Kansas City Area May 2012 Commencement

Saturday, May 12, 11 a.m.
Community of Christ Auditorium
1001 W. Walnut Independence, MO 64050

The Kansas City Area May 2012 Commencement ceremony will be held at the Community of Christ Auditorium, 1001 W. Walnut, Independence, Mo., on Saturday, May 12, at 11 a.m. Students are asked to arrive no later than 9:45 a.m. to register and prepare for the ceremony. There are no restrictions as to the number of guests you may invite. Please note that the ceremony usually lasts about two hours.

Click here for a map of the area.

Download the graduation handbook for details on graduation attire and procedures.

In conjunction with Herff Jones and the Park University Bookstore, Park University will host a Graduation Prep Fair on Thursday, March 22, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the Bookstore, located in the Mabee Learning Center/Academic Underground on the Parkville Campus. The Graduation Prep Fair is a "one-stop shopping trip for graduates." It allows graduates to take care of all the details involved with the Commencement ceremony, including cap and gown pick-up. To expedite the cap and gown process, please e-mail the Bookstore with your height and weight by Thursday, March 1, at bookstore@park.edu. In addition, Representatives from Career Services, Student Financial Services, Registrar's Office, School for Graduate and Professional Studies, and Herff Jones (for class rings, announcements, etc.) will be on-hand to assist you. Herff Jones will offer a special discount for class rings ordered during the Graduation Prep Fair.

If you are unable to attend the Graduation Prep Fair, please call the Bookstore at (816) 584-6747 to order your cap and gown. Please note that there is a $6.95 shipping and handling charge. If you have any questions about your eligibility to graduate, please contact Jessica Nerad, diploma clerk, at jessica.nerad@park.edu or (816) 584-6274. Our sincerest congratulations to you on your accomplishments.

Sly James, mayor of Kansas City, Mo., will provide the keynote address at Park University's Kansas City Area May 2012 Commencement. Born and raised in Kansas City, James graduated from Bishop Hogan High School in 1969 before serving as a military police officer in the U.S. Marine Corps for four years. He graduated cum laude from Rockhurst University in 1980 with a bachelor's degree in English before earning his juris doctorate (also cum laude) from the University of Minnesota in 1983.

During his 26-year legal career, James earned a number of professional accolades, including being appointed to the Missouri Board of Law Examiners, leading the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association and the Kansas City Bar Foundation, serving as vice president of the Public Interest Litigation Clinic and on the board of directors of Legal Aid of Western Missouri. He joined Blackwell, Sanders, Matheny, Weary & Lombardi in 1983, and became the first African-American partner in the firm's history in 1990. In 2002, James started The Sly James Firm, working with victims to seek justice and positive outcomes to disputes.

A proud resident of the city he loves, James has been active in political, community and civic activities. He has served on the boards for the Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City, Mo., the Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority, the Enhanced Enterprise Zones of Kansas City and the Jackson County (Mo.) Ethics Commission. He also served as one of two co-chairs of the Save Our Stadiums committee, a successful tax initiative to refurbish the Truman Sports Complex in 2006. In addition, James has served various positions with the Eye Foundation of Kansas City, Inc., The United Way, Committee for County Progress, Partnership for Children, the Bishop Hogan High School Notre Dame de Sion boards, Operation Breakthrough and Genesis School.

James has been married to Licia Clifton-James since 1981 and is the father of four children.

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The Kansas City Area December 2011 Commencement ceremony was held at the Community of Christ Auditorium in Independence, Mo., on Dec. 10. Approximately 220 Park University undergraduates received their bachelor's degree and about 160 graduate students received their master's degree. Steven Youngblood, associate professor of communication arts, presented the keynote address. In his address, "Inciting Peace," Youngblood addressed how graduates can apply their education to more than just making money.

Youngblood is a two-time J. William Fulbright Scholar — going to Moldova in 2001 and Azerbaijan in 2007. He has taught in 12 countries for the U.S. State Department, the United Nations Children's Fund and People to People International. He has taught peace journalism in the Republic of Georgia, Azerbaijan, Jordan, Turkey and Uganda. Youngblood directed and taught a comprehensive peace journalism project (with $270,000 in grants from the U.S. Agency for International Development and the State Department) in Uganda from July 2010 to May 2011. He will direct and teach a peace media and counterterrorism project (with a $150,000 State Department grant) in Uganda from December 2011 to September 2012.

• Read Steven Youngblood's keynote address.
• View a complete list of graduates.
• View a slideshow of photos from the Commencement ceremony.
• In addition, there are six photo albums on Park's Facebook page full of photos.

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May 2011 Commencement

 View a complete list of graduates.

 View a slideshow of photos and videos from the Commencement ceremony.

 Keynote address by Jeanette Prenger, 2009 Park University graduate and founder and president of ECCO Select.

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December 2010 Commencement

 View a complete list of graduates.

 View a slideshow of photos from the Commencement ceremony.

 Keynote address by Eugene A. Ruiz, founder, shareholder and managing partner, Ruiz and Associates, and chair, Park University Board of Trustees

 Student address by Gabriel Ajak, December 2010 business administration/finance graduate, and one of the “Lost Boys of Sudan”

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