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Dr. Robert L. Head
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DEFIANCE, Ohio – Rockford College President Dr. Robert L. Head will speak at the Defiance College commencement ceremonies on Sunday, May 10. Two-hundred and seven graduates will be awarded diplomas during the 12 noon ceremony on the Colonnade Green in front of the Pilgrim Library. During the ceremony, Dr. Head, an alumnus of Defiance College, will be presented with an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters for his outstanding commitment to civic engagement and to the field of education.
Preceding commencement will be a 10:30 a.m. baccalaureate service in the Weaner Community Center during which Rev. Sharon Prestemon, Executive Director of Back Bay Mission, Biloxi, Miss., will deliver the sermon.
Highest-ranking seniors for 2008-2009 are Shannon O’Dell, Pennville, Ind., and Jennifer Creighton, Evansport.
Dr. Head became the 17th president of Rockford College in Illinois in June, 2008, with an impressive background which includes many years of experience in the banking industry. He served as vice-president, trust services at Toledo Trust Co., in Ohio, and vice-president, trust services at Northern Trust Co. in Chicago during the ‘80s and ‘90s.
Dr. Head made the change to higher education after a stint on the board of trustees at Defiance College. His first academic appointment was at Benedictine University, Lisle, Ill., where he was an associate professor of business and vice-president of administration. Then, in 2001, he accepted the presidency at Urbana University in Ohio, a school similar to Rockford College with approximately 1,500 students.
At Urbana, Dr. Head is credited with increasing enrollment by 20 percent and doubling the residential population, attracting more international students to campus, expanding academic programs, creating partnerships with business and industry, and spearheading a successful $6 million capital campaign for a new student center, educational endowment, athletic stadium, and other campus improvements.
Dr. Head has a bachelor’s degree in management from Defiance College; a master’s in business administration from the University of Toledo; a master’s in management and organizational behavior from Benedictine; and his doctorate in organization development, also from Benedictine. He also attended the Institute for Educational Management at Harvard University.
Dr. Head and his wife, Sheryl, are active in the community of Rockford and have three grown children.
Defiance College, chartered in 1850, is an independent, liberal arts institution in Northwest Ohio offering more than 40 undergraduate majors as well as graduate programs in education and business. Defiance College has received national recognition for its educational experience of engagement. U. S. News & World Report ranks Defiance in the top tier of comprehensive colleges in the Midwest. The college website is www.defiance.edu.
Additional Commencement Information
April 14, 2009
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