USI College of Nursing and Health Professions Commencement will be held Saturday, May 4

The University of Southern Indiana College of Nursing and Health Professions will hold Commencement at noon on Saturday, May 4 in the Physical Activities Center (PAC) on the USI campus. Dr. Ann White, dean of the College of Nursing and Health Professions, and faculty from the college will join members of the USI Board of Trustees, USI President Linda L. M. Bennett, and other officers of the University for the afternoon program.

Elizabeth "Betty" J. Brown, quality consultant for LifePoint Hospitals and principal of ELLO Consulting, LLC, will deliver the Commencement address to graduates. She was one of the first graduates of USI's undergraduate nursing program in 1992, and she earned a Master of Business Administration degree from USI in 2004. She also holds a Master of Science in Nursing degree from the University of Evansville. She served as president of the National Association for Healthcare Quality in 2012, and worked as a quality healthcare professional at Welborn Baptist Hospital and St. Mary's Health System in Evansville. She also worked as vice president of quality and performance improvement at hospitals in Cincinnati, and from 2009 to 2011 was senior vice president and chief quality and patient safety officer for Parkview Health in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Brown will receive the David L. Rice Alumni Achievement Award in recognition of her positive impact on the healthcare field. The award, a crystal soaring eagle representing the University mascot, personifies the vision held by USI's first president, Dr. David L. Rice, of the potential of graduates from the University of Southern Indiana.

Baccalaureate degree candidates from the College of Nursing and Health Professions who are graduating with honors include the following:

Summa cum laude, highest scholarship index of 4.0 (wearing gold cords)

Belsito, Katherine E.
Harper, Kimberly J.
Kerstiens, Nicole L.
Smith, Jeremy K.

Magna cum laude, scholarship index of 3.80 or higher (wearing red cords)

Baggett, Haley N.**
Beaver, Rachel M.
Bethel, Danielle N.
Brunetti, Janet H.
Callis, Samantha N.**
Caress, Johannah S.
Dalton, Melody J.
Daugherty, Victoria A.**
Deary, Brendalee
Duncan, Sarah L.
Dunker, Sarah E.
Elpers, Hannah L.
Engle, Julia A.**
Foerster, Kendra N.
Frame, Jessica M.**
Gehlhausen, Kaci R.**
Giesler, Leah J.
Goff, Olivia N.
Hill, Kymber L.
Hoehn, Kayla M.
Hoffman, Hana A.
Horn, Angela M.**
Hornsby, Erika L.
Hust, Maria D.
Igel, Emily C.
Jenkins, Steven F.
Keesling, Theresa A.
Kerstiens, Rachel R.
Kirk, Athina L.
Lewis, Dianne K.
Lynn, Abigail P.
Mehringer, April L.
Pund, Andrew M.
Redman, Jordan R.
Roberts, Amber M.
Savill, Katelynn N.
Schaeffer, Cassandra J.**
Schopmeyer, Sara E.
Shields, Kelsey A.**
Stevens, Kyrstyn L.
Voges, Leah A.
Wathen, John D.
Weiss, Kelsey M.
Welp, Jessica M.
Wheeler, Lauren E.**

Cum laude, scholarship index between 3.6 and 3.8 (wearing blue cords)

Adams, Jacob P.
Ambrose, Stephanie A.
Anderson, Phillip J.
Baker, Emily S.
Balda, Jessica A.
Barker, Lesley M.
Baskett, Ted H.
Beasley, Leigh A.
Brown, Kirstyn E.
Bryant, Tyla I.
Buechler, Gabriel R.
Chapman, Heather M.
Cox, Jennifer M.
DeLong, Elizabeth S.
Dill, Katharine L.
Doboze, Kristian M.
Elkins, Beth N.**
Ernstberger, Scott L.
Evers, Alexandria L.
Fields, Andrea L.**
Fields, Melinda L.
Foster, Jasmine E.
Garcia, Kelci E.
Gilles, Ashley M.
Gravenhorst, Natasha M.
Guth, Brandi L.
Hagan, Kalin S.
Hamon, Christina E.
Hendricks, Lyric E.
Hill, Taylor J.
Horty, Abby M.
James, Kacie M.
Jenkins, Chelsea M.
Kamp, Kyle D.
Kinne, Lauren M.
Klass, Chelsea J.
Luchtefeld, Brittany M.
Mahlke, Caitlin N.
McEllhiney, Amber D.
McRoy, Andrea M.
Mehringer, Krista A.
Mendel, Bristinne M.
Merkel, Courtney J.
Niemeier, Katelyn M.
Norman, Chelsea M.
Oesterling, Joshua M.
Oren, Caleb W.
Page, Jalayna G.**
Payne, Jessica N.
Pitylak, Kelsi R.**
Powell, Heather L.
Reed, Katherine M.
Reese, Taylor J.
Roddy, Alyson M.
Rodriguez, Rebecca W.
Russelberg, Teresiae A.
Schapker, Kara J.**
Seifrig, Kelsey L.
Seiler, Jenna L.
Silberberg, Debra L.
Simmons, Whitney E.
Solis, Vickie J.
Traylor, Kendal A.
Turpin, Cassandra D.
Unis, Emily A.
Washburn, Mitchell L.
Wellman, Justina B.**
White, Lindsey B.
Whiteside, Tara E.
Williams, Abigail E.
Willis, Cathy L.
Willis, Kinsey C.
Wright, Haley M.

Asterisks indicate students who will graduate from USI's Honors Program, a demanding and rewarding program for selected students who take on extra challenges in their course work.

Guests of graduates participating in the College of Nursing and Health Professions ceremony will need tickets. Students can reserve tickets through noon, Friday, April 12. For more information, go to www.usi.edu/commencement.

A reception for the graduates and their friends and families will follow the ceremony and will be held in the University Center East.

Three other Colleges at USI will conduct Commencement on May 4 according to this schedule:

Pott College of Science, Engineering, and Education, 9 a.m.
Romain College of Business and Division of Outreach and Engagement, 3 p.m.
College of Liberal Arts, 6 p.m.

A commencement ceremony for graduate students will be held at 6:30 p.m. on May 3 in the PAC. 

Live video of each ceremony will be streamed in University Center East Conference Center (Rooms 2217-2220). The ceremonies also may be viewed online here.