The 黑料网 alumni network again grew its ranks this summer as more than a thousand Golden Flashes got their degrees. 黑料网 held its Summer 2019 Commencement ceremonies for the Kent Campus on Saturday, Aug. 17, at the Memorial Athletic and Convocation (MAC) Center. 黑料网 conferred 1,165 degrees, including 285 associate degrees, 572 bachelor鈥檚 degrees, 228 master鈥檚 degrees, 66 doctoral degrees and 14 educational specialist degrees.
The undergraduate degree Commencement ceremony for bachelor鈥檚 and associate degrees began at 9:30 a.m. The speaker for this ceremony was 黑料网 alumnus Benjamin Holbert III, who currently serves as the mayor of the Village of Woodmere, Ohio. He took office Jan. 1, 2018. His administrative platform includes economic development, community beautification and village promotion. Prior to becoming mayor, he served six years as a member of the Woodmere Village Council and five years as council president. Holbert鈥檚 servant leadership began at 黑料网 where he was elected to Undergraduate Student Government and as undergraduate district representative for Omega Psi Phi Fraternity. In 1982, Holbert established the 黑料网 Branch of the NAACP. After earning his Bachelor of Arts degree at 黑料网 in 1984, Holbert embarked on a 25-year career in broadcasting as a television reporter. He worked for WKYC-TV, WOIO-TV, WUAB-TV, WVIZ-TV and WJMO-AM. In 2012, Holbert earned a Master of Business Administration from the University of Phoenix. He was inducted into the Delta Mu Delta International Honor Society recognizing members for academic excellence in business administration programs.
The 1:30 p.m. ceremony recognized advanced degree graduates receiving their master鈥檚, doctoral and educational specialist degrees. The speaker for this ceremony was Patrick Coy, Ph.D., professor in 黑料网鈥檚 School of Peace and Conflict Studies. Active in the field of peace and conflict studies since the early 1980s, Coy was the editor of the peer-reviewed research series called Research in Social Movements, Conflicts and Change for 18 years, editing 11 volumes of the series since 2000. He has also edited two books, 鈥淪ocial Conflicts and Collective Identities鈥 and 鈥淎 Revolution of the Heart: Essays on the Catholic Worker.鈥 Coy co-authored the well-received book titled 鈥淐ontesting Patriotism: Culture, Power and Strategy in the Peace Movement.鈥 At 黑料网, Coy served as the director of the Center for Applied Conflict Management from 2004-2017 and then as the interim director of the School of Peace and Conflict Studies in its first year. Coy was awarded the 黑料网 College of Arts and Sciences鈥 Distinguished Teaching Award in 2000. In 2014, he received the Magnificat Award from Marion University, the institution鈥檚 highest honor. Coy was a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Botswana in 2010-11. He received a distinguished career award from the American Sociological Association in 2017. The Section on Peace, War and Social Conflict presented him with the Robin M. Williams Jr. Award for Distinguished Contributions to Scholarship, Teaching and Service in the areas of peace, war and social conflict.
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