Provost and Vice President William Seaton will officiate Thomas Edison State University's 41st Commencement on Sept. 28.
TRENTON, N.J. – Thomas Edison State University is celebrating its 41st Commencement on Saturday, Sept. 28 at the Sun National Bank Center to accommodate the largest graduating class in the school’s 41-year history.
The class of 2013 includes 3,380 graduates and approximately 565 of those graduates are expected to attend Saturday’s ceremony at the Sun National Bank Center. The Honors Convocation for students who earned academic awards and are being inducted into an honor society is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. The main Commencement ceremony is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.
Lisa Jones, of Bordentown, N.J., is giving the response for graduates. Jones earned a 3.92 grade point average while completing her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree. She is a member of the New Jersey Collegiate Business Administration Honor Society, the Alpha Sigma Lambda National Honor Society and the Sigma Beta Delta International Honor Society.
The college will also award an honorary degree to Dr. Arthur Brooks, president of the American Enterprise Institute. Dr. Brooks earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Thomas Edison State University in 1994 before completing a master’s degree in economics and a PhD in public policy. Since 2009, he has been president of the American Enterprise Institute, a nonpartisan public policy think tank in Washington, D.C.
Before joining the institute, Dr. Brooks was the Louis Battle Professor of Business and Government at Syracuse University, where he published more than 100 articles and nine books on topics ranging from philanthropy, to military operations research, to the economics of happiness. He has also worked professionally as a classical musician, playing the French horn with such ensembles as the Annapolis Brass Quartet and the City Orchestra of Barcelona.
This year marks the fourth year that Thomas Edison State University graduates will wear gowns made from recycled plastic bottles and the third year where they will have the opportunity to return the gowns to be recycled into other products.
The college has awarded more than 43,000 degrees since it began providing flexible, high-quality, collegiate learning opportunities for self-directed adults in 1972.
About Thomas Edison State University
Thomas Edison State University provides flexible, high-quality, collegiate learning opportunities for self-directed adults. One of New Jersey’s 11 senior public institutions of higher education, the University offers associate, bachelor’s and master’s degrees in more than 100 areas of study. Students earn degrees through a wide variety of rigorous and high-quality academic methods that can be customized to meet their individual needs. Identified by Forbes magazine as one of the top 20 colleges and universities in the nation in the use of technology to create learning opportunities for adults, Thomas Edison State University is a national leader in the assessment of adult learning and a pioneer in the use of educational technologies. The University is home to The John S. Watson Institute for Public Policy. The New Jersey State Library is an affiliate of Thomas Edison State University.
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Toni M. Terry, BA