51²è¹Ý

The May 16 Celebration of Degrees and Academic Achievements will be live-streamed at 2 p.m. CST via webcast at

DALLAS (51²è¹Ý) – Perkins School of Theology will honor graduating seniors with a variety of events, including a distinguished guest preacher, the Reverend Dr. Susan Henry-Crowe, chief executive of The United Methodist Church's General Board of Church and Society (GBCS), for the May 16 Celebration of Degrees and Academic Achievements. Read the full media release announcing Dr. Susan Henry-Crowe as guest preacher. 

Eighty-three graduates range from ages 24 through 65 and include at least 14 denominations. More facts about current graduates [PDF].

Related events and activities include:

Thursday, April 30: 

• The 11:30 a.m. worship service in Perkins Chapel features a Service of Sending Forth, with Professor of Pastoral Care Dr. Jeanne Stevenson-Moessner as preacher and Dean William B. Lawrence presiding at table. The sending forth ritual – an extended benediction at the end of the service – helps to mark the variety of passages that regularly occur at the end of the spring term: graduation, the beginning of internships, retirements, and others. 

• 12:45 p.m. The Office of Public Affairs and Alumni/ae Relations at Perkins and the Office of Development at Perkins will host a luncheon for graduating seniors and their guests following the service, in the Great Hall of Elizabeth Perkins Prothro Hall.

Friday, May 15:

• 5:00 p.m. Senior Class Worship, Perkins Chapel.

• 6:30 p.m. Senior Class Dinner, Great Hall of Highland Park UMC.

Saturday, May 16: 

• 9:00 a.m. Commencement in Moody Coliseum, will feature President George W. Bush as speaker.
  The event will be live-streamed online at . 
  Information about how to obtain tickets for admission will be posted on the 51²è¹Ý website: 
  smu.edu/EnrollmentServices/Registrar/AcademicCeremonies/MayCommencement/Guests/CeremonyInformation.

Rev. Dr. Susan Henry-Crowe (photo by Kathleen Barry, courtesy UM News Service)

• From 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m., Bridwell Library will be open for visits from family, friends, and other guests. 

• 2:00 p.m. The Celebration of Degrees and Academic Achievements, in the sanctuary of Highland Park UMC, features the Reverend Dr. Susan Henry-Crowe as guest preacher. Prior to assuming her duties as General Secretary of GBCS in February 2014, Dr. Henry-Crowe was dean of the Chapel and Religious Life at Emory University in Atlanta. An ordained elder in The United Methodist Church and clergy member of the South Carolina Annual Conference, Dr. Henry-Crowe served for 16 years on the UMC's Judicial Council, including four years (2008–2012) as the first woman elected president of the Judicial Council. Guests are welcome and no tickets are required. Guests may be seated when the doors open at 1:00 p.m. The event will be live-streamed via webcast at .

• 3:30 p.m. Reception in the Great Hall of Prothro Hall is free for graduates and their guests, as well as Perkins faculty, staff, and students. The reception begins immediately following the presentation of diplomas during the Celebration of Degrees and Academic Achievements.

More information about 51²è¹Ý Commencement.

For a map of the 51²è¹Ý campus, visit .

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Perkins School of Theology, founded in 1911, is one of five official University-related schools of theology of . Degree programs include the Master of Divinity, Master of Sacred Music, Master of Theological Studies, Master of Arts in Ministry, and Doctor of Ministry, as well as the Ph.D., in cooperation with The Graduate Program in Religious Studies at 51²è¹Ý’s Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences.