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Wingate University graduates record number of students
5/16/2011
NEWS RELEASE
Contact: Jennifer Gaskins
Director of Marketing & Communications
jgaskins@wingate.edu 704-233-8117
Wingate, N.C. - Wingate University’s 115th Commencement ceremony on May 14 recognized 497 students and marked the largest graduating class in the University's history. The event took place on the academic quad against a backdrop of impending rain that held off just long enough to complete the three-hour ceremony. The ceremony honored graduates from the main campus programs including five students earning the new Master of Accounting degree and 70 students earning the Doctor of Pharmacy degree.
David Burris, executive producer of the Emmy Award-winning reality series, Survivor, delivered the address. He is the grandson of Dr. C.C. Burris, professor and former Wingate University president who served from 1937 to 1953. Burris was also presented the Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters.
In other graduation highlights, ten students received the Budd E. and Ethel K. Smith Award for achieving the highest scholastic average. Award recipients included Samantha Bare, Paula and Donnavee Boulton, Megan Edwards, Mary Greene, Nicole Moody, Heather Mullis, Cassie Sloop, Katie Soots and Elizabeth Underwood.
Other students who received top awards for leadership, scholarship and service were Megan Wood, Samantha Bare, Jordan Crowe, Chelsea Roeder and Jonathan Rumley.
Pharmacy graduates Allison Butler and Crystal Cha were commissioned into the U.S. Air Force immediately following the ceremony. Faculty members Jessie Wright Martin and Taura Napier were honored for their excellence in teaching.
Founded in 1896, Wingate University is a comprehensive university with more than 2,300 students on three campuses in Wingate, Matthews and Hendersonville, North Carolina. The university offers 34 undergraduate majors, 37 minors and career concentrations, numerous pre-professional programs, graduate degrees in business, accounting, education, physician assistant studies and sport administration, and doctorates in pharmacy and education. Wingate students gain the tools and support they need to excel in academics and apply that learning toward an extraordinary career and life. The campus community offers in-class learning, out-of-class experiences, strong mentors, a competitive yet caring environment and rewarding community service opportunities for a complete educational experience.
Wingate student athletes compete in 19 NCAA Division II sports, and the University has won the South Atlantic Conference Echols Athletic Excellence Award for the past five years.
For more information, go to www.wingate.edu.