Presbyterian College celebrates 124th commencement exercises
May 5, 2007
The spring rains that moved Presbyterian College's outdoor commencement exercises from the West Plaza to the Templeton Center could not dampen the spirits of nearly 250 members of the Class of 2007 who graduated Saturday.
Inside a packed arena, PC president Dr. John Griffith reminded the graduating class of the words he greeted them with four years ago as they entered campus as freshmen - that they are, according to the author of Deuteronomy, "heirs of cities which you did not build."
"You know, by now, that this place was bequeathed to you... by individuals long gone who care deeply that you receive the highest quality education possible from a faculty of distinction in a comfortable, supportive, even inspiring environment," he said.
At their baccalaureate service on Friday night, Griffith said, seniors heard the remainder of that theme from Deuteronomy - "And when you have eaten your fill, take care that you do not forget the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt and out of the house of slavery."
As heirs, he said, the members of the Class of 2007 are now responsible for the next generation, as previous generations were responsible for their well-being at PC. He introduced them to that generation as he recognized members of the Class of 1957 who were inducted Friday into the Ben Hay Hammett Society.
PC's Outstanding Senior Katherine Bryant of Atlanta, Ga., also addressed fellow members of the Class of 2007, with some words of wisdom on both constancy and change.
A symbol of both, she noted, is the new brick bell tower that now houses the college's Victory Bell, which has contributed to one of the oldest traditions on campus. In his book, The Spirit of PC, the late Ben Hay Hammett, former director of alumni and public relations, described the bell as a symbol of "constancy amid the change," said Bryant.
"This bell has no doubt seen changes across the campus," she said. "Be it victories on the athletic fields, changes to curriculum, physical changes to the infrastructure of the college, or changes in the world around - just imagine the global events that this bell has witnessed, each time ringing loudly as a symbol for PC's commitment as an institution of higher education and promise that we face darker days or the brightest of mornings the PC community will be ready to serve."
Bryant said that even as the college changes - and its graduates change - there are constants. God is constant, she said, and so is the PC spirit.
"May Presbyterian College and each of you continue to embrace change and even seek change," she said. "May our roots be firm but not so deep that we cannot grow. And may we always be able to come back and be inspired by the spirit of PC and the constancy that it is."
PC's Professor of the Year, history professor Dr. Anita Gustafson, also shared some wisdom with the graduating class. She took the group back to her graduation day when she thought at the time that she had her entire life planned out - and none of those plans called for her to become a history professor.
"I came to realize that the path that I had laid out for myself was not really true to my calling," she said. "It did not allow for God to work in my life in new ways. It did not allow for unforeseen opportunities to come my way. It did not include a Ph.D. in history or a job as a professor at Presbyterian College. It did not include being Charlie's wife and Karl's mother. The thing is - when I thought I had my plans all figured out - they did not include the fullness of what life had to bring."
Gustafson encouraged graduates, then, to understand that the best is yet to be. Paraphrasing St. Paul's letter to the Philippians, she exhorted them to "Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen (in this place; among these friends, from these fine professors) and the God of Peace will be with you."
The college also awarded two honorary degrees during the commencement ceremony.
The Doctor of Humane Letters degree was conferred on the Rev. Dr. Ted Wardlaw, a 1974 graduate of PC and this year's baccalaureate speaker.
The president and professor of homiletics at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Austin, Texas, Wardlaw said he was greatly honored not only to return to his alma mater but also to follow in the footsteps of both his grandfather and father as honorary degree recipients.
"This is a day that, for all of us, is thick with memories," he said. "Some memories are being made today and some memories are being recalled today. What I'm recalling now is a springtime day when I was nine years old - and so proud to watch my father being hooded with an honorary doctorate from this institution. A decade or so later, dear Uncle Warren was so hooded - and I would like to think that they and my mother, Ann, are leaning over the balconies of heaven today to join us all on this occasion.
"I will endeavor to live up to this honor for the rest of my life."
The Doctor of Public Service degree was conferred posthumously on the late John "Jack" Ballard Jr., the former pastor of Mount Carmel Christian Church in Stone Mountain, Ga.
A native of Ashland, Ky., he was a graduate of Cincinnati Bible Seminary (now Cincinnati Christian University), where he earned his alma mater's Distinguished Alumni Award. During his 43-year tenure at Mount Carmel Christian Church, Ballard lead his congregation into becoming the largest in the Christian Church denomination.
He also served as chairman of the executive committee for the Christian Church Foundation for the Handicapped, and organization that provides assistance for people with disabilities and their families and operates group homes in Louisville, Tenn., and Columbia, Ky. Ballard also was the founder of Church Builders, a 29-year program of Mount Carmel Christian Church that was responsible for building more than 60 churches in North America.
Presbyterian College also announced the recipient of the Class of 2007's Valedictory Award for maintaining the highest grade point average over the last four years. Elizabeth Tallon Harding, a summa cum laude graduate from Greenville, S.C., was the top senior of her class.