Chatfield College holds 42nd commencement exercises

Chatfield College in St. Martin and Cincinnati, Ohio, held its 42nd commencement exercises on Saturday, May 11 at 10 a.m. 

The ceremony was held in the Sacred Heart Chapel on the St. Martin Campus in northern Brown County. It honored 51 students from both the St. Martin and Cincinnati campuses who either completed the requirements for graduation or will complete the requirements during the summer session.

Highland County graduates who received Associate Degrees were Lori Bratton (Hillsboro), Benjamin Knisley (Lynchburg), Emily Knisley (Lynchburg), Tiffany Moore (Lynchburg), Margaret Taylor (Lynchburg), and Jarod Wolfe (Lynchburg).

During the ceremony, Chatfield presented Daniel Rolfes and Judge William McClain with honorary doctorate degrees in public service. Daniel Rolfes gave the commencement address.

Judge William McClain was the first Black member of the Ohio Bar Association, the first Black member of the Cincinnati Bar Association, the first Black attorney to serve as Cincinnati City Solicitor, and the first Black judge of the Hamilton County Common Pleas Court.

A recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, The History Maker Award, the Cincinnati Bar Foundation’s John L. Muething Lifetime Achievement in Law Award, he was named A Great Living Cincinnatian by the Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce.

McClain is a member of numerous organizations, including, but not limited to, the Black Lawyers Association of Cincinnati, the Cincinnati Bar Association, the Ohio State Bar Association, the National Bar Association, and the American Bar Association.

He is a life member of the Fellow of the American Bar Association, a member of the American Judicature Society, the Cincinnati Bar Foundation, and the Lawyers Club of Cincinnati, of which he was named the first Black member in 1947.

Daniel Rolfes is a long-time member of the Chatfield College Board of Trustees, a great supporter of education, and dedicated to Chatfield College and its mission. He has spent a lifetime as a successful entrepreneur, who began a small mobile home business in 1969, which before long, grew into the successful Holiday Homes, and then expanded to land development, site built homes, brokerage services and insurance services.

As a result of his belief in strong business practices and customer satisfaction, that business has now grown into Meridaian Marke management, a holding company with diverse interests from housing development to office parks, to banking.

Rolfes is a former president of the Ohio Manufactured Housing Association, has served on the board of the Clermont Chamber of Commerce, and served as National Chairman of the Manufactured Housing Institute. He is a founding member of Centre Bank, Milford’s independent bank, a recipient of the Clermont Chamber of Commerce’s Pacecetter of the Year Award, and was named a Greater Cincinnati entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young.

Chatfield also presented its Dean Agatha Fitzgerald, OSU Excellence in Teaching Award to Shaikh Hossain. This award is given each year to an instructor who exemplifies the academic spirit and values of Chatfield College.

Dr. Hossain has been an adjunct instructor of Biology and Enrivonmental science since 2007. A recipient of many prestigious national and international awards, he has a strong interest in the field of Immunology and Cell and Molecular Biology and has presented his scientific data in many national and international scientific meetings.

Dr. Hossain received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry and structural Molecular Biology from Osaka University, Japan as a Japan ministry of education scholar. Later, he was invited to do a post-doctoral fellowship at Harvard Medical School, Botson.

Chatfield College is a private, Catholic, liberal arts college offering the Associate of Arts degree in St. Martin and Cincinnati. Chatfield is an open enrollment college and is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. Prospective students need only to have a High School Diploma or GED to attend and will be guided individually through the enrollment and Financial Aid application process. For more information, visit the website, at www.chatfield.edu, call 513-875-3344 or email admissions@chatfield.edu.