A capacity crowd packed Alumnae Auditorium on the campus of Judson College in Marion June 24 for the college’s 168th annual commencement.
Judson President David Potts presided and awarded diplomas to the graduating seniors.
Potts noted that the class of ’06 had distinguished itself in and out of the classroom.
“This class has researched and presented papers at professional organizations, been admitted to wonderful graduate programs and has embraced the concept of service-learning here in Perry County and to the ends of the earth.”
Thomas E. Corts, who retired this spring after 23 years as president of Samford University in Birmingham, served as commencement speaker.
Corts noted that he’d delivered the commencement address at Judson in 1983 after first coming to Samford and now in 2006 after retiring.
“How appropriate to frame my service at Samford with visits to this fine school,” he said.
Corts spoke of the familial ties between the two schools since Howard College — now Samford University — was founded in Marion in 1841.
He quoted a newspaper of the day that predicted after Howard College moved to Birmingham that the “glory of the past will hover over Marion forever.”
Corts exhorted the graduates to “do the next thing” in their life with grace and gratitude.
“I am grateful to many in my life whose names I can’t even remember,” he said. “But so many invested in my life.”
He told of his late father who was part of “the greatest generation” in the words of Tom Brokaw.
“My dad saved old automobile tires in a shed behind his property,” Corts said. “When I questioned him about this, he said if there was ever another depression, people would be glad to have the tires.
“This generation doesn’t know the hardship of that generation,” Corts said. “Hardship to us might be a dead cell phone battery. The question for this generation is can we survive abundance? We live with abundance produced from the scarcity of our forebears.”
Corts told the graduates that they were coming to leadership at the right time.
“Do the next thing and as Browning said, greet every new responsibility with cheer.”
Following the commencement address, Potts conferred honorary degrees on Corts and on Rosalie Hall Hunt of Guntersville, retired missionary, current president of the Alabama Woman’s Missionary Union and biographer of Adoniram and Ann Judson.
After conferring degrees on the students, Potts recognized a number of graduates for outstanding accomplishments.
Ivy Kastner Core of Newton received the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award, Tara Leigh Sprewell of Demopolis received the J.C. Faulkner Award and Sharon Hannah Copeland of Hokes Bluff received the Bible Award for outstanding Christian service.
Rachel Elaine Baird of Trussville and Angela M. Headley of Clanton shared the Scholarship Award for having the highest grade point average in their class.
Potts noted that both students had earned a perfect 4.0 grade point average.
Brian Burnes, assistant professor of biology, received the Lula and Alton Holley Award for Excellence in Classroom Teaching. (JC)
Share with others: