Millikin University will celebrate its Spring Commencement with two ceremonies on the weekend of May 21-22, 2016.
Millikin's traditional ceremony for students will be on Sunday, May 22, at 2 p.m. at the Decatur Civic Center. Millikin will host a ceremony for graduates of its Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Degree Program and Master of Business Administration (MBA) Degree Program on Saturday, May 21, at 7 p.m. in Kirkland Fine Arts Center. Tickets are required for admission to both ceremonies.
Traditional Student Commencement
The ceremony on May 22 will mark the graduation of approximately 400 students. Millikin University alumna Dr. Jennifer C. Friday '77, assistant professor of psychology at Georgia Gwinnett College, and president of the Friday Consulting Group, LLC, will serve as the 2016 Commencement Speaker on May 22. The ceremony will also include remarks by student Alyssa P. Saklak, a senior from Schaumburg, Ill., who will be graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing.
Dr. Friday is a behavioral scientist with more than 25 years of experience in researching and evaluating health and education programs. For 13 years she worked at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in programs dealing with HIV/AIDS and with violence prevention. Dr. Friday's policy development skills were honed at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a national, non-profit research and public policy institution in Washington, D.C. Dr. Friday has facilitated workshops and training programs, devised strategic plans and guided program planning for government agencies, community-based organizations, as well as profit and non-profit entities. Dr. Friday has also provided implementation and evaluation services for these programs and organizations.
Dr. Friday has a Ph.D. in Psychology and a Master of Art in Psychology from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Dr. Friday graduated in 1977 from Millikin University earning a Bachelor of Science in Biology.
The title of Dr. Friday's commencement address is "You are a Gift."
DNP/MBA Commencement
The ceremony on May 21 will celebrate the graduation of students earning their Doctor of Nursing Practice from Millikin University and students receiving their Master of Business Administration. Millikin's Doctor of Nursing Practice is a practice-focused doctorate designed to prepare advanced practice nurses to lead practice changes based on evidence to improve patient outcomes in complex healthcare systems.
The ceremony will also include speeches by Sara C. Theis, who will be receiving her Master of Business Administration, and Candace N. Benner '91, who will be graduating with a Doctor in Nursing Practice.
Sara Theis received her Master of Fine Arts in Stage Management from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and her Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Arts from Marquette University. She currently serves as instructor of theatre at Millikin University.
Candace Benner, from Forsyth, Ill., received her Master of Science in Nursing from Illinois State University, and her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Millikin University in 1991. She is a board certified nurse practitioner.
Both students were selected by fellow classmates to address the graduating class.
For more information on Millikin University's 2016 Spring Commencement, please visit millikin.edu/commencement.
