Fuller Celebrates Largest Graduating Class Ever

“I’m pleased to welcome you to this 58th annual commencement ceremony—the largest graduating class and the largest commencement in our history,” said President Richard J. Mouw in his opening remarks at Fuller Seminary’s annual commencement celebration at Lake Avenue Church, Pasadena, on June 9. “This is a great moment in the year and in the life of Fuller Theological Seminary.” Approximately 750 students are set to complete degrees at Fuller this year, encompassing men and women from 31 countries. Nearly 500 of those graduates were present at the Saturday commencement ceremony, receiving a range of master’s and doctoral degrees from Fuller’s three schools of Theology, Psychology, and Intercultural Studies.

Mouw encouraged the new graduates to develop a “secondary naïveté” in light of the complex studies they have completed. “When all is said and done, what we have really been meaning to communicate to you is this: It’s all about Jesus. This is what we hope and pray for you,” he said. “My charge to you today is a simple one: Be faithful to Jesus. Follow him to the destination; follow him wherever he goes.”

Among this year’s graduates is Gregory Horn, who is a pastor and deputy chaplain of the Marine Corps. Horn has now earned his PhD in practical theology and ethics, and hopes to teach at a seminary one day. “The reality of the pastorate is what I want to teach,” he said. “I’ve been a pastor for 28 years and a chaplain for 20 years, and I’d like to take that real-world experience back to the seminary. Fuller gave me a practical theology that works in the real world.”

"I feel both privileged and grateful to have studied at Fuller,” said Rebecca Russo, who is graduating with her Master of Divinity degree. “My experience here has stretched me, broadened my thinking, and given me a deeper understanding of differences within the Body of Christ. The depth and breadth of my Fuller education has equipped me, I'm certain, for whatever God has for me next!”

As part of the commencement ceremony, Provost Sherwood Lingenfelter announced Dr. John L. Thompson, professor of Historical Theology and the Gaylen and Susan Byker Professor of Reformed Theology, as recipient of this year’s distinguished Weyerhaeuser Award, known to the Fuller community as “faculty of the year.” Lingenfelter also acknowledged the presence at the ceremony of nine members of Fuller’s class of 1957, who had gathered for their 50-year reunion. Robert P. Meye, member of the 1957 class and former dean of the Fuller’s School of Theology, offered the benediction.

Fuller Seminary is the largest multidenominational seminary in the world, with nearly 5,000 students taking courses this year. In addition to the main campus in Pasadena, Fuller has extension sites in Irvine, Menlo Park, and Sacramento, California; Seattle, Washington; Colorado Springs, Colorado; Phoenix, Arizona; and Houston, Texas

** To view photos from this year's commencement go to http://sgvtribune.mycapture.com/mycapture/folder.asp?event=284795