Mount Pleasant, IA – December 10, 2021 — Iowa Wesleyan University held its December Graduation Ceremony on Thursday, December 9, in the University Chapel. The University celebrated the graduation of 38 undergraduate and nine graduate students, including eight Master of Arts in Management Leadership and one Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction.
During the opening ceremony, Iowa Wesleyan Board of Trustees Chair Robert Miller ‘83 retired the former Chain of Office and presented President Christine Plunkett with the new medallion designed to match the university mace. The President wears the Chain of Office during formal academic events, including convocation and commencement. The retired medallion will be maintained in the IW Newsom Archives as a historical artifact.
President Plunkett presented the Presidential Award for Outstanding Merit to Val C. Sheffield, M.D., PH.D. for his work throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. Dr. Sheffield and his lab team formed a strategic partnership with IW in the summer of 2020 to provide rapid-result saliva testing, often providing students with their test results as quickly as the same day. This partnership with Sheffield Labs allowed IW to continue to conduct regular and accurate testing on campus, ensuring the safety of its students and employees. Dr. Sheffield is an internationally recognized leader in human molecular genetics and genomics. His laboratory at the University of Iowa explores novel treatments for human diseases, including blindness, diabetes, and cancer.
The graduation speaker was Dr. Shawna Hudson, 2021 Chadwick Teacher of the Year. Dr. Hudson is a Professor of Education and has been at IW since 2006. In her address to the graduates, Dr. Hudson challenged the students by stating, “There is a difference between being the best in the world and the best for the world…what kind of best will you be?”