ACU will present 496 degrees this weekend in two Commencement ceremonies taking place at Moody Coliseum Friday and Saturday.

The Friday, Dec. 15, ceremony at 7 p.m. will award 165 master’s and 67 doctoral degrees. On Saturday, Dec. 16, 264 bachelor’s degrees will be presented at 10 a.m. Both ceremonies will be livestreamed; visit acu.edu/commencement for more information.  

Dr. Jackie Halstead, associate director for ACU’s online marriage and family therapy program, is the featured speaker at Friday’s ceremony. Halstead came to ACU in 1998. She taught at the residential campus in Abilene for 12 years and served as program director and chair of the Department of Marriage and Family Therapy. She now lives in Nashville, Tennessee, and, in addition to her work with ACU’s online marriage and family therapy program, is the CEO of Selah Center for Spiritual Formation. Halstead has been a licensed marriage and family therapist for 37 years and a spiritual director for more than 20 years. She speaks frequently on the topics of contemplative prayer, spiritual formation and relationships and has authored the book Leaning Into God’s Embrace: A Guidebook for Contemplative Prayer.

At Saturday’s ceremony, Dr. Pricilla Wyatt, ACU’s 2023 Teacher of the Year, will give the charge to the class. Wyatt is an assistant professor in the School of Nursing and the RN to B.S.N. track manager for ACU Dallas. After graduating from ACU in 1998, she spent 13 years in the nursing field as a cardiac acute care nurse and charge nurse at Hendrick Health System in Abilene, and she began teaching at ACU in 2013. Her responsibilities include teaching junior- and senior-level courses and overseeing clinical practicums. Wyatt is also a sponsor for Ko Jo Kai sorority and a member of the Faculty Senate and has recently served on the University Scholars committee and the suspension appeals committee.

Several student awards also will be presented at the Saturday ceremony.

— Wendy Kilmer

December 13, 2024