Randolph-Macon College held its Commencement Ceremony on Saturday, May 28, 2011 at 10:00 a.m. at R-MC’s Frank E. Brown Fountain Plaza on Henry Street. Honorary degrees were presented to four distinguished leaders in business and education during the ceremony. They are:
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Stewart D. Roberson, Ed.D.
Superintendent, Hanover County Public Schools |
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Richard L. Morrill, Ph.D.
President, Teagle Foundation |
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James E. Scanlon, Ph.D.
R-MC Professor Emeritus of History |
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Helen Bates “Penny” Chenery
Owner & Breeder of Triple Crown Winner Secretariat |
Hanover County Public Schools Superintendent Stewart D. Roberson, Ed.D., will receive the Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters Degree. He is one of the longest- serving superintendents in Virginia and the third longest-serving in Hanover since 1870. Under Roberson’s direction, Hanover County Public Schools (HCPS) was the first school district in Virginia to receive the U.S. Senate Productivity Award for Continuing Excellence and has received 10 National Blue Ribbon School Awards by the U.S. Department of Education. Additionally, all Hanover high schools offer Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate and dual enrollment options to their students. The district enrolls nearly 20,000 students.
Teagle Foundation President Richard L. Morrill, Ph.D., will receive the Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters Degree. The Teagle Foundation serves as a national voice in higher education policy and a catalyst for change to improve undergraduate student learning in the arts and sciences. Morrill served as president of the University of Richmond from 1988 to 1998 and continues to serve in the honorary position of chancellor. Morrill currently is president of the board of the Richmond Symphony Foundation, a director of the Library of Virginia Foundation, chairman of the Tredegar Corporation, and a director of the Albemarle Corporation and of the Williamsburg Investment Trust.
Professor Emeritus James E. Scanlon, Ph.D., will receive the Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters Degree. He is a Professor Emeritus of history at Randolph-Macon College and serves as the college historian. He is the author of
Randolph-Macon College: A Southern History 1825 – 1967 (University Press of Virginia, 1983). A celebrated educator, mentor and friend, Scanlon has received numerous awards during his career at R-MC which spans nearly 45 years. He has written a variety of articles and reviews in revered publications including the History of Education Quarterly and the Virginia Magazine of History and Biography. Scanlon is currently researching and writing his second historical book about the college,
Randolph-Macon College: Traditions and New Directions 1967 – 2005.
Helen Bates “Penny” Chenery was presented the Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree during a special ceremony at Randolph-Macon College on Monday, March 28, 2011. Chenery will also be recognized during the college’s Commencement ceremony. She is the owner and breeder of Secretariat, winner of the 1973 Triple Crown of racing. In 1969, Chenery took over management of her family’s farm and breeding enterprise at nearby Meadow Farm in Caroline County, Virginia, now the site of the Virginia State Fairgrounds. Her story was featured in the Disney Film
Secretariat, with actress Diane Lane portraying this pioneering woman.
Randolph-Macon College Commencement will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, May 28, 2011 at the R-MC Frank E. Brown Fountain Plaza on Henry Street. (In the event of rain, commencement will be held in the Randolph-Macon Brock Recreation Center, located at 400 N. Center Street, at 10 a.m.)
The speaker will be noted Civil War historian Dr. James “Bud” Robertson Jr. ’55, whose biography of General “Stonewall” Jackson,
Stonewall Jackson: The Man, The Soldier, The Legend (Macmillan, 1997), won eight national awards and was used as the basis for the mega-movie “Gods and Generals.”