Four years of preparation and weeks of anticipation culminated on a bright and beautiful morning in May as the Class of 2011 entered the Clyde L. Hall Graduation Court for Commencement. President Marjorie Hass presented diplomas to nearly 300 graduates, including 17 Master of Arts in Teaching students on May 15.
See the Commencement Photos
Business leader and philanthropist Drayton McLane, Jr., chairman of the McLane Group and then-CEO of the Houston Astros Baseball Club, presented the Austin College Commencement address. The Reverend Bruce Reyes-Chow, moderator of the 218th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) and baccalaureate speaker, joined McLane in receiving honorary doctoral degrees from Austin College, along with Ernesto Nieto and Gloria de León, founders of the National Hispanic Institute (NHI), which provides Latino young people with opportunities to envision themselves as future community leaders.
Each year, the faculty selects the two top outstanding graduates, with no distinction between them, on the basis of the students’ entire academic record, to receive the J.C. Kidd and J.M. Robinson Memorial Scholarship Medals.
This year the Kidd Medal was presented to Matthew Varvir and the Robinson Medal went to Katherine Wilshusen. Read about these students and graduate Lewis Musoke of Nairobi, Kenya, who presented the senior address, in “The Many Faces of Success.”
The Class of 1961, 50-year anniversary graduates, were on campus for Golden ’Roo reunion activities during the weekend.