Xavier University holds 176th commencement
Xavier University's 176th commencement ceremonies were held Saturday, May 17, at the Cintas Center, as degrees were conferred to 747 undergraduate and 376 graduate students.
Among the undergraduates this year was 90-year-old Walter Bunker, a World War II veteran who received his Bachelor of Liberal Arts, cum laude.
Mr. Bunker had been working on his degree since he returned from the war nearly 70 years ago. He was escorted by Ryan Hoefer, an Iraq War veteran who also received his undergraduate degree.
Speaker, author and business consultant Matthew Kelly was the undergraduate commencement speaker. Kelly is the founder of The Dynamic Catholic Institute, a Cincinnati-based non-profit organization whose mission is to re-energize the Catholic Church in America. Kelly is receiving the degree of Doctor of Humanities, honoris causa.
Xavier’s graduate commencement speaker is retired Procter & Gamble Chairman, President and CEO, Robert McDonald.
During the undergraduate ceremony, 2002 graduate Debra Homan Eschmeyer was honored with Xavier’s Magis Award, which recognizes a Xavier graduate who embodies Jesuit morals and ethics and has achieved a high degree of excellence. Eschmeyer, who grew up on a dairy farm in rural Ohio, merged her farming background with her dual degrees in marketing and international affairs and co-founded FoodCorps, a nationwide organization that connects children with real food.
Charles Gallagher, a 1960 economics graduate, received Xavier’s Leadership Medallion at the undergraduate ceremony. Gallagher founded the private equity firm, Gallagher Enterprises, and has managed more than 20 middle-market mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, saving companies and creating jobs.
Gallagher also spent 20 years on the Xavier University Board of Trustees and is the namesake of the Gallagher Student Center and the primary funder of the Conaton Learning Commons. Gallagher also sponsored the Pacesetter Program which provides scholarships for inner-city students from St. Martin de Porres and Central Catholic High School in Toledo to attend Xavier.
Graduating senior Michael Petrany of Huntington, W.Va., received the John A. Elet, S.J., Scholar award, named after Xavier’s first president and recognizing a student for academic and service excellence. Petrany had a 4.0 average and received a BA in Philosophy and a BS in Biology, with minors in German and Chemistry.
This year, the Paul O’Connor Leadership Award went to Sr. Rose Ann Fleming, SND de N, for her work in support of the academic achievements of student-athletes. Fleming founded and still manages the Student-Athlete Academic Support Services program. Since she started the program in 1985, every men’s basketball player who has reached his final year of athletic eligibility has graduated, and the graduation success rate of all Xavier student-athletes is 97% — 12th best in the nation.
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