Westminster College to Celebrate Commencement May 16
Posted on Friday, May 8, 2009
More than 340 students are expected to earn degrees Saturday, May 16, at Westminster College's 155th commencement ceremonies. A baccalaureate service will be held at 10:30 a.m. in Orr Auditorium with commencement at 2:30 p.m. on the Senior Terrace of Old Main.
The baccalaureate message, "Wearing Only a Towel," will be given by the Rev. Dr. Kari Turner McClellan, senior pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, Levittown, and a 1973 Westminster graduate.
The commencement ceremony will include the conferring of two honorary degrees.
Nancy W. Beeghly, who served two terms on Westminster's Board of Trustees, will receive an honorary doctor of public service, honoris causa.
Mrs. Beeghly, a writer and community volunteer, earned an undergraduate degree in English from Mount Union College. She taught English in the Boardman, Ohio, schools and was a columnist for the Youngtown (Ohio) Vindicator. She was community vice president of the Junior League of Youngstown, president of the Alumni Council for Mount Union College, and chair of the Neil Kennedy Recovery Clinic.
Mrs. Beeghly currently serves as communications chair of Beatitude House, a transitional housing and education program for homeless women and children, and serves on the boards of The English Festival at Youngstown State University and the Juvenile Justice Center of Mahoning County.
Bruce R. Beeghly will receive an honorary doctor of public service, honoris causa.
Mr. Beeghly earned an undergraduate degree in engineering from California Institute of Technology in Pasadena and holds an honorary doctorate from Youngstown State University. He is president of Altronic, Inc., a designer and manufacturer of electronic products and leading producer of ignition systems for stationary industrial engines.
Mr. Beeghly was elected to two terms on the Liberty (Ohio) Local Board of Education; appointed to a nine-year term on the Youngstown State University Board of Trustees, acting as board chair 1998-2000; and appointed by Ohio Governor Bob Taft to the Ohio Board of Regents to a term that will expire in 2010. He is a past trustee of the Youngstown State University Foundation and served as a member of the Ohio Board of Regents Higher Education Funding Commission.
Mr. Beeghly served as board president and campaign chair with the United Way of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley, served on the board of directors of the Youngstown Business Incubator, and was honored as 2002 Business Professional of the Year by the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber of Commerce. He currently serves on the board of the Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley.
Mrs. Beeghly will speak for herself and her husband as she shares "Be Grateful, Be Generous, Be Kind."
The class of 2009 selected Ashley Carnahan to give the senior address. A business administration major, Carnahan is a daughter of Nick and Barbara Sedunov of Greensburg and a graduate of Greensburg-Salem High School.
In case of rain, the commencement ceremony will be held in Memorial Field House. Contact Gabriella Budai, executive secretary in the Office of Academic Affairs, at (724) 946-7122 for more information.
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