Anderson University Graduates 307
Graduates take their final stroll across alumni lawn
It’s
one of the most unique and picturesque graduation ceremonies in the South, and
this year, a record number of students took part in it - the fourth such record
in a row for ever-growing Anderson University.
307 graduates, up 40 from last
year’s record, received diplomas at Saturday’s ceremony on alumni lawn at AU,
framed by 100-year old oak trees and the manicured lawns and hedges of the
101-year-old university.
Catherine Heigel, the
president of Duke Energy South Carolina, which serves more than 600,000
customers in the Upstate region and nearly 4 million in the Carolinas and the
Midwest, gave the commencement address. Heigel urged the graduates to recapture
the ability to make meaningful “human connections” in this age of technology
and social media. “Embrace Facebook and social media,” she told those in
attendance, “but earn the right to use electronic forms of communication by
first establishing a human connection with those around you.” Heigel cited the
potential danger in allowing the electronic forms of communication to cause us
to disconnect from the human experience and grow isolated.
Reverend Sinclair Lewis, a
long time minister and 52-year organizer of Palmetto Boys State, was given an
honorary doctorate from Anderson University during commencement. Palmetto Boys
State calls Anderson University home each summer when 900 to 1000 of South
Carolina’s most promising young leaders gather to learn about government and
focus on developing skills to become South Carolina’s next generation of adult
leaders.
Anderson University is a selective comprehensive university offering
bachelors, masters, and doctoral degrees on campus and online. Anderson is ranked in the Top Tier of US
News and World Report’s America’s Best Colleges and is on that
publication’s list of the 46 “Up & Coming” universities in America. It is also ranked as one of America’s “100
Best College Buys.”
###