BIG RAPIDS – As one chapter ends, another is beginning for more than 1,700 students
at Ferris State University who are candidates for degrees this spring. The university
will honor these graduates in five ceremonies over two days, during which more than
1,400 students are expected to participate.
Commencement exercises will begin at 3:30 p.m. May 7 for the College of Allied Health Sciences followed by a 7 p.m. ceremony for the colleges of Pharmacy, Arts, Sciences and Education, and Professional and Technological Studies. The College of Business will kick off Saturday’s ceremonies (May 8) at 9 a.m. followed by the Michigan College of Optometry and College of Education and Human Services at 12:30 p.m., and College of Engineering Technology at 4 p.m.
Kendall College of Art and Design will hold its commencement ceremony at 10:30 a.m. May 8 at Fountain Street Church in Grand Rapids.
Highlighting two ceremonies this year will be speakers and honorary doctoral degree recipients Joseph F. Carroll, publisher of Furniture Today, the most recognized and respected trade publication in the residential furnishings industry, and Jennifer Ramsey Wallace, outreach manager for financial aid programs for the Michigan Education Trust.
Carroll will receive an Honorary Doctor of Arts from Kendall College of Art and Design.
He is widely known and respected among Kendall College of Art and Design alumni in
the North Carolina area and is a strong community leader, serving as chair of High
Point University’s Home Furnishings Advisory Board, president of Triad Council for
International Visitors and president of Greensboro Sister Cities.
Wallace will be awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Public Service during the 12:30 p.m.
ceremony May 8. She is known as the “TIP Lady” and has played a significant role in
helping Ferris expand its Tuition Incentive Program, which has doubled from about
300 to more than 700 students in the last two years. Her work includes outreach to
more than 100,000 children and parents annually to educate them about the MET and
financial aid. She serves on Michigan State University’s College of Social Science
and Black Alumni board of directors.