CONWAY, Ark. (March 30, 2016) – The 132nd Hendrix College
Commencement will be Saturday, May 14, at 9 a.m., in the Wellness and
Athletics Center Event Gym.
Additional seating will be available in the Recreation Gym
and in the Student Life and Technology Center (SLTC), where the ceremony will
be telecast.
The Class of 2016 will process through the Recreation Gym,
where the Hendrix Wind Ensemble will perform, with their music broadcast into
the Event Gym.
Immediately following commencement, there will be a faculty
reception for graduates in the Young-Wise Memorial Stadium Plaza (or
in the Recreation Gym in the event of rain).
For more information, visit https://www.hendrix.edu/commencement.
Commencement
Speaker
Scott Shirey, founder and executive director of KIPP Delta
Public Schools, will address the Class of 2016.
In 2015, Hendrix partnered with KIPP Delta in an effort to increase college
completion rates for underserved students in the Delta. The partnership
inspired the Hendrix Aspire Scholarship program.
Prior to founding KIPP Delta College Preparatory School in
2002, he completed the KIPP School Leadership Program as a Fisher Fellow which
included intensive study at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. The
school produced strong results consistently outperforming the state and local
district. In 2005, Shirey received the Milken Family Foundation National
Educator Award and, in 2008, the school was named a National Blue Ribbon
School.
After serving six years as the School Director, Shirey
transitioned to the role of Executive Director of KIPP Delta Public Schools and
helped the region add a high school and elementary school in Helena. In
2010, KIPP Delta opened a fourth school in Blytheville, Arkansas, KIPP
Blytheville College Preparatory School.
Forbes
Magazine listed Shirey as one of the world’s seven most powerful
educators in November 2011. In 2012, KIPP Delta Collegiate High School
was ranked #2 in the state according to U.S.
News and World Report and the Arkansas Department of Education named the
high school.as one of five Exemplary Schools in the state of Arkansas. In
2015, KIPP Delta opened its sixth school in its third community in Forrest
City, Arkansas.
Shirey is an alumnus of Colby College in Waterville, Maine,
where he graduated cum laude with a
bachelor of arts degree in history. He taught for three years in Baton Rouge,
Louisiana, as a Teach For America corps member.
About Hendrix College
Hendrix College is a private
liberal arts college in Conway, Arkansas. Founded in 1876 and affiliated with
the United Methodist Church since 1884, Hendrix is featured in Colleges That Change Lives:
40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think about Colleges and is nationally recognized in numerous college guides,
lists, and rankings for academic quality, community, innovation, and value. For
more information, visit www.hendrix.edu.