{"id":6662,"date":"2017-05-08T02:02:43","date_gmt":"2017-05-08T06:02:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/2017\/05\/09\/furman-holds-spring-commencement\/"},"modified":"2022-11-06T20:14:07","modified_gmt":"2022-11-07T01:14:07","slug":"furman-holds-spring-commencement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/furman-holds-spring-commencement\/","title":{"rendered":"Furman sends class of 2017 on its way"},"content":{"rendered":"

Alexander Stubb’s commencement address<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Furman University awarded 697 undergraduate and master\u2019s degrees and presented its top academic honors during graduation exercises Saturday, May 6.<\/p>\n

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Furman awarded a total of 697 degrees Saturday night.<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

Approximately 4,600 people attended the commencement activities in Timmons Arena.<\/p>\n

The Scholarship Cup, given to the graduating senior judged to be the outstanding scholar of the class, was awarded to Lauren Alexandria Pinion, a physics major from Alpharetta, Ga.<\/p>\n

Pinion also received the Donaldson-Watkins Medal for General Excellence as the outstanding female graduate in the class of 2017.\u00a0 Mahmood Syed, a chemistry major from Greenville, received the Bradshaw-Feaster Medal for General Excellence as the outstanding male in the class.\u00a0 Both awards are given by the Furman faculty.<\/p>\n

The university also presented the Alester G. Furman, Jr., and Janie Earle Furman awards for meritorious teaching and advising.<\/p>\n

The teaching awards went to Janet D. Kwami, associate professor of communication studies, and Grant W. Knox, assistant professor of music.<\/p>\n

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Commencement speaker Alexander Stubb (center) received an honorary Doctor of Philosophy degree during the ceremony.<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

The advising awards were presented to Michelle E. Horhota, associate professor of psychology, and Suzanne B. Summers, James C. Self Professor of Business and Accounting.<\/p>\n

The Meritorious Award for Diversity and Inclusion was presented to Akan Malici, associate professor of politics and international Affairs, and Mike Winiski, interim executive director of community-engaged learning.<\/p>\n

Degrees were awarded posthumously to Yuqiao Ni and Blake Hadden.<\/p>\n

Alexander Stubb, a 1993 Furman graduate and the former Prime Minister of Finland, served as commencement speaker. He was also awarded an honorary Doctor of Philosophy degree.<\/p>\n

The student speaker was graduate Jack McNeill of Bloomington, Minn., a biology major. His talk is available here<\/a><\/strong>. A video of the entire ceremony has been posted online<\/a><\/strong>. \u00a0The video of Stubb’s commencement speech is here<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

For more information, contact Furman\u2019s News and Media Relations office at 864-294-3107.
\n\"Commencement<\/a>