University of Dubuque Announces 2009 Commencement Ceremonies
Apr 30, 2009 | University of Dubuque Theological Seminary
The College Baccalaureate Service will be held Friday, May 8, at 5:00 p.m. at Westminster Presbyterian Church. This year's Baccalaureate Service speaker will be Dr. Calvin Coquilette, professor of history who has chosen Go with God as the title of his remarks.
Following the Baccalaureate Service, the University will host the annual Senior Dinner for graduating seniors and their families at the newly restored Hotel Julien Dubuque ( by invitation only ) in the Ballroom.
The University of Dubuque will confer degrees on 263 undergraduate and 50 graduate students during its 157th College Commencement Ceremony on Saturday, May 9, beginning at 1:00 p.m. in the Chlapaty Recreation and Wellness Center on the University of Dubuque Campus. Dr. Laura Palmer Noone, President and CEO of Piccolo International University, will deliver the Commencement Address titled Change .
Laura Palmer Noone earned her bachelor's degree from the University of Dubuque in 1980. Following her study at UD, she went on to earn both the Juris Doctor and master of business administration degrees from the University of Iowa, and her doctorate in higher education administration from The Union Institute.
Prior to accepting the CEO role at Piccolo International University in 2008, Noone served as president of the University of Phoenix, where she led the largest private university in the United States. She retired from that position in 2006, and was named President Emerita .
Before serving as president, Noone was the University of Phoenix's provost and senior vice president for academic affairs for six years. She also served as director of academic affairs at the University's Phoenix campus for three years. She has served as a faculty member at the University's Phoenix and Online campuses, teaching business law, ethics, communication, and leadership courses. She was named Outstanding Faculty Member in 1989.
Noone's legal experience includes 10 years as an attorney in general civil practice in Iowa and Arizona, and serving as a Judge Pro Tem in Chandler, Arizona.
Noone resides in Arizona, where she serves on the Arizona Board for Private Postsecondary Education. Among her many accomplishments, she has served as member of the U.S. Department of Education's National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity, a member of the board of the American Council on Education and on the Governor of Arizona's P-20 Council. She is very committed in the philanthropic community, including the board of trustees of the University of Dubuque, Westwood College and the Phoenix School of Law.
Seminary Commencement Events
The University of Dubuque Theological Seminary Baccalaureate Service will be held Friday, May 8, at 9:30 a.m. in Blades Hall Chapel. Dr. Richard J. Shaffer, Jr., assistant dean of the seminary, will deliver the homily titled Somewhere on the Journey .
The University's Seminary will confer degrees on thirty-five students - twenty-seven master of divinity, three master of arts in religion, four doctor of ministry, and one certificate in theological studies during the Seminary Commencement Ceremony on Saturday, May 9 at 9:30 a.m. at Westminster Presbyterian Church.
The Rev. Gradye M. Parsons, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), will deliver the Seminary's Commencement Address titled Completions.
Rev. Parsons graduated from the University of Tennessee, earned his master of divinity degree from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and did post-graduate work at Columbia Theological Seminary, the Alban Institute, and with Edwin Friedman. He served congregations in both Newport and Bristol, Tennessee, and was the executive presbyter and stated clerk of Holston Presbytery.
