B-CC GRADUATES 69 IN HISTORIC SUMMER COMMENCMENT CEREMONY

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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Bethune-Cookman College conferred 69 bachelor degrees in its summer commencement ceremony on Saturday, June 26, 2004 in the first graduation held in the Mary McLeod Bethune Performing Arts Center and the last presided over by outgoing College President Dr. Oswald P. Bronson, Sr.

“Today is your day,” Bronson told the graduating seniors. “Now you are an equal with me as a graduate of a fully accredited institution of higher learning.”

Bronson will step down August 15, 2004 after serving 29 years as president of his alma mater. His successor, Dr. Trudie Kibbe Reed, currently the president of Philander Smith College in Little Rock, Ark., was among the platform guests.

Commencement speaker Dr. William Shafer Barnes, a member of the B-CC Board of Trustees and Senior Pastor of St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in Orlando, Fla., delivered an address that he was sure most of the graduates “wouldn’t remember in future years” but made memorable for the time being by wearing a menagerie of hats, including a Wildcat football team coaching cap.

Barnes’ use of hats went along with the explanation of the symbolism of the mortarboard the graduates were wearing – the cement of the future the students will build is on top.

“As graduates of B-CC, you are the ones who will be building compassionate communities around you,” Barnes said.

Barnes, along with George McPhillips and Dr. Robert L. Williams, were conferred honorary degrees. In addition, a distinguished service plaque was present to 1973 graduate Mary T. Cooper for her community service.

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Bethune-Cookman is a comprehensive college, which offers degrees in liberal arts as well as professional fields, such as business, education and nursing. A United Methodist Church-affiliated school, the College has a diverse and international student population of more than 2,700 and a solid reputation for academic excellence and community service. As evidence of its outstanding program, the College has been listed in the Templeton Honor Roll of Character Building Colleges and Universities, and it was ranked by Black Enterprise magazine as one of the “Top 50” schools in the nation for black students.  B-CC is one of 10 charter member colleges of Project Pericles, a program to create civic leadership and involvement on its member campuses.  The College will celebrate its 100^th year of founding on October 4, 2004.

For more information, contact our website www.bethune.cookman.edu. 

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