Iliff Celebrates 103rd Commencement

ILIFF CELEBRATES 103rd COMMENCEMENT

DENVER – The Iliff School of Theology presented 53 students with degrees at its 103rd commencement ceremony held June 6 at The Newman Center, University of Denver.

Commencement speaker, Carlotta Walls LaNier, a member of the Little Rock Nine, president of the Little Rock Nine Foundation, Congressional Gold Medal recipient, and former Iliff trustee, urged graduates and guests to “Begin With Courage” in her address. LaNier was awarded an honorary doctorate – the first ever awarded by the school – for her dedication to civil rights in the United States.

Graduates included:

• Master of Arts – Lori Driggs, Steven Lewis Hunter, Mark Zvi Lande, Scott William Shaffer, Stanley Matthew Stolte, Karen Lynn Storlie Hoida, and Karyn Wingard Manuel

• Master of Arts in Specialized Ministry – Jane Wade Barton, Dale Morris Lee, Jennifer Dawn Maddox, Francine Schwarzenberger, and Judith Marie Strasen

• Master of Theological Studies – Ronald Wayne Griffin, James Cody Hufstedler, Rhonda J. Jackson, Pamela Merrill, Peter Michael Weber, and Shuifan Wen

• Master of Divinity – Barbara Patricia Avent, Joseph Allen Bair, Patrick Michael Bentroitt, Lisa Nadezhka Bolz-Weber, Meredeth Kay Buchman, Lydia Richardson Buttner, Reginald George Albert Chapman, Sr., Karen Renee Cotta, Tina Marie Cross, Anne Draper Dunlap, Anne Kiome Gatobu, James Ennis Grunden, Jason Dale Kennedy, Anna Victoria Mandelstamm, William Israel Mandelstamm, Janice Lindvall Miller, Amanda Gayle Reed, Carol-Anne Reynolds, Christian Sheldon Robbins, Sara Allison Rosenau, Cara Anne Scriven, Stanley Matthew Stolte, Antoinette M. Stone, and Richard Charles Williams

• Doctor of Ministry – John Paul Davis, III, Zintack Albert Hahn, Victoria MacKenzie Isaacs, Lillian Salmeron Voll, and Marti Su Zimmerman

• Doctor of Philosophy – Terry Ray Clark, Joshua Carey Coleman, Linda A. Land-Closson, Brett M. Opalinski, Edward Carter Turner, and Yvonne C. Zimmerman

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The Iliff School of Theology is a graduate theological school of the United Methodist Church, serving more than 38 different faith traditions. Founded in 1892, the seminary provides several degree programs, including a joint Ph.D. program with the University of Denver.