Spring Commencement Will Cap Off LWC’s Largest Graduating Class

COLUMBIA, Ky. -- Lindsey Wilson College will cap off its largest class in school history at this year's spring commencement.

Lindsey Wilson's spring commencement -- the 93rd commencement in college history -- will be held at 10 a.m. CT on Saturday, May 14, in Biggers Sports Center, 360 Spickard Drive.

At the May 14 ceremony, a total of 158 degrees -- 141 undergraduate degrees and 17 graduate degrees -- will be awarded. Combined with the 365 degrees awarded at LWC's 2010 winter commencement ceremony, the LWC Class of 2011 will be a record 523 graduates.

Following the spring commencement ceremony, the Lindsey Wilson National Alumni Association will hold a reception for graduates and their guests in Roberta D. Cranmer Dining & Conference Center, 430 Helen Flatt Drive.

Lindsey Wilson alumna Hilda Legg will deliver the spring commencement address. Legg and United Methodist Church leader Jim Sutton of Crestwood, Ky., will receive an honorary doctorate from the Lindsey Wilson Board of Trustees and the college's faculty.

Also on May 14, LWC will honor alumni from the Class of 1961 by inducting the alumni into the Golden Alumni Society. The ceremony will be held in conjunction with the spring commencement ceremony.

To put this year's spring commencement in perspective, LWC awarded 312 degrees in 2003-04, the last year the college held only one commencement ceremony. That translates into a 68 percent increase in graduates over the last seven school years.

"Commencement is always the highlight of the school year," said Lindsey Wilson President William T. Luckey Jr., who has been the college's eighth president since July 1, 1998. "It's a wonderful day for our students, their family members and their friends.

"It's a bit hard to believe that Lindsey Wilson now graduates more than 500 students a year. That's very exciting because most of our graduates choose to remain in Kentucky, which helps the commonwealth of Kentucky reach its goal of doubling the number of Kentucky residents with a college diploma."

An Adair County native, Legg has displayed a passion for public service throughout her professional life. She is a consultant for Legg Strategies, which specializes in telecommunication deployment, with emphasis in rural communities, and economic development opportunities. She is running for the Republican nomination for Kentucky secretary of state, and she is also vice chair of the Alice Lloyd (Ky.) College board of trustees.

In addition to serving as Lindsey Wilson director of admissions, Legg was alternate federal co-chair of the Appalachian Regional Commission and she was the first executive director and CEO of the Center for Rural Development in Somerset, Ky. Legg was also 15th administrator of the Rural Utilities Service.

Sutton, who has been a member of the Lindsey Wilson Board of Trustees since 1999, is co-founder of The Lighthouse, a United Methodist Church community center that serves underprivileged urban children and families in Louisville, Ky. He is chair of the Lighthouse Board of Directors, and he is vice president of Lighthouse Promise Inc., Lighthouse's fund-raising arm.

A retired General Electric Co. manager, Sutton has been a lay leader of The United Methodist Church Louisville District and has also been active in The United Methodist Church Kentucky Annual Conference.

Lindsey Wilson College's 93rd commencement ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. CT on Saturday, May 14. For more information about commencement, the Golden Alumni Society induction ceremony, contact the college at info@lindsey.edu or (270) 384-8030.