The nearly 1000 Winona State University students participating in the Spring 2005 Commencement ceremonies, including their families and friends, will hear comments from Dr. Charles McClain, Truman State University President Emeritus. The ceremony is May 6, at 9:30 a.m. and 2 p.m., in McCown Gymnasium of Memorial Hall. Graduating seniors Mark Fletcher and Cassie Genz will also speak.
McClain has spent most of his life in education. He was founding president of Jefferson College in Missouri and served nearly 20 years as president of Truman State in Missouri. He is well known for his pioneering ideas in student achievement and assessment that became public policy on a national level.
In 1971, McClain hired Dr. Darrell W. Krueger as an assistant professor of political science, and said it was one of the best decisions he ever made. Later, in 1973, McClain selected Krueger as Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean of Instruction. Again, he said it was the best professional decision he ever made. McClain credited Krueger for a major role in the transformation of Truman State University into a nationally recognized institution focused on liberal arts and sciences. Krueger, who is retiring after 16 years as WSU president this summer, acknowledges McClain as his professional mentor.
The comments of a graduating student are regularly featured as part of the Commencement program at Winona State. The student speaker is chosen through a competitive process supervised by a committee of the WSU Student Senate. After considering applications of interested students, a senate committee listens to audition speeches of the top candidates and selects students for this honor.
Fletcher, of Round Lake Beach Ill., is graduating from WSU with a Bachelor of Science degree in marketing and a minor in philosophy. He will speak during the morning Commencement ceremony for graduates of the Colleges of Business and Liberal Arts.
For the last three years, Fletcher helped with the fundraising efforts of Up ‘til Dawn, a WSU group dedicated to helping St. Jude Children’s Hospital. This last year, as director for Up ‘til Dawn, Fletcher’s guidance helped raise over $20,000 for the hospital. Mark Fletcher
Genz, of Mendota Heights, Minn., is graduating from WSU with a Bachelor of Science degree in marketing and a minor in intercultural communication. She will speak during the afternoon Commencement ceremony for graduates of the Colleges of Education, Nursing and Health Sciences, and Science and Engineering. Genz participated in many events and activities during her years at WSU.
“I am most proud of being one of the sixteen students selected to take part in an experiential learning adventure in Costa Rica during the summer of 2004,” Cassie Genzshe
said.
This is the 151st Commencement at WSU since it was founded in 1858 as the first public teacher training institution west of the Mississippi River.
