USI Pott College of Science, Engineering, and Education will hold Commencement Saturday, May 4

The University of Southern Indiana Pott College of Science, Engineering, and Education will hold Commencement at 9 a.m. on Saturday, May 4, in the Physical Activities Center (PAC) on the USI campus. Dr. Scott Gordon, dean of the Pott College of Science, Engineering, and Education, 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 morning program.

Rhonda Brown will deliver the Commencement address to graduates. She graduated from USI in 1992 with a Bachelor of Science degree in education and has been a science teacher for the past 20 years. A resident of Groveland, Florida, she was chair of the science department at East Ridge High School in Clermont from 2005 to 2011. She received a 2011-2012 Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship to help shape national public policy on education and co-wrote a 2011 high school textbookForensic Science: Advanced Investigations. An Evansville native, Brown previously taught at McGary Middle School and Mater Dei High School.

Brown will receive the David L. Rice Alumni Achievement Award in recognition of her positive impact on education. 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.

Dr. Robert Boostrom, professor of teacher education, will receive the 2013 Distinguished Professor Award. The award is presented to a faculty member who has made substantial achievements in scholarship, teaching, and service to the University. Boostrom has been a member of the USI faculty since 1993. He has achieved national and international recognition for his work and scholarship and has been executive editor ofThe Journal of Curriculum Studies for the last 15 years. He teaches graduate and undergraduate classes and has held various administrative positions, including director of Graduate Studies in teacher education and chair of the Department of Teacher Education.

Baccalaureate degree candidates from the Pott College of Science, Engineering, and Education who are graduating with honors include the following:

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

Behrens, Jonathan P.
Edge, Preston J.
Ellsperman, Susan E.
Elpers, Patrick J.
Haines, Emily G.
Neuhoff, Tiffany K.
Schmeisser, Kristen E.**
Siler, Caitlin E.
Virgin, Kurt T.

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

Alvey, Samantha L.
Balda, Joseph D.
Bickett, Katie E.**
Bobbitt, Lindsey A.
Dycus, Demitria J.
Englert, Samuel D.
Freyberger, Rachel M.
Griffin, Kaitlin E.
Griffin, Kaitlyn S.
Hahn, Molly**
Hall, Elizabeth T.
Harmon, Kelsey M.
Heibel, Chelsea R.**
Hergenrother, Amanda F.
Hoffman, Katelyn M.
Kramer, Valerie R.**
Libbert, Ann E.
Maurer, Luke W.
McCall, Brittany G.
O'Haver, Kristen E.
Perigo, Lauren E.
Ruff, Jennifer M.
Rynkiewich, Franklin P.
Sexton, Jenna E.
Smock, Kirsten E.
Thomas, Jasmine R.**
Whetstone, Amy S.

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

Alvey, Benjamin J.
Bielefeld, Brett M.
Bouchie, Amanda R.
Breitwieser, Rachel A.
Buck, Ryan J.
Carver, Adam T.
Castle, Kelsey R.
Conville, Matthew L.
Coomer, Kristen N.
Donovan, Jacqueline R.
Durchholz, Jacquelyn A.
Elrod, Nathaniel C.
Fox, Charlene E.
Furman, Mark A.
Gonzalez, Tyler B.
Greenwell, Elizabeth A.
Hamon, Cynthia A.
Harvath, Nolan P.**
Helms, Hogan L.
Keith, Angela M.
Kendall, Rae A.
Kepley, Brian M.
King, Amanda M.
Lemons, John B.
Luebbehusen, Abigail N.
Mason, Sara L.
Mosby, Tosha N.
Pervenecki, Timothy J.
Phillips, Katrina M.
Roos, Jessica E.
Snider, Thomas P.
Stuffle, Trisha N.
Sutton, Ryan A.
Tucker, Laura E.
Uebelhor, Austin K.**
Walden, Jessica E.
Watson, Khrista B.
Webster, Emily C.

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.

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:

College of Nursing and Health Professions, noon
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.