professor of music, will perform during the Commencement ceremony.
Three retiring faculty members also will be recognized during Commencement ceremonies, representing more than 90 years of service to the college. James Gray, professor of English, joined the Austin College faculty in 1978; Janet Lowry, associate professor of sociology, in 1983; and Shelton Williams, professor of political science and John D. Moseley Chair in Government and Public Service, in 1970.
Members of the Class of 1958 will be on campus throughout the weekend for 50-year reunion activities. Class members in attendance will receive 50-year anniversary diplomas and medallions from President Page at a dinner in the graduates’ honor Friday, May 16. The anniversary graduates will take part in the Processional for Baccalaureate and will be recognized during Commencement exercises. Other Golden ’Roos, alumni of 50 or more years ago, also take part in the reunion activities.
Austin College is a leading national independent liberal arts college located approximately 30 minutes north of the greater Dallas metroplex in Sherman, Texas. Founded in 1849, making it the oldest institution of higher education in Texas operating under original charter and name, the college is related by covenant to the Presbyterian Church (USA). Recognized nationally for academic excellence in the areas of international education, pre-professional training, and leadership studies, Austin College is one of 40 schools profiled in Loren Pope’s influential book Colleges that Change Lives.