Over 2,000 Students Receive Diplomas as Xavier Community Celebrates Commencement
May 17, 2019
Xavier University’s 181st commencement ceremonies were held on Saturday, May 18, at the University’s Cintas Center. Xavier conferred 1,197 undergraduate degrees in the morning and 823 graduate degrees in the afternoon.
Search the hashtag #XUGrad on Twitter and Instagram to check out more Commencement photos, videos and messages.
COMMENCEMENT SPEECHES
Undergraduate Ceremony Speaker: James Martin, S.J., Editor, America Magazine
The Rev. James Martin, S.J., is a Jesuit priest, magazine editor, best-selling author and outspoken advocate for Catholic dialogue on multiple topics, including marginalized communities. He has commented on religion and spirituality in the national and international media, including in America, the national Catholic magazine, where he is editor-at-large. He is popular on social media and has more than half a million followers on Facebook. In 2017, he was appointed by Pope Francis as a consultor to the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication and was invited by the Vatican to speak at the World Meeting of Families in Dublin, Ireland, last year, on the topic of welcoming LGBT Catholics.
In his latest book, Building a Bridge, Martin urges the Church to reach out to members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities. He has also written for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, The Chicago Tribune, and The Huffington Post, and has appeared on all major national and international television and radio stations including NPR, Fox News and the BBC. In April, he appeared on the History Channel series “Jesus: His Life.” In 2013, he served as expert commentator for ABC News during the papal conclave, and in 2015 for ABC during Pope Francis’s Papal Visit to the United States.
Father Martin graduated from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business in 1982 with a bachelor’s degree in economics and went to work for General Electric in New York City. Disheartened by the corporate world, he entered the Society of Jesus in 1988. He was ordained a Catholic priest in June 1999 and pronounced his Final Vows as a “fully professed” Jesuit in 2009.
For his commitment to improving the human condition through his writings, his contributions to the Society of Jesus, and for exemplifying the values and mission of Xavier University, Xavier is proud to present the Doctor of Humanities, honoris causa, to Father James J. Martin, S.J.
Graduate Ceremony Speaker: Rose Ann Fleming, SND de N, Athlete Academic Adviser & Special Assistant to Xavier President Michael Graham, S.J.
For over 30 years, Sister Rose Ann Fleming has been the Athlete Academic Advisor at Xavier University. Her impact has been most evident with men’s basketball players. Since 1986, every senior men’s basketball player has graduated—109 straight and still counting. The University is consistently among the top 15 schools in the nation for the overall student-athlete graduation success rate.
Fleming is a Sister of Notre Dame de Namur. She came to Xavier in 1982. In 2011, she became a special assistant to President Graham. Part of her role is to ensure that future student-athletes at Xavier have ongoing access to academic support through the Sr. Rose Ann Fleming Endowment for Student Athlete Academic Success.
In 2000, Fleming was inducted into the Xavier University Athletic Hall of Fame. In 2014, the University retired her jersey, which now hangs in the Cintas Center next to Xavier greats including former NBA players Tyrone Hill, Brian Grant and David West. Also in 2014, Fleming released a book, written with former Cincinnati Enquirer columnist Laura Pulfer, titled Out of Habit: My Life as Xavier University’s Unlikely Point Guard. All of the proceeds from the book benefit her endowment. In 2019, she was recognized by the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber with its highest honor: Great Living Cincinnatian.
Xavier is proud to present the Doctor of Humanities, honoris causa, to Sr. Rose Ann Fleming for her commitment to others, her contributions to the Greater Cincinnati Community, and for exemplifying the values and mission of Xavier University.
PHOTO GALLERIES
SOCIAL MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS
#XUGrad Speech Recap: You're not God. This isn't Heaven. Don't be a jerk. Become the person you were meant to become.
— Xavier University (@XavierU) May 18, 2019
Thank you to @JamesMartinSJ for your words. 👏👏👏 pic.twitter.com/fG1LV4YOg0
Hats off to the Class of 2019! #XUGrad pic.twitter.com/ZR4UNcAznn
— Xavier University (@XavierU) May 18, 2019
All For One. One For All. #XUGrad pic.twitter.com/dfTwDyw2GF
— Xavier University (@XavierU) May 18, 2019
The view from the stage. 👀 #XUGrad
— Xavier University (@XavierU) May 18, 2019
📸: Fr. Michael Graham, S.J. pic.twitter.com/CDCO90bhQG
ABOUT XAVIER
Xavier University is a private university located in Cincinnati, Ohio, providing a liberal arts education in the Jesuit Catholic tradition. Founded in 1831, the University is the sixth-oldest Catholic university in the nation. It has been ranked among the top 10 master’s-level universities in the Midwest by U.S. News & World Report for the past 24 years. The Princeton Review names it one of the “Best 377 Colleges in America.”