Tuttle to Receive Honorary Degree

Speakers, program times, and special events

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Andrews University’s Summer Commencement is scheduled for the weekend of July 31–August 2, 2015. Graduation weekend events begin Friday evening with the Consecration service in Pioneer Memorial Church and will continue with the Baccalaureate church services, Sabbath afternoon certification and dedication services, Saturday night vespers and the President’s reception, and Commencement on Sunday, August 2.

Stephen T. Yeagley, assistant vice president for Student Life, will offer the Consecration address titled “Seeing Greater Things,” at 8 p.m. on Friday, July 31.

Yeagley has worked in the Division of Student Life at Andrews since 2004. He also serves as adjunct professor of Youth and Young Adult Ministry in the Seminary, and holds a Master of Divinity and a Doctor of Ministry from there as well. A former pastor in the Michigan Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, he has a passion for mission and ministry, focusing on the interaction of faith, culture and young people.

On Saturday, August 1, Clifford T. Jones, president of the Lake Region Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, will present the Baccalaureate address titled “Take Up Your Cross” during the 11:45 a.m. service at Pioneer Memorial Church.

Jones has been working for the church in Michigan for 20 years—as senior pastor of the All Nations Church, professor and associate dean of the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary, and for the last year as president of the Lake Region Conference. Prior to that he served as a pastor in the Northeastern Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, including as head pastor of two of the largest African American congregations in North America. He holds a DMin from New York Theological Seminary and a PhD from Western Michigan University.

Additional departmental services are planned for Friday, July 31, and Saturday, August 1. The School of Business Administration will have an Ethics Oath Ceremony in Garber Auditorium of Chan Shun Hall at 11 a.m. On Saturday, August 1, the Seminary Dedication Service will take place in the Seminary Chapel at 4 p.m., and the Medical Laboratory Sciences Certification Ceremony will be at 5 p.m. in the PMC Youth Chapel, and the Department of Social Work will hold a recognition service in the University Towers Auditorium at 5:30 p.m.

On Saturday evening there will be a Graduation Vespers held at 8:30 p.m. in Pioneer Memorial Church, followed by the President’s Reception at 9:30 in Dining Services, for graduates and their families.

On Sunday, August 2, Jonathan Duffy, president of ADRA International, will give the Commencement address, “Hand Wrench or Power Wrench?” at 9 a.m. in Pioneer Memorial Church.

Duffy has been the president of ADRA since 2013, before which he served as CEO of ADRA in Australia, as well as director of health for the South Pacific Division of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Educated in Australia, he has worked and led a total of 28 years in the public health sector, publishing in medical journals, developing a health promotion DVD, and working as a corporate consultant regarding healthy lifestyles. He is passionate about holistic wellness and seeing the practical results of ADRA’s work in people’s lives.

During the Commencement service, Merlin Tuttle, an Andrews University alumnus and accomplished activist and wildlife photographer of bats, will receive an honorary Doctor of Science. That evening at 7 p.m. in the Howard Performing Arts Center he will also present a free lecture open to the public titled “Discovering Bats.”

Tuttle received a BA in zoology from Andrews University in 1965, and MA and PhD degrees in zoology from the University of Kansas. He has worked as an ecologist, photographer and conservationist for more than 55 years, serving as a visiting professor and scientific consultant, and having his work featured at Harvard University, the British Museum, and in publications including The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal and National Geographic.

Commencement seating is by ticket only. A live streaming link will be provided at andrews.edu/graduation on the day of Commencement, Sunday, August 2. For more information and/or a full schedule of events, visit andrews.edu/graduation.