Urbana University will hold its 111th Commencement Ceremony on Saturday, May 3 rd at 11:00 a.m. in the Warren G. Grimes Center gymnasium. One hundred and twenty-five degrees will be conferred: 12 Masters, 109 Bachelors, and 4 Associate degrees.

The Commencement Ceremony will begin with the Academic Procession led by Dr. W. Dean Pond, Professor of Education and Chair of the Urbana University Faculty Assembly. Elizabeth Coffman, member of the University Board of Trustees and a Lay Leader of the Urbana Swedenborgian Church will lead the gathering in the Invocation. Musical selections will be performed by the University’s Royal Blues Band led by John Gore and The University Singers directed by Robert Marks. William G. Edwards, Chair of the University Board of Trustees will give a greeting from the Board. Dr. Robert L. Head, President of Urbana University and Dr. Thomas W. Fauquet, Vice President of Academic Affairs, will confer the degrees and award the diplomas.

The Commencement speaker will be the Honorable Jim Jordan, United States Congressman representing Ohio’s 4 th Congressional District. Congressman Jim Jordan was raised in Champaign County, Ohio graduating from Graham High School in 1982, where he was a four-time state champion in wrestling with a career record of 150-1. He went on to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in economics from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin in 1986, where he was a two-time NCAA wrestling champion. He later earned a Master of Arts degree in education from The Ohio State University in 1991 and a doctor of jurisprudence (J.D.) from Capital University School of Law in 2001.

Jordan worked as an assistant wrestling coach at OSU from 1987-1995. He began his political career as the State Representative representing the Ohio 85 th district from 1995-2001. From 2001-2007 he served as an Ohio State Senator from the 12 th District. Congressman Jordan was elected in 2006 to the United States Congress from Ohio’s 4 th district after Congressman Oxley retired.

In Congress he serves on the House Judiciary Committee, the House Small Business Committee and the House Oversight and government Reform Committee.

Jim and his wife Polly are the parents of four children. The family lives near Urbana and attends the Grace Bible Church.

Teresa A. Day, the 2008 Valedictorian and recipient of a Bachelor of Science degree in Early Childhood Education, will focus her address on the life of Mother Theresa as an example of how an ordinary person can accomplish extraordinary feats. Terri will reflect not only on her own “ordinary” life but also on the people who helped her accomplish this “extraordinary” feat of graduating with honors while being a wife and mother. She is grateful for the love and support given by her husband, John, a civilian working for the Air Force and her four children. Her oldest daughter is now living in Texas after completing her military service in Iraq; a son is currently serving in the Air Force and stationed at Fort Hood; and two daughters, ages 17 and 15, are still at home in Springfield attending Catholic Central High School.

Terri began her education many years ago at Catholic Central where she met her future husband. Upon graduation, she attended and earned a degree in nursing from Eastern Kentucky University. As a wife and mother, she was able to pursue her career as a RN while the family traveled the United States and world following her husband’s civilian military career.

While the family was stationed at the Ramstein Air Force base in Germany, Terri discovered her true vocation. She was volunteering in a kindergarten class and realized that she loved working with children. So when the family returned to Springfield, the next phase of her educational journey began; one that landed her at Urbana University.

When Terri returned to the classroom as a student in 2005, she was able to transfer the numerous credits she had earned taking a class or two wherever they lived. Knowing that this adventure would place new demands and mean some major adjustments for her and the family, she began as a part-time student. But she soon became a full-time student and in three years completed her course work with academic honors while she also continued to be the active mother supporting her family.

Just as Mother Theresa continues to be a role model, even after death, showing the world how one should care for even the poorest of the poor, Terri is also an excellent example to her family members, especially her teenage daughters, of how one should continue to be challenged and grow no matter one’s situation or age. She is very grateful for the “modeling” shown by the outstanding professors at Urbana University, especially those in the College of Education and Allied Professions who have excelled in the various fields of education outside of the college classroom. She refers to them as great “coaches” because they always encourage the students with the “you can do it” attitude but are there when help is needed.