Rocky Mount, N.C.—North Carolina Wesleyan College will hold its 43rd commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 6. Of the 217 students who will participate in the ceremony, 108 have completed their studies on the Rocky Mount campus, while 70 have finished  their degrees through Wesleyan’s Adult Degree Program in the Triangle area and 39 have finished through the Goldsboro campus. Most of the students are from North Carolina, with an additional eight states and the District of Columbia also represented.

Wesleyan holds commencement ceremonies in both May and December. Last December, 220 students received their bachelor’s degrees.

Commencement activities will begin with a baccalaureate service at 8:30 a.m. in the Leon Russell Chapel on the campus. The event is an interfaith program conducted by Wesleyan Chaplain Barry P. Drum that includes music, readings, prayers, and a speaker.

An honors convocation to recognize outstanding student accomplishments will begin at 10 a.m. in Minges Auditorium in the Dunn Center. Both the baccalaureate and the honors convocation are open to the public.

The graduation ceremony will begin at 1:30 p.m. in Minges Auditorium and will include the presentation to students of the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award and the President’s Cup, plus the announcement of this year’s Exemplary Teacher award. The commencement is not open to the public, since seats are reserved for the graduates and their families.

Guest Speaker

Guest commencement speaker will be Dr. William C. Nelsen. He has served for the past two academic years as Vice President of Development at Wesleyan, under the auspices of the Registry for College and University Presidents. He came to Wesleyan in 2004 after serving for 18 years as president of Scholarship America, the nation’s largest private sector scholarship and educational support organization. Under his leadership there, the organization grew seven-fold in size and program outreach, and consistently was named one of America’s most efficient nonprofit organizations.

Dr. Nelsen’s long and distinguished career has included positions as program executive of the Danforth Foundation, vice-president and dean of St. Olaf College, and president of Augustana College (South Dakota).

He earned his bachelor’s degree from Midland Lutheran College, his master’s in religion and ethics from Columbia University, and his Ph.D. in political science from the University of Pennsylvania. He also served as a Fulbright Scholar in Germany. He is the author of two books concerning faculty development and a variety of articles in the fields of ethics, religion, government, higher education, private sector responsibilities, and student aid.

Dr. Nelsen is currently chair of the board of the U.S. Dream Academy and serves as a trustee of Midland Lutheran College, his alma mater. He previously was chair of the board of the National Scholarship Providers Association, and served on the executive board of the National Assembly. As a consultant to USA Funds, he directs the national Learning Communities Coalition. This coming year, Dr. Nelsen will enroll at Luther Seminary in Minnesota and undergo internship training to complete requirements for ordination in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America.

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