News & Events
Presbyterian College Celebrates 125th Commencement Exercises
A beautiful spring day filled with equal parts pomp, humor, gratitude, hope, and remembrance marked Presbyterian College’s 125th commencement ceremonies May 10 on the West Plaza. Approximately 260 members of the Class of 2008 received the last words of wisdom they would hear as college students, including advice from a peer gathered by Outstanding Senior Cody Mitchell, a newly-commissioned second lieutenant from Bethune, S.C.
Mitchell said his family – his mother and father and especially his grandfather – have been sage constants in his life, always prepared to set and keep him on the straight and narrow. From his "papaw," Mitchell said he learned the values of hard work and making a mark on the world by doing things, not having things.
"My papaw is the wisest man I know and the only person that I have ever tried to impress," he said. "His words of wisdom, his character and his faith in God serve as wonderful examples of the man that I have always strived to be. Throughout my life, when things happen that I don’t understand, I’ve always known that there was a tough ol’ east Tennessee farmer who was waiting and willing to tell me how it was."
Mitchell told his fellow seniors they also share a second family always eager to pass on experience and wisdom – their PC family. Having asked members of the faculty and staff short snippets of advice, he shared several, including retired faculty member Fred Chapman’s reminder that, after college, every day is an "eight o’clock, and zero cuts."
"Our PC Family hopes that you’ll: wash your hands before you eat, that you won’t answer your cell phone during a face-to-face conversation, and clean up after yourself," Mitchell said. "While this sounds a lot like parental advice, it should. Your president, administrators and professors all love and care for you like you are their own children."
PC’s Professor of the Year, Charles E. Daniel Professor of Mathematics Dr. Brian Beasley, waxed eloquently on the power and beauty of numbers in literature, science, music, and theology. But he also reminded the Class of 2008 that, in their relationship with PC and especially their Creator, they are more than a number.
"Wherever you go and whatever you do, you are more than a number – you are a child of God, a unique individual with not only a bright future but also a fierce determination to persevere through any rough weather," he said. "You are more than a number – at PC, in the future, and especially in the eyes of God. You are truly one of a kind, just as God created you to be."
College president Dr. John Griffith asked graduates to think back on a moment their first day at PC.
"You were on a break from moving in and you were asked to gather in Belk Auditorium for a welcome from the president," he said. "You were sweaty and tired. I was trying to look presidential in a suit and a bowtie. My task was to put you at ease, to introduce you to the central values of this fine institution, and to assure you that your acceptance was not a cruel mistake of a crazed admissions officer. I’m glad that I was right on that account. You were meant to be here."
Griffith also asked them to remember the scripture he quoted that day – from the Book of Deuteronomy declaring that they are "heirs of cities which you did not build." Those words, he said, are permanently inscribed in bronze on a statue on campus of a boy reading a book.
"I hope every time you return to campus you’ll stop and read those words, for I don’t want you to lose sight of the fact that everything about this place was given to you by individuals many of whom are long gone and who cared deeply about the quality of your education," he said. "You know in your heart all that PC has offered you and you know what you have made of it – what you’ve done with what’s been offered.
"So, finally you’re at the point where you are the heirs of a great legacy and in the natural rhythm of things heirs become responsible for the next generation. Thus, your faculty and I have one last charge – that you be builders of your alma mater. That you increase the value of this place by how you live your lives and what you give back to PC." The college also awarded two honorary degrees during the commencement ceremony.
The Doctor of Divinity degree was conferred on the Rev. Joan S. Gray, the moderator of the Presbyterian Church USA. A 1973 graduate of PC, she is a parish associate pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Atlanta, Ga., where she lives with her husband, Bill, a member of the college’s board of trustees who also graduated from PC in 1973.
An expert on church polity and structure, Gray is the co-author of Presbyterian Polity for Church Officers and has served as moderator of the General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission and as a member of the Advisory Committee on the Constitution for the PCUSA. Ordained as a Minister of the Word and Sacrament in 1978, she has primarily served as an interim minister in the Atlanta area. She also has served as an adjunct faculty member at both Columbia Theological Seminary and Johnson C. Smith Seminary, and has taught at Princeton Theological Seminary. In 2006, she was elected moderator for the 217th General Assembly in Birmingham, Ala.
"I am very grateful for all the people who made me what I am – especially my professors at PC, my family, and my dear husband," Gray said. "But most of all I’m thankful to God – who gave me life and has made it good."
The Doctor of Humane Letters degree was conferred on Dr. Rand L. Stoneburner, a leading epidemiologist whose research on the AIDS epidemic has made a strong case for better education and communication regarding the disease and its decline.
A 1971 graduate of PC, Stoneburner is an independent health consultant associated with the World Health Organization. The former director of AIDS research and epidemiologic activities for the City of New York, he has a master’s degree in public health from Harvard University and a medical degree from Tulane University. He also has served with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and as an independent health consultant association with the Health Population Evaluation Unit of Cambridge University in England. "Returning here, particularly today, has brought back so many emotions," Stoneburner said. "I realize, perhaps mostly today, how much this experience here during my four years has meant for my future work. I want to thank you and to tell the graduates before me to take advantage of what you’ve learned here. It’s a wonderful thing academically, as well as the social foundations and the character building. I wish you well on your journey and I’m sure you’ll be able to use this experience to benefit the world." Presbyterian College also announced the recipient of the Class of 2007’s Valedictory Award for maintaining the highest grade point average over the last four years. Brittany Elizabeth Greer, a summa cum laude graduate from Honea Path, S.C., was the top senior of her class.
Local graduates include:
- Cheryl Rogers Bryson, Clinton
- Cathy Lane Cooper, Gray Court
- Siega Jerman Disasa, Laurens
- Jenna Lee Foster, Clinton
- Matthew Randolph Frick, Clinton
- Keri Lynn Garrett, Laurens
- Christopher Tyler Goss, Clinton
- Julianna Marie Head, Clinton, summa cum laude
- Nathan Douglas Head, Clinton, summa cum laude
- Jarren Kyle Johnson, Clinton
- Jeffrey Case McNeill, Clinton
- Gwen Roberson, Clinton
- William Brice Tribble, Laurens
- Bonnie June White, Clinton
- Jeremy Andrew White, Clinton
- Sara Elizabeth Hiers White, Clinton, magna cum laude
- Sera Elizabeth Wood, Laurens
- Stefan Wade Young, Clinton
