Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, Thomas More University’s 2020 Commencement was postponed from May to Aug. 14.
The ceremony will take place Friday but will look different than in prior years with graduates and their families socially distanced in the Connor Convocation Center and leading into the building.
For more information on Commencement, year’s student award winners, and a message from President Chillo, visit thomasmore.edu/commencement.
The ceremony will be livestreamed on Thomas More’s Facebook page. The Class of 2020 includes 485 undergraduate and graduate students, receiving a total of 516 total degrees.
Of this student total, 157 are first-generation undergraduate students. The class represents 12 states and nine countries, and 27 of the graduates are veterans or active military.
Participating in the ceremonies will be Thomas More’s Class of 2020, President Joseph Chillo, LP.D., Provost Molly Smith, Ph.D., and Board of Trustees Chair Judith Marlowe.
Thomas More’s 92nd Annual Commencement Exercises schedule for Aug. 14:
• 10 a.m. – College of Business Undergraduate Programs
• 11:30 a.m. – College of Arts and Sciences Undergraduate Programs
• 3 p.m. – Graduate Programs for all Colleges
• 4:30 p.m. – College of Education and Health Sciences Undergraduate Programs | Institute for Ethical Leadership and Interdisciplinary Studies
Shelby Miller is receiving the 2020 Outstanding Senior Award at the Commencement. She grew up in Cincinnati and transferred to Thomas More in the fall of 2018 to swim after competing at Wright State University for two years.
She majored in exercise science with a minor in sports psychology. During her time at the University, Miller was the 2019-20 president of Student Athletic Advisory Committee, she was on the swim team, she was a leader for Delight Ministries, and she was involved in the 4C Scholar Society. Other awards she obtained for the 2019-20 year were Dean’s List, a top eight national finalist (making her an All-American), the NAIA Champions of Character Award, the NAIA Academic All Mid-South Conference Award, and Swimmer of the Week for the Mid-South Conference.
Miller plans to attend the University of Tennessee for her master’s degree in sports psychology and motor behavior. She plans to work with collegiate athletes to discover effective mental strategies to improve athletic performance, discovering mental fortitude and positive attitudes, coping with life’s anxieties and stressors, and learning ways to improve the practice environment and the coach-athlete relationship.
