Commencement

Commencement

Wartburg College will recognize 325 graduates from the Class of 2018 during its 166th Commencement ceremony Sunday, May 27.

Commencement will begin at 1:30 p.m. in Hoover Fieldhouse & Track in the Wartburg-Waverly Sports & Wellness Center. It is free and open to the community.

The graduates include 27 international students from 17 countries. The college also will award its first Bachelor of Science degree for students in engineering science.

Simon Estes, a world-renowned opera singer, will be presented with an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters. Estes joined the Wartburg faculty in 2002 as distinguished professor and artist-in-residence. During his 14-year tenure, he performed with Wartburg music ensembles and worked with students in master classes and private voice lessons. In addition to education and music pursuits, Estes has raised scholarship funds through his two foundations and partners with the United Nations Foundation to raise funds to eliminate malaria in Africa, an effort that earned him the United Nations Lifetime Impact Award.

Wartburg President Darrel Colson will give the charge to the class. The student speaker will be Peter Brennan, a biology major from Indianola. The Regents Scholar is a member of the Phi Eta Sigma, Tri-Beta and Alpha Chi honor societies and won the college’s coveted Nobility Award, an honor for meaningful and significant contributions to the college and community through vision, action and diligence.

Douglas Cole, an English teacher and forensics coach at Eaglecrest High School in Centennial, Colo., and Paul Mugan, a biology teacher at Waverly-Shell Rock High School, will be honored as outstanding high school teachers. Members of the Class of 2018 nominated them for significantly influencing their education.

The academic procession, led by faculty marshals Todd Reiher, professor of psychology, and Ann Henninger, professor emeritus of biology, will begin the Commencement ceremony.

International students bearing the flags of their countries, emeriti faculty, current faculty members, members of the Class of 1968, the graduating class and platform party will join the procession.

Commencement Weekend events that are free and open to the public include:

  • Senior Art Exhibit — 9 a.m.-7 p.m., daily, Waldemar A. Schmidt Art Gallery, Bachman Fine Arts Center.
  • May Term Band Concert — 6:30 p.m., Saturday, May 26, Campus Mall (rain location McCaskey Lyceum).
  • Baccalaureate — The Rev. Ramona Bouzard, dean of the chapel, will deliver the message, Sunday, May 27, 10 a.m., Neumann Auditorium.
  • Pre-Commencement Concert — May Term Band, Sunday, May 27, 1 p.m. Hoover Fieldhouse & Track.