Olivet Nazarene University's Class of 2017 honored in 104th Commencement

Bourbonnais, IL (05/10/2017) — Olivet Nazarene University conferred degrees on 1,429 graduates - including the first graduates from the public relations and strategic communication major and the special education teacher training major - during the 104th Commencement Convocation.

Degrees awarded to Olivet's Class of 2017:
• 631 traditional undergraduate bachelor's degrees
• 165 adult studies bachelor's degrees
• 609 master's degrees
• 22 doctorate degrees

During the traditional undergraduate ceremony held Saturday morning, May 6, Dr. Shannon Bradshaw - a 1994 Olivet graduate - addressed the graduates and guests as the featured guest speaker. He is vice president of education for MongoDB, Inc., a software company dual-headquartered in New York City and Palo Alto, California. He leads a team of engineers responsible for the company's online training portal, mobile apps for learning, and MongoDB documentation, which together serve more than 4 million users.

Highlights of undergraduate Commencement:
• Seventh cohort of Olivet's Honors Program graduates
• Maggie Sloan Crawford Award for outstanding female graduate to Andrea Wojciechowski, a double major in chemistry and biology, of Roselle, Illinois
• Robert M. Milner Award for outstanding male graduate to Matt Reed, a double major in political science and Spanish, of Plainfield, Indiana
• Samuel L. Mayhugh Award for Scholarly Excellence to Dr. Mark Frisius, professor in the School of Theology and Christian Ministry
• Richard M. Jones Award for Teaching Excellence to Dr. Don Daake, professor in the School of Business who recently retired

In the Saturday afternoon ceremony for Olivet School of Graduate and Continuing Studies (SGCS), University President John C. Bowling addressed those receiving degrees, their families and friends.

Student and faculty awards presented during the SGCS ceremony:
• Willis E. Snowbarger Award for Teaching Excellence presented to Dr. Douglas Garfield, a business professor in the M.B.A. program who has been a faculty member since 1994
• Ralph E. Perry Student Award of Excellence presented to Dr. Gary Hartke, a 2017 Ed.D. graduate from Olathe, Kansas. A model of a true global learner, he is the global director of Nazarene Youth International in 162 world areas with 31,000 churches and 448,000 members.

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