CSM to Celebrate Commencement; Dr. Stevens to Give Keynote in Final Ceremony
College of Saint Mary (CSM) will graduate 189 students during the Commencement ceremony at 7 p.m. Saturday, May 20, in the Lied Fitness Center Fieldhouse. They include 100 bachelor’s degrees, 53 master’s degrees, and 36 doctoral degrees. Fourteen will receive certificates.
The keynote speaker for the ceremony is CSM President Dr. Maryanne Stevens, RSM. This is the final ceremony Dr. Stevens will oversee before her retirement on June 30 after 27 years at the University’s helm.
“I have cherished my time at College of Saint Mary, and I can look back with pride at all that has been accomplished in the last 27 years,” said Dr. Stevens, the university’s longest-serving president.
On June 1, 1996, Dr. Stevens began her presidency to pursue a mission of higher education opportunities for women. Under her leadership, CSM has developed several innovative programs, specifically, a residence hall allowing college-age single mothers to live with their children on campus; Marie Curie scholarships for low-income women majoring in math or science; the Latina and African-American Summer Academies for high school girls; graduate programs in education, physician assistant studies, occupational therapy, kinesiology and organizational leadership as well as a unique doctoral program in physical therapy.
Dr. Stevens’ passion for education and advancement of women cannot be more evidenced than by her leadership of numerous capital campaigns and scholarship initiatives that have allowed CSM to take its rightful place in the regional landscape of higher education. Most recently, CSM completed a $40 million Striding Forward Campaign in just four years, allowing for growth in the endowment, new scholarships, and the building of an addition to its fitness center.
The recipient of the Spirit of Saint Mary Award, the highest achievement bestowed on a CSM graduate, will be revealed during Commencement.
Other graduation activities include Honors Convocation at 4 p.m., Friday, May 19, in Our Lady of Mercy Chapel; a Practical Nursing Certificate Ceremony at 2:30 p.m. Saturday in Gross Auditorium; a Baccalaureate Mass at 4 p.m. in the chapel; and a dinner reception at 5 p.m. on the CSM Plaza.
