For More Information Contact:John C. Glenn, (402) 280-1786 [email protected]
CREIGHTON CELEBRATES COMMENCEMENT ON MAY 12
For Immediate Release:
OMAHA, Neb. -- Creighton University enters a new era with its 2001 Spring commencement exercises, on May 12, 2001, at 10 a.m. in the Civic Auditorium.
Not only is the 2001 graduating class, of more than 1,170 students, the first Spring graduating class to receive diplomas from first-year Creighton President Rev. John P. Schlegel, S.J., but Creighton also is inaugurating a new honor at commencement, the Presidential Medallion.
In addition to awarding degrees at commencement, and the new honor, Fr. Schlegel and the University will award an honorary degree and honor an outstanding alumnus.
The Presidential Medallion recognizes individuals and organizations which have displayed excellence in an academic discipline; distinguished local civic, cultural or volunteer service; and commitment to the educational and community ideals espoused by Creighton University's Mission Statement. The University's first Presidential Medallions will be conferred upon Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Omaha and the Omaha Symphony.
Since 1926, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Omaha has been a beacon of hope to citizens in need. Catholic Charities is celebrating three-quarters of a century of service. It provides broad-based services such as adoption, pregnancy counseling, family and individual counseling, chemical dependency treatment, and shelter for abused women and children. Services are provided at eight sites in Omaha, Columbus and Norfolk, and through employee assistance programs at five Catholic schools. The agency annually reaches more than 60,000 people in the region, and it operates the state's largest inpatient chemical dependency treatment facility at the new Omaha Campus for Hope.
As a cultural pillar in the community, the Omaha Symphony is a linchpin in the city's expanding national vision. In this, its 80th anniversary year, the Omaha Symphony enjoys an international reputation. Under Musical Director Victor Yampolsky and Resident Conductor Ernest Richardson, the Symphony has seen an unprecedented period of growth -- with the core orchestra expanded to 39 professional musicians, and many new and exciting education/outreach concerts and concert series. The orchestra performs throughout the region, with programs ranging from full orchestra concerts to educational offerings for children. More than 300,000 people will experience the Omaha Symphony during the 2000-2001 season.
Louie Blumkin, chairman of the board of the Nebraska Furniture Mart, will receive an honorary doctor of humanities degree. Blumkin has been a driving force in the Nebraska Furniture Mart (NFM) for more than 63 years. The 81-year-old Blumkin is still a fixture at the store in Omaha, which boasts an incredible 70 percent furniture market share in the region. The NFM has 1,900 employees, with retail or commercial outlets in Omaha, Lincoln, Des Moines, and a new store in Kansas City, which is set to open in 2003. His late mother, Rose (Mrs. B) Blumkin, founder of the store, opened its doors in 1937. In October of 2000, Louie was inducted into the American Furniture Hall of Fame.
Louie served five years overseas in the U.S. Army during World War II, where he received two purple hearts. He has been married to Frances Blumkin for 54 years and the couple has three sons and eight grandchildren.
Creighton University will present the Alumni Achievement Citation to Randolph M. Ferlic, M.D. The Alumni Achievement Citation is Creighton's highest alumni award.
Dr. Ferlic earned a bachelor of science degree and a medical degree from Creighton in 1958, and 1961 respectively. This retired surgeon was a premier thoracic and cardiovascular surgeon who directed the first heart transplant in Nebraska in 1985. Dr. Ferlic is a Fellow of the American College of Surgery and has more than 50 peer-reviewed publications in national medical journals. He has been a member of Creighton's President's Council, the Edward and Mary Lucretia Creighton Society, Phi Beta Pi medical fraternity and the Creighton chapter of Alpha Omega Alpha, the medical honor society. Dr. Ferlic and his wife, Teresa, have four children. Daughters Ann and Sara are both Creighton graduates.
Three other award winners also will be announced duringthe commencement ceremony. Two graduating students will be honored with the Spirit of Creighton Award and Richard Collin Mangrum, J.D., chairholder of the A.A. & Ethel Yossem Endowed Chair in Legal Ethics, will receive the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Student Award for Teaching Achievement from the Creighton Students Union.
The Baccalaureate Mass is scheduled for Friday, May 11, at 3 p.m. in Creighton's Kiewit Fitness Center.
Creighton University is an independent, Catholic, comprehensive university operated by the Jesuits, who have a 500-year tradition of excellence in education. Creighton has been ranked No. 1 for the past five years among Midwestern universities in the U.S. News & World Report magazine's "America's Best Colleges" edition.
Creighton enrolls more than 6,200 students of diverse faiths and races from across the United States and 65 countries. The student body is taught by 700 full-time faculty members in the Colleges of Arts & Sciences, Business Administration, the Graduate School, University College, and schools of Dentistry, Pharmacy and Allied Health Professions, Law, Medicine, Nursing and Summer Sessions.-30-
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