West Virginia Wesleyan College will celebrate its 115th Commencement weekend on Friday, April 29 through Sunday, May 1. The Class of 2005, along with returning alumni and guests, will join in the celebration of events, dinners, and activities during the three-day period. The weekend finale will be the Commencement ceremony of approximately 318 students that make up the Class of 2005.

On Friday, the College will celebrate its successful conclusion of its Capital Campaign Enduring Values...Transforming Lives: The Heart of West Virginia Wesleyan College with a Campaign Celebration dinner.

There will be a full slate of activities on campus Saturday. Morning activities include an Open House at the Erickson Alumni Center located on 55 Meade Street from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and the Emeritus Club, those who graduated more than 50 years ago will register in the French A. See Dining Center at 10:30 a.m. with the luncheon/meeting beginning at 11:30 a.m. During the luncheon, members of the Class of 1955 will be inducted into the Club.

In the afternoon, there will be a picnic lunch for graduates and guests at the Campus Center Plaza from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Senior Nursing Convocation is slated in Wesley Chapel at 1 p.m. with the reception to follow in Kresge Hall at 2:30 p.m. There will also be a Senior Art Exhibit and reception in Sleeth Gallery in McCuskey Hall from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., which is open to the public. The senior artists are Nana-Appiah-Korang, Katie Boswell, Melissa Brown, Kelly Conrad, Dave Esaias, Devin Higgins, Jason Sly, and Megan Vassar.

At 1 p.m., the Education Department will host a reception in the Social Hall in Benedum Campus Community Center. The afternoon will conclude with the President’s Reception at the home of President William R. Haden from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Saturday evening will begin with a Catholic Mass by Fr. James McCafferty in the Meditation Chapel in Wesley Chapel at 4:30 p.m. The Commencement banquet for graduates and guests will be held in the French A. See Dining Center at 5:30 p.m., and the 50th Anniversary Dinner for the Class of 1955 will dine in Nellie Wilson Lounge at 5:30 p.m. The highlight of the evening will be the Baccalaureate service in the Chapel at 8 p.m. featuring guest speaker the Reverend Malcolm Larry Frazier. Rev. Frazier is the co-chair of the United Methodist National Campus Ministers Coordinating Committee.

The 115th Commencement ceremony will be held in the John D. Rockefeller IV Physical Education Building at 10 a.m. and will feature William O. Goodwin, Wesleyan Board of Trustee member and managing partner for the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company in Atlanta, GA. His commencement address is entitled “Your Verse....Your Choice.” A ticket is required to attend the Commencement ceremony. There will be a post-Commencement buffet in the French A. See Dining Hall at 12:30 p.m.