Huntingdon College
News Release
April 26, 2019
For more information, contact: Su Ofe, (334) 833-4515; news@hawks.huntingdon.edu
Huntingdon College Announces Commencement, Baccalaureate Speakers
Montgomery, Ala.—The 2018–2019 academic year is coming to a close on the Huntingdon College campus, and preparations are underway for the College’s Commencement and Baccalaureate events.
Baccalaureate, a worship service for traditional day program students and their families, will be held Friday, May 10, at 5:00 p.m. in Ligon Chapel, Flowers Hall, on the Huntingdon campus. Huntingdon Class of 2018 graduate Bria Imani Rochelle, who is completing her Master of Divinity degree at the Divinity School at Duke University, will preach the sermon. While at Huntingdon, Rochelle served as a pastoral intern at First United Methodist Church-Montgomery and was active in Huntingdon Campus Ministries. She served as team captain for the women’s volleyball team; as chaplain for Alpha Omicron Pi women’s fraternity; as a justice on the College’s Judicial Board; as a Huntingdon Orientation Leader; and as a Huntingdon Ambassador. Rochelle received two of Huntingdon’s highest honors: the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award, in recognition of outstanding community service, faith, and character; and the Margaret Read Scholarship Medal, given to the student or students who achieved the highest grade point averages among the graduating class. Rochelle was elected by her peers as the 2017 Homecoming Queen, the first African American woman to win the title. In her divinity studies, Rochelle served as a student council first year representative and has been elected as co-president of the Duke Divinity School Student Council for the 2019–2020 academic year. She will also serve on the Duke University Student Alumni Board for the 2019–2020 academic year. Passionate about biblical research and teaching, her sermon is entitled, “Alongside.” The Baccalaureate service is open to all. Admission is free, but seating is limited. Overflow seating will be available in Flowers 101 and 102, and the event will be simulcast at https://www.youtube.com/user/HuntingdonCollege16/featured.
Traditional Day Program Commencement Exercises will be held Saturday, May 11, at 9:00 a.m. on the College Green (rain location: Roland Arena, Roland Student Center). The Honorable Leura Garrett Canary, Huntingdon Class of 1978 and general counsel for the Retirement Systems of Alabama, will offer the Commencement Address. Canary was appointed by President George W. Bush and confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve as the U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Alabama in 2001, a position she held for nearly 10 years. She was the first woman appointed to the office and, to date, the longest-serving individual in the post. She chaired the national Child Exploitation Committee and crafted a program, Project Safe Childhood, to prevent, deter, and aggressively prosecute child sexual exploitation and abuse. The program was implemented throughout the United States in 2006 and remains a national priority initiative for the Department of Justice. Canary also served on the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee, providing policy advice to the U.S. attorney general. During her service, the Middle District of Alabama’s office won a national award for its program combating gun violence and was deemed a model program. Prior to her tenure as U.S. attorney, Canary earned extensive experience as a civil litigator for the U.S. Department of Justice and the Alabama Attorney General’s Office. She was recognized with the Huntingdon College Alumni Achievement Award in 2011 and serves as vice chair of the College’s board of trustees and chair of the board’s academic affairs committee. A Leadership Alabama XXV graduate, she has served on the boards of trustees for the Montgomery Academy, the Capri Theatre, and First United Methodist Church-Montgomery.
Evening Studies Baccalaureate and Commencement Exercises will be held Saturday, May 11, at 6:00 p.m. on the College Green (rain location: Roland Arena, Roland Student Center). The Reverend J. Cameron West, president of the College, will offer remarks to the graduates.
Seating for both commencement ceremonies is open to all and admission is free. An indoor viewing room or overflow room will be available in Delchamps Recital Hall, Smith Music Building. Both events will be simulcast online at https://www.youtube.com/user/HuntingdonCollege16/featured.
Huntingdon College has been named a top 6 regional Best Value and top 11 regional college in the South by U.S. News and World Report; among a list of Colleges that Change Lives, by Washington Monthly; among the Best Colleges in Alabama and the Best Small Colleges in America by College Consensus; and among the Best Colleges: Region by Region (South) by the Princeton Review. Through the Huntingdon Plan, full-time day students are provided a laptop computer, books and information resources, active learning experiences, and senior-year travel-study opportunities—all within regular tuition and fees. Huntingdon’s Evening Studies program offers degree completion programs at 10 locations across the state. Huntingdon College continues a legacy of faith, wisdom, and service through a liberal arts academic tradition grounded in the Judeo-Christian heritage of the United Methodist Church.
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Suellen (Su) Ofe
Vice President
for Marketing and Communications
Huntingdon College
1500 E. Fairview Ave., Montgomery, AL 36106
(334) 833-4515; Cell (334) 324-6591
