News Release

Contact: Jeri Kornegay
Director of Media and Public Relations
260-982-5285  jskornegay@manchester.edu

The Class of 2009

Magna cum laude chemistry graduate Chelsea Weimann receives

congratulations from Jeff Osborne, assistant professor of chemistry.

Last lessons for the Class of 2009:

Embrace the unexpected

… and say, “Thanks!”

The 201 members of the 120th class of Manchester College hugged their families about them, beamed from praises of very proud faculty, and pulled friends close for Facebook poses. It was Graduation Day, this very warm and perfect May 24, 2009.

The graduates received much advice on a day packed with speeches, reflections, prayer, music, cheering, and seemingly endless faculty applause. The College awarded 156 bachelor of science degrees, 45 bachelor of arts degrees, one associate of arts degree, and two honorary degrees – to 1968 graduate Marsha Link, who has co-founded a surgical products company and a consulting service, and ABC medical director and commentator Dr. Timothy Johnson.

“Believe it or not, you are in for some huge surprises … that you cannot begin to imagine,” Dr. Johnson told the more than 2,000 people assembled. He told two stories of life-changing surprises in his life.

He said a fellowship to Indonesia during medical school in the late 60s introduced him and his wife, Nancy, a nurse, to incredible experiences, medically, culturally, and to an abandoned, filthy 18-month-old child who would become the couple’s son.

He said his honorary degree is a personal tribute to Dr. Wilbur McFadden’s family, their hosts in Indonesia. Wilbur and Joyce McFadden are 1953 graduates. (Dr. Johnson’s mother, Eunice Danielson Johnson, graduated in 1928.)

Another life-changer came when he angrily rejected an invitation to join the American Medical Association after the group opposed the appointment of Dr. John Knowles, a proponent of universal health care, as the undersecretary of health. He wrote to Dr. Knowles, igniting a friendship. When Dr. Knowles and others took over operation of an ABC station in Boston, he turned to his new young friend to host in a program on medical matters.

In her baccalaureate address, President Jo Young Switzer urged the graduating seniors to remember how they arrived at this point in their lives, and to be grateful for support they have received.

“… You are sitting here today because a choir of family members, friends, teachers, neighbors, roommates, pastors, police officers, counselors, tutors, coaches, choir directors, siblings, and professors helped you. Today, amid the bustle and excitement of the day – and every day – I hope you will take a moment to breathe in deeply and consider – who helped me get here today?  Thank those persons, and tell them, ‘I couldn’t have done this without you.’ ”

At the ultimate top of the class is Colleen Hamilton of Rockford, Mich., whose summa cum laude degree in French is even more extraordinary because she achieved it taking rigorous honors courses. She addressed her classmates: “How you came to be here is only part of your story. I want to know if, beyond today and beyond this place, you can live a greater story that gives meaning to your life.”

In reflections earlier in the day, Nicolas Kauffman of Goshen, Ind., told his classmates: “… we can all be united in that need we feel to do something, to fix things, to make the world a better place. … The important thing is that we always be willing to stop and listen, to work toward understanding opposing viewpoints, and to explore our own and be willing to change them when they don't hold up.”

Class of 2009

    ***summa cum laude  **magna cum laude  *cum laude

Graduate               Degree       Major                                        Hometown                               

President Switzer's

Charge to Graduates

Baccalaureate Reflections

Reflections of Remembrance and Gratitude

Nicolas Kauffman '09

Moala Penitani '09

Class of 2009 Response

Colleen Hamilton '09

Watch Commencement 2009 on the web

Link, Switzer and Johnson

Honorary degree recipient Marsha Link's comments

Fort Wayne Journal Gazette

story and photo gallery

It's a Manchester tradition: Many graduating students and faculty wear green ribbons on their gowns, declaring they have signed The Graduation Pledge of social and environmental consciousness.