Over 630 graduates were awarded their respective degrees at the Walsh University 49th Commencement Ceremony on Sunday, April 29, marking one of Walsh’s largest graduating classes to date.
During the ceremony, Walsh’s third President, Brother Francis Blouin, F.I.C., served as keynote speaker and was also honored with the prestigious Founders' Award. The Founders' Award was established in 1985 and is awarded to those who have achieved national stature by illustrating in their lives the same ideals that inspired the venerable Father John de La Mennais and Father Gabriel Deshayes in founding the Brothers of Christian Instruction. These ideals are faith in God, fidelity to the Catholic Church, active concern for Christian education, dedication to authentic social justice and courageous promotion of human welfare especially among those less fortunate and disenfranchised.
Special honors were also bestowed on this year’s Distinguished Service Medal recipients: 1974 alum Robert J. Shearer, co-founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Shearer’s Foods, and Alfred A. Olivieri, Chief Executive Officer of Fred Olivieri Construction Company. The Distinguished Service Medal is awarded to those who have rendered distinguished professional or voluntary service to others within the national, regional or local community.
Over 630 graduates were awarded their respective degrees at the Walsh University 49th Commencement Ceremony on Sunday, April 29, marking one of Walsh’s largest graduating classes to date.
During the ceremony, Walsh’s third President, Brother Francis Blouin, F.I.C., served as keynote speaker and was also honored with the prestigious Founders' Award. The Founders' Award was established in 1985 and is awarded to those who have achieved national stature by illustrating in their lives the same ideals that inspired the venerable Father John de La Mennais and Father Gabriel Deshayes in founding the Brothers of Christian Instruction. These ideals are faith in God, fidelity to the Catholic Church, active concern for Christian education, dedication to authentic social justice and courageous promotion of human welfare especially among those less fortunate and disenfranchised.
Special honors were also bestowed on this year’s Distinguished Service Medal recipients: 1974 alum Robert J. Shearer, co-founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Shearer’s Foods, and Alfred A. Olivieri, Chief Executive Officer of Fred Olivieri Construction Company. The Distinguished Service Medal is awarded to those who have rendered distinguished professional or voluntary service to others within the national, regional or local community.
