Trine University commencement is Saturday morning

ANGOLA, IN (04/30/2014)(readMedia)-- ANGOLA, Ind. – This spring, nearly 500 students will be awarded diplomas by Trine University and 400 of those graduates are planning to participate in commencement on Saturday morning.

The event is set for 10 a.m. Saturday in Hershey Hall and tickets are required.

This year's commencement breaks from the usual because Grammy winner Lee Greenwood will perform the national anthem and his well-known song "God Bless the USA." Greenwood is also scheduled to perform a private concert Friday evening to celebrate the opening of the T. Furth Center for Performing Arts.

Jeff Saturday, retired Indianapolis Colts center, ESPN analyst and philanthropist, will deliver the keynote address.

"Trine is honored to have Jeff Saturday deliver the address and country star Lee Greenwood's performance during commencement," said Earl D. Brooks II, Ph.D., Trine president.  "We're graduating another outstanding group of students and it's wonderful to have all of this excitement and energy on campus."

Both Saturday and Greenwood are candidates to receive honorary doctorate degrees. Saturday is to be honored with the Doctor of Humane Letters. Greenwood is to be awarded the Doctor of Arts.

Benjamin H. Clark of Bradley, Ill., will deliver the student address for the class of 2014. An accounting major in the Ketner School of Business, he received the speaking honor as the recipient of the Robert B. Stewart Award, the highest award given to a graduating senior.

Clark is part of a team of Trine students that developed an online gift-buying service for busy professionals. That service, Gifts Utopia, won the business category in the inaugural Innovation Challenge presented by Fifth Third Bank. Clark plans to remain in Angola to run the new web-based business.

Before commencement, top students will be recognized during various Honors Day programs and receive their honor cords. In addition, an Order of the Engineer ceremony is scheduled for engineering students who wish to a part of the professional organization.

As part of commencement weekend, Trine will dedicate its new T. Furth Center for Performing Arts, 500 W. Maumee St., at 11:30 a.m. Friday. The public event that will honor and recognize top donors and supporters of the T. Furth Center will take place in the new facility's Ryan Concert Hall. Greenwood's private concert is set for Friday evening.

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Trine University, an internationally recognized, private, co-educational, residential institution, offers associate, baccalaureate, and master degrees in programs to students in engineering, mathematics, science, informatics, business, teacher education, communication, criminal justice, golf management, social sciences, and various other fields of study. Trine is a member of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association and offers 21 varsity sports. Its golf program includes the university-owned 18-hole championship Zollner Golf Course. Founded in 1884 and accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (www.ncahigherlearningcommission.org), Trine operates a 450-acre main campus in Angola, Ind., and education resource centers throughout Indiana, Arizona and Michigan.

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