Lee University will hold spring graduation exercises this weekend, May 3 and 4, 2013 on the Cleveland, Tennessee campus.
The May ceremonies are the largest of three graduation events held at Lee each year. Graduation events are also conducted in summer and winter as well. Commencement is a two-day event, beginning with a commissioning service on Friday evening where graduating seniors share their Lee experience and students lead in song and prayer. A highlight of commissioning is the presentation of Bibles to every graduate.
Saturday morning is the traditional graduation ceremony, where hundreds will be presented their diplomas, either at the bachelor or masters level. Undergraduate degrees scheduled to be presented number 379, with 44 graduate degrees for a total of 423. The number is slightly less than last year’s record-breaking 440 who received degrees at the spring ceremony.
Special music for the commencement ceremony will be presented by the Lee University Wind ensemble, as well as the Lee Singers, a group celebrating 50 years of ministry. Leading music will be Dr. Delton Alford, who founded the Lee Singers in 1963.
Commencement speaker will be Union University President Dr. David Dockery. Dockery was elected the 15th president of Union (Jackson, Tenn.) in 1995. Under his leadership, enrollment has more than doubled and the number of donors has more than tripled. The university has also seen a strong increase in commitment to excellence in teaching and scholarship.
Dockery was named Jackson’s Man of the Year in 2008 and Distinguished Alumnus of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in 2002. He currently serves on the Board of Reference of Prison Fellowship and as a consulting editor for Christianity Today. He has served as Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities as well as the Council for Global Education.
Graduation exercises will be held on the Lee University Soccer Field, weather permitting. Open seating will be available on Saturday to anyone without reserved tickets. If rain occurs, the event will be moved indoors to the Walker Arena where seating will be available to those with tickets. Additional seating will be in the Conn Center, where the ceremony will be screened for overflow viewing.
Both events will be available for live stream viewing at http://www.leeuniversity.edu/video/default.aspx.