Anderson University conferred bachelor’s degrees in an undergraduate ceremony at 9 a.m., master’s degrees were conferred in a 1 p.m. ceremony, and doctoral degrees were conferred a hooding ceremony at 5 p.m. In all of the ceremonies combined, Anderson University conferred more than 500 degrees.
The commencement speaker for the undergraduate and graduate ceremonies was Faculty Chair and Associate Professor of Psychology Dr. Robert Franklin. Dr. Franklin, who joined the faculty in 2013, holds a bachelor’s degree in history and psychology from the College of William and Mary and an MS and a Ph.D. in social psychology from Pennsylvania State University. He has also completed an NIH postdoctoral research fellowship in neuroimaging at Brandeis University. At Anderson University, Dr. Franklin has served in a variety of academic and administrative roles, which include member of the College of Arts and Sciences faculty, doctoral dissertation supervisor in the Center for Leadership and Organizations and chair of the Institutional Review Board supervising human research.
Dr. Franklin urged graduates to open up the notes section of their phones and write down “nuggets” of wisdom they receive from others, to seek the wisdom of individuals who can teach and mentor them, and, finally, to get out of their comfort zone and do something hard.
“The point of education, why you came here and what I hope we’ve done is to separate the signal, the truth that God’s placed into us, from the noise of everything else,” Dr. Franklin said. “It’s our hope, teaching and mentoring you, that we have shared our wisdom to give you knowledge to find what is true. Now it’s up to you to turn this knowledge into your own wisdom and to share that wisdom in a world that is crowded by nonsense.”
Anderson University Provost, Dr. Ryan Neal, presented the graduates’ degrees as Information Services Office and Telecommunications Manager Kevin Selman went through the roll call of graduates in the undergraduate and graduate ceremonies. During the graduate commencement ceremony, Assistant Professor of Computer Engineering Sarojini Vudumu called out the names of the International Graduate School graduates.
“Commencement doesn’t mark an ending, but a new beginning. Each moment in your future is a commencement,” said Anderson University President Dr. Evans Whitaker as he welcomed the 2025 winter graduates into the growing community of thousands of Anderson University alumni. “Like the mighty oaks on our Alumni Lawn, your graduate education has prepared you to be a strong force for what is good and pure and decent in this world. And you now have an inescapable, inexorable, irrevocable responsibility to do just that.”
Other highlights of the commencement ceremonies included the tolling of the university bell by School of Interior Design Dean Anne Martin in the morning ceremony, by South Carolina School of the Arts Dean David Larson in the afternoon ceremony, and by Clamp Divinity School Associate Dean Dr. Kristopher Barnett in the hooding ceremony; the invocation was given in all ceremonies by Vice President for Christian Life Dr. Tracy Jessup; the singing of “O Come All Ye Faithful” and the Centennial Alma Mater, “The Sounds of Anderson,” directed in the morning ceremony by Associate Professor of Music Dr. Seth Killen, and in the afternoon ceremony by Associate Professor of Music Dr. Richard A. Williamson.
The benediction was given in the morning ceremony by Professor of AI, Law and Ethics Martin Jones, in the afternoon ceremony by Dean of the Anderson University College of Education Dr. Channon Horn, and by Center for Leadership and Organizations Director Larry Daniel in the hooding ceremony.
Videos of each commencement ceremony can be viewed on the Anderson University YouTube Page:
