BGSU to hold commencement Friday, Saturday

Commencement speakers (left to right) Dean Bresciani, Jay Crawford, Holly Horn and D. Craig Rathbun

The University will celebrate its 285th graduation in three ceremonies in the Stroh Center Friday (May 6) and Saturday (May 7).

Commencement for the Graduate College and the colleges of Health and Human Services; Musical Arts; and Technology, Architecture and Applied Engineering will be held at 7 p.m. Friday. The College of Arts and Sciences will hold commencement at 9 a.m. Saturday. The colleges of Business Administration and Education and Human Development will hold commencement at 2 p.m. Saturday. BGSU Firelands will hold commencement at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

The May graduating class includes 2,287 candidates. Among the undergraduates, 76 will be presented associate degrees and 1,768 bachelor’s degrees. Of those, 611 have received honors for their high grade point averages. The 424 graduate students include 404 candidates for master’s degrees and 20 for doctoral degrees.

BGSU students come from all around the world. This graduating class includes 88 international students representing 25 countries. There is also great diversity in overall age, with degree candidates ranging from 19 to 60.

Addressing the Friday graduates will be BGSU alumnus Dean Bresciani, who received a Master of Arts degree in college student personnel in 1985 and is now North Dakota State University’s 14th president. He has more than 30 years in higher education and has developed a broad leadership base in the academic, administrative and political science aspects of university leadership.

During the Saturday morning service, the University will present an honorary Doctor of Business Administration degree to Maribeth Rahe. The 1970 alumna is the president and chief executive officer of Fort Washington Investments Advisors Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Western & Southern Financial Group based in Cincinnati.

Addressing the Saturday morning graduates will be BGSU alumnus Jason “Jay” Crawford, who received a Bachelor of Arts in radio, television and film in 1987. He is now co-host of ESPN’s flagship show, “SportsCenter,” handling the midday duties. His professional achievements include winning four regional Emmy Awards, the Best Sportscaster Kentucky AP Award and three SPJ Best Sports Program Awards.

Addressing the Saturday afternoon graduates will be BGSU alumna Holly Horn, who received a Bachelor of Science in education in 1983. Her 33-year career has spanned over various businesses and organizations, including politics, education, health care, consulting and finance. She now works in the municipal finance industry in New York for Assured Guaranty, a bond insurance company that assists issuers such as states, cities, airports and hospitals.

Addressing the Saturday evening graduates will be BGSU alumnus D. Craig Rathbun, who received a bachelor’s degree in business administration in 1983. Following success at Ernst & Whinney’s Management Consulting Group, Venture Packaging and Encore Plastics, he financed a renewable energy company called SUREnergy, which provides grant writing, sourcing, installation, maintenance and consulting services to several national and international companies.