ACU to Award Honors, Degrees at Commencement May 8-9

Abilene Christian University will present 963 degrees in three Commencement ceremonies Friday and Saturday at Moody Coliseum.

The Friday, May 8, ceremony at 7 p.m. will award 52 doctoral and 261 master’s degrees. On Saturday, May 9, 650 bachelor’s degrees will be presented in two ceremonies – 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. 

The 10 a.m. ceremony includes bachelor’s degree candidates from 

• College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
• College of Biblical Studies
• College of Health and Human Services
• College of Learning and Development
• Onstead College of Science and Engineering 

The 2 p.m. ceremony includes bachelor’s degree candidates from

• College of Business Administration
• College of Health and Behavioral Sciences
• College of Leadership and Professional Studies 

Dr. Wes Crawford (’02 M.Div.), vice provost, will give the charge to the graduate class at the Friday ceremony. Kevin Washington (’11 M.A.), associate athletics director and athletics chaplain at Baylor University, will give the charge to the undergraduate class at both ceremonies on Saturday. Washington played football at Notre Dame and ACU, earning bachelor’s degrees in sociology and film and television and master’s degrees in communication and biblical counseling.

All three ceremonies will be livestreamed; visit acu.edu/commencement for more information.  

Honorary Doctorate

At the Saturday morning ceremony, ACU will award an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters to Barbara (Bell ’50) Packer. Alongside her late husband and former ACU board chair, H. Lynn Packer (’50), she played an integral role in advancing the mission of ACU through investment and support of initiatives that shaped the university’s spiritual and academic identity. The Packer family’s impact is reflected in the Onstead-Packer Biblical Studies Building, the Robert S. and Katherine Bell Chapel on the Hill, two endowed chairs in the College of Biblical Studies and the Packer Scholars program.

Outlive Your Life Award

In both Saturday ceremonies, Dr. Perry Reeves (’65) will be awarded the Dale and Rita Brown Outlive Your Life Award. A longtime member of ACU’s chemistry faculty, Reeves’ love of teaching and research made him an inspiration and mentor to generations of future scientists, science teachers and medical professionals. The Outlive Your Life Award is named for its first recipients, Dale and Rita Brown, and for the book by ACU alumnus Max Lucado, Outlive Your Life: You Were Made to Make a Difference. The award recognizes all types of servant leadership exhibited by friends or alumni of the university.