Defiance College 2012 Commencement
Ceremony to be held May 6

Rory Vaden

DEFIANCE, Ohio –Two hundred and forty-seven graduates will be awarded diplomas during Defiance College’s 2012 commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 6. The ceremony will begin at 12 noon on the Colonnade Green in front of the Pilgrim Library.

Highest-ranking seniors of the graduating class of 2012 are Jeff Whitman, Ney, and Lynn Haller, Antwerp.

Author, speaker, and entrepreneur Rory Vaden will be the guest speaker at the commencement ceremony. He is the co-founder of the international training company Southwestern Consulting, a Southwestern Company, and also a public motivational speaker. Vaden has a master’s degree from the University of Denver, is a member of the National Speakers Association, and is a two time world champion of public speaking finalist. He has authored three books.

Preceding commencement will be a 10:30 a.m. baccalaureate service in the Weaner Community Center during which Rev. Bob Moltsberry will deliver the sermon.

Rev. Molsberry has been Conference Minister for the Ohio Conference of the United Church of Christ since 2007 and has more than 20 years of local parish ministry. He spent six years in Central America, first with the Peace Corps in Guatemala and later with the Mennonite Central Committee in Nicaragua, directing community development work. Molsberry also served an interim term as Director of Administration at Eden Theological Seminary in St. Louis.

A graduate of Yale Divinity School, Rev. Molsberry has published numerous articles about life, culture, politics, and religion in Central America, and is the author of two books, Blindsided by Grace: Entering the World of Disability,and Tour de Faith: A Cyclist’s Lessons for Living. He and his wife, Ann, have two grown children.

Defiance College, chartered in 1850, is an independent, liberal arts institution in Northwest Ohio offering more than 40 undergraduate programs of study as well as graduate programs in education and business. Defiance College has received national recognition for its educational experience of service and engagement. The college website is www.defiance.edu.

April 26, 2012