Hillsdale College
Commencement
May 12, 2018
Vice President Mike Pence will deliver an address at the 166th Commencement exercises of Hillsdale College on Saturday, May 12, 2018.
The Commencement live stream will begin at 2:00 p.m. Eastern time.
Speakers
The Honorable Mike Pence
Vice President of the United States
Mike Pence is the 48th vice president of the United States. A native of Columbus, Indiana, he earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Hanover College and a juris doctor from the Indiana University School of Law. After graduating, he practiced law, served as president of the Indiana Policy Review Foundation, and hosted a syndicated talk radio show and a weekly television public affairs program. He was elected to Congress from Indiana’s Sixth Congressional District in 2000 and served in that capacity for six terms. In 2012, he was elected the 50th governor of Indiana. In July 2016, Presidential Candidate Donald Trump chose Governor Pence to be his running mate. They were elected president and vice president on November 8, 2016, and took office on January 20, 2017. Vice President Pence and Second Lady Karen Pence have three children: Michael, Charlotte, and Audrey.
Larry P. Arnn
President, Hillsdale College
Larry P. Arnn is the twelfth president of Hillsdale College, where he is also a professor of politics and history. He received his B.A. from Arkansas State University and his M.A. and Ph.D. in Government from the Claremont Graduate School. He also studied at Worcester College, Oxford University, where he served as director of research for Sir Martin Gilbert, the official biographer of Winston Churchill. From 1985 to 2000, he served as president of the Claremont Institute for the Study of Statesmanship and Political Philosophy. He is the author of three books, including, most recently, Churchill’s Trial: Winston Churchill and the Salvation of Free Government.
Razi Lane
2018 Class President
Razi Lane is a native of Tyner, North Carolina. He will graduate with degrees in history and politics. After graduation, he will study law at the University of Notre Dame. During his time at Hillsdale, he was an active member of the College Republicans, Pi Sigma Alpha, the Federalist Society, and the Students-for-Life Club. He also volunteered for A Few Good Men and served on the Student Federation. Razi plans to serve in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps.
Academic Honors
Those wearing white stoles are honor students—graduating cum laude 3.4, magna cum laude 3.6, or summa cum laude 3.8 GPA. The valedictorian and salutatorian of the Class of 2018 wear gold honor stoles. Honor cords worn by graduates signify membership in discipline-based organizations or academic honorary societies.
Top Academic Honors
Valedictorian
Anna Meckel
Salutatorian
Delaney Lehmann
Anna Eby, Abigail Engel, Madison Frame, Maria Grinis, Jessica Kopmeyer, Macy Mount, Hannah Niemeier, Callista Ring
Collegiate Scholars Program
Morgan Brownfield, Elena Creed, Kylie Diehl, Daniel Drummond, Gary Dunkerley, Stacey Egger, Madison Frame, Madeline Greb, Julia Hoyda, Claire Hughes, Elyse Hutcheson, Christopher Jones, Elsa Lagerquist, Luke Miller, Meghan Perks, Dustin Pletan, Kara Schmidt, Ellen Sweet, Noah Weinrich
Alma Mater
Proudly we sing of college halls gracing a hilltop high,
Proudly our tower and ivied walls point to an azure sky,
And may that spirit long remain, bringing distinction true,
Noble pride in our Hillsdale’s name endures ’neath the white and blue.
Here we for greater knowledge strive, here lasting friends acquire,
Here may we keep our dreams alive, as we to heights aspire,
Here may our youth a challenge meet, building our hopes anew,
Faith in life becomes complete ’neath banners of white and blue.
Words and melody by Bess Hagaman Tefft, Class of 1937
Harmonized by R. L. Bowers, former professor of music, Hillsdale College
Hillsdale College Mission Statement
Hillsdale College is an independent institution of higher learning founded in 1844 by men and women “grateful to God for the inestimable blessings” resulting from civil and religious liberty and “believing that the diffusion of learning is essential to the perpetuity of these blessings.” It pursues the stated object of the founders: “to furnish all persons who wish, irrespective of nation, color, or sex, a literary, scientific, [and] theological education” outstanding among American colleges “and to combine with this such moral and social instruction as will best develop the minds and improve the hearts of its pupils.” As a nonsectarian Christian institution, Hillsdale College maintains “by precept and example” the immemorial teachings and practices of the Christian faith.
The College also considers itself a trustee of our Western philosophical and theological inheritance tracing to Athens and Jerusalem, a heritage finding its clearest expression in the American experiment of self-government under law.
By training the young in the liberal arts, Hillsdale College prepares students to become leaders worthy of that legacy. By encouraging the scholarship of its faculty, it contributes to the preservation of that legacy for future generations. By publicly defending that legacy, it enlists the aid of other friends of free civilization and thus secures the conditions of its own survival and independence.