Aurora University to hold commencement Sunday

Submitted by Aurora University

More than 1,000 Aurora University students will participate in the 119th annual commencement ceremonies Sunday, May 6, on the campus quadrangle at 347 S. Gladstone Ave.

The ceremony for graduate students will be at 10 a.m., followed by the undergraduate ceremony at 2 p.m. A total of 1,080 students will be graduating on the Aurora campus this spring; another 125 students participated in the commencement ceremony at the George Williams College of Aurora University campus in Wisconsin on April 28.

At the AU afternoon undergraduate ceremony, Christopher Shue of Oswego, an accounting major and recipient of the Spartan Award, will offer his reflections to the 2012 graduating class. Voted on by faculty, the prestigious award is the top annual student honor.

In his four years at AU, Shue has been a driving force behind a wide variety of campus service efforts. He led fundraising efforts to help Haiti after the 2010 earthquake, mobilized the Dunham Scholars program’s Fighting Malaria project, organized the annual Angel Tree to purchase Christmas presents for area families in need, and headed the AU United Way campaign.

“The Spartan Award really isn’t about me; it’s about thanking all of the people at AU who I’ve worked with along the way,” Shue said, who will start working as a staff accountant with Naperville-based Sikich three days after graduation. “AU planted the seed for service with me. In collaborating with faculty and fellow students on these projects, I’ve grown in my own way and discovered my passions.”

During the graduate ceremony, the university will present an honorary doctor of humane letters degree to 1948 Aurora College graduate Dr. David W. Parke. An accomplished and recognized ophthalmologist in New Haven, Conn., Parke treats more than just symptoms, blending science and compassion in interactions with his patients.

Parke’s resume includes distinguished service as a professor at the Yale School of Medicine, chief of Ophthalmology at Meriden-Wallingford Hospital, president of the New Haven County Medical Society and a chairman for the Connecticut State Medical Society. The American Academy of Ophthalmology honored him in 2002 as “a tireless champion” of patients throughout the country. Parke studied medicine at Ohio State University and completed a residency at Johns Hopkins University.

Both the graduate and undergraduate ceremonies will be streamed online at aurora.edu/commencement.