“From small beginnings come great things.” Guided by faith, the founders could not have anticipated the wisdom of the proverb on that September day in 1889 when the first students at Pikeville Collegiate Institute gathered for class in the quaint four-room school. Established as an outreach of the Presbyterian Church, from its auspicious beginnings as an institution of higher learning for the youth of the mountains, the University of Pikeville has reached a new pinnacle.
On May 19, the Class of 2012 will make history, becoming the first from the College of Arts and Sciences and the Kentucky College of Osteopathic Medicine (KYCOM) to graduate from the University of Pikeville, formerly known as Pikeville College.
The medical school commencement will be held on Saturday, May 19, at 9:30 a.m. at the Eastern Kentucky Expo Center in Pikeville. Commencement exercises for the College of Arts and Sciences will be held at 2 p.m., at the expo. Three distinguished individuals will also be recognized for their significant contributions in education, business and public service. On Thursday, May 17, graduates of the Elizabeth Akers Elliott Nursing Program will be honored during a pinning ceremony at 7 p.m. in Booth Auditorium. A commissioning ceremony for students in the University’s Army ROTC program will be held Friday, May 18, at 6 p.m. in Booth Auditorium.
Kentucky College of Osteopathic Medicine Commencement
U.S. Senator Rand Paul, M.D, will be the keynote speaker for the KYCOM commencement. Along with his wife, Kelley, and three sons, Sen. Paul resides in Bowling Green, Ky., where he has owned an ophthalmology practice and performed eye surgery for 18 years. The third of five children born to Carol and Ron Paul, he grew up in Lake Jackson, Texas, and attended Baylor University. He graduated from Duke Medical School in 1988. Sen. Paul completed a general surgery internship at Georgia Baptist Medical Center in Atlanta and completed his residency in ophthalmology at Duke University Medical Center.
Founder of the Southern Kentucky Lions Eye Clinic, an organization that provides eye exams and surgery to needy families and individuals, Sen. Paul is a former president and 17-year member of Lions Club International, which is dedicated to preserving sight by providing eyeglasses and surgery to the less fortunate around the world.
In addition to his work with the Lions Club, he has provided free eye surgery to children from around the world through his participation in the Children of the Americas Program. A large part of his daily work is dedicated to preserving the vision of seniors.
Sen. Paul describes himself as a hard-working, dedicated physician, not a career politician. His entrance into politics is indicative of his life’s work: a desire to diagnose problems and provide practical solutions.
Sen. Paul will be presented with an honorary Doctor of Public Service degree during the commencement ceremony.
College of Arts and Sciences Commencement
Kentucky House Speaker Gregory D. Stumbo will deliver the commencement address for the College of Arts and Sciences.
In 2009, nearly a year after starting his second tenure in the Kentucky House of Representatives, Stumbo was elected House Speaker by his legislative colleagues, an honor culminating in nearly three decades of public service, beginning with his tenure as Floyd County’s state representative in 1980.
He became House Majority Floor Leader five years later, making him the youngest state legislator in the nation to hold that title. By 2003, when he was elected as Kentucky’s Attorney General, he had accumulated 19 years in House leadership, giving him the longest uninterrupted service ever by a Kentuckian.
As Attorney General, he cracked down on Internet pharmacies shipping illegal narcotics into Kentucky. In the 2009 Regular Session, he led the chamber during what is widely considered the most successful legislative session in a generation. The long list of bipartisan accomplishments includes re-capturing the spirit of the Kentucky Education Reform Act by overhauling the academic standards that guide our schools and the tests that measure progress. In the 2010 and 2011 legislative sessions he helped lead the state through the nation’s toughest economic crisis since the Great Depression. In 2010, the Kentucky Domestic Violence Association recognized Speaker Stumbo for his work in passing Amanda’s Law, which he sponsored to protect victims of domestic violence.
A member of the Kentucky Bar Association and the American Bar Association, Speaker Stumbo received his law degree from the University of Louisville and his undergraduate degree from the University of Kentucky.He has three children, Morgan, Brooks, and Kassidy, and is married to the former Mary Karen Henderson.
During the commencement, Speaker Stumbo will receive an honorary Doctor of Public Service. William P. Malone, a longtime University of Pikeville trustee and founding partner of the Louisville CPA firm Deming, Malone, Livesay & Ostroff, will be presented with an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree for his significant commitment to education and to public service.
The community is cordially invited to the nursing pinning and commissioning ceremonies and the University of Pikeville commencements. For more information, please contact the Office of Public Affairs at (606) 218-5270 or visit upike.edu.
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| Rand Paul, M.D. |
Gregory D. Stumbo |
William P. Malone |