CONWAY, Ark. (May 12, 2018) – Members of the Hendrix College
Class of 2018 celebrated the culmination of four years of learning, hard work, and
friendships on campus today at the 134th Hendrix College Commencement ceremony
in the Wellness and Athletics Center.
Hendrix awarded nearly 240 undergraduate Bachelor of Arts
degrees and nine Master of Arts degrees in accounting. Read the full list of
graduates here.
President William M. Tsutsui delivered the commencement address
to the students who began their studies at Hendrix the same year he began
leading the College.
“The Class of 2018 is my class,” he said, noting that he exerted
some presidential privilege to get the ceremony’s speaker role. “Four years
have passed so quickly. I have learned from you, and I have cherished seeing
you grow.”
Tsutsui closed his address by referencing the College’s Statement of Purpose,
which was revised shortly after his arrival.
“Be joyful,” he said. “It’s not a finite resource, but a
blessing and gift that must be shared.”
Before recognizing the newest class of graduates, the College
bestowed an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree upon Jo Luck ’63. The
Hendrix alumna and former CEO of Heifer International in 2010 was named World
Food Prize Laureate, an international honor often referred to by world leaders
as the “Nobel Prize for Food and Agriculture.” Luck currently works as a
consultant on global food security issues and the empowerment of women in
developing countries.
Luck encouraged graduates to take time – in the next 24 hours –
to write down their core values and what is important to them.
“Look at them before you make a decision,” she said. “Don’t
compromise. It will pay off in the long run, even if it’s difficult in the
short run.”
The Hendrix
College Class of 2018 also included the first cohort of the Murphy Scholars in
Literature and Language, a program supported by the Hendrix-Murphy Foundation. In
addition to the requirements of their academic majors, each Murphy Scholar completed
an Oxford-style tutorial in literature and language, as well as three literary-
or language-related projects during their three years in the program.
About Hendrix College
A
private liberal arts college in Conway, Arkansas, Hendrix College consistently
earns recognition as one of the country’s leading liberal arts institutions,
and is featured in Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will
Change the Way You Think About Colleges. Its academic quality and rigor,
innovation, and value have established Hendrix as a fixture in numerous college
guides, lists, and rankings. Founded in 1876, Hendrix has been affiliated with
the United Methodist Church since 1884. To learn more, visit www.hendrix.edu.