Contact: Ann Hatch
214-378-1819;
ahatch@dcccd.edu
For immediate release – May 5, 2014
(DALLAS) — It’s time to march!
Marching to the strains of “Pomp and Circumstance” may be a little tough, given the tempo of that tried and true anthem, but marching across the stage for commencement marks a milestone in the lives of hundreds of students who are finishing their academic careers in the Dallas County Community College District and moving on to a university or to a career and job which signify their achievements, too.
With the swish of silk robes — green ones, for the first time, at Brookhaven College — and the toss of tasseled mortarboards, students will celebrate graduation with their family members and friends. They attend one of the early college high schools at Brookhaven, Cedar Valley or Mountain View or El Centro; or Richland Collegiate High School — along with college students who will graduate with an associate’s degree or certificate from one of the individually accredited colleges that comprise the DCCCD system.
Dr. Joe May, DCCCD’s new chancellor, is the keynote speaker at Cedar Valley College. May
began his tenure as the seventh chancellor of the Dallas County Community College District on Feb. 26, 2014. He most recently served as president of the Louisiana Community and Technical College System. He previously served as system president for the Colorado Community College System and president of Pueblo Community College. Dr. May started his career in higher education in 1978 as an adjunct faculty member with DCCCD when Cedar Valley College opened.
A full list of graduation ceremonies and speakers is provided below.
Thursday, May 8:
Richland College — 7:30 p.m. at the Curtis Culwell Center, 4999 Naaman Forest Blvd. in Garland; keynote speaker: Dr. Lois Parrott, professor of humanities, who is the college’s 2014 Minnie Stevens Piper Excellence in Teaching Award recipient for full-time faculty.
Friday, May 9:
Mountain View — 7 p.m. at the Jesse Owens Complex/Ellis Field House, 9191 S. Polk St. in Dallas; commencement speaker: Rick Ortiz, president of the Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce; grand marshal: Dr. Sarah Hutchings, MVC’s 2014 Minnie Stevens Piper Excellence in Teaching Award winner for full-time faculty.
North Lake College — 7 p.m. at the Irving Convention Center, 500 W. Las Colinas Blvd., Irving; keynote speaker: Dr. Gabriel Bach, professor of government and North Lake’s 2013-2014 President’s Scholar; student speaker: Joshua Hamlin.
Saturday, May 10:
Eastfield College — 4:30 p.m. at the Curtis Culwell Center, 4999 Naaman Forest Blvd. in Garland; keynote speaker: Dr. Cindy Castaneda, professor of government and the DCCCD 2014 Minnie Stevens Piper Teaching in Excellence Award winner.
Thursday, May 15:
Brookhaven College — 7 p.m. at the Alfred J. Loos Field House, 3815 Spring Valley Road in Addison; commencement speaker: Kathy Long, professor of mathematics and Brookhaven’s 2014 Minnie Stevens Piper Excellence in Teaching Award winner for full-time faculty; student remarks: Patrizio Chiquini, president of the Brookhaven College Student Government Association and recipient of the 2014 Amidon-Beauchamp Student Leader Scholarship for the school.
Cedar Valley College — 7 p.m. at the Inspiring Body of Christ Church, 7701 S. Westmoreland Road, Dallas; commencement speaker: Dr. Joe May, chancellor, Dallas County Community College District.
Sunday, May 18
El Centro College — 3 p.m. at the Jesse Owens Complex/Ellis Field House, 9191 S. Polk St. in Dallas; commencement speaker: Cassandra Bowell, professor of mathematics and ECC’s 2014 Minnie Stevens Piper Excellence in Teaching Award winner.
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