December 10, 2016
East Texas Baptist University will hold Fall Commencement on Saturday, Dec. 10, 2016, at 10:00 a.m. in Baker Chapel of the Ornelas Spiritual Life Center on ETBU's campus. Presiding will be ETBU President Dr. J. Blair Blackburn with 79 students receiving undergraduate degrees and 20 students receiving master's degrees for a total of 99 new ETBU graduates.
Dr. Neville Callam, Baptist World Alliance's General Secretary, will give the charge to the graduates. He began his tenure as General Secretary of the Baptist World Alliance in 2007. He is the first person from the Global South to hold this office. Dr. Callam has served the Baptist World Alliance in several different capacities since 1985. A Jamaican, he is a graduate of the United Theological College of the West Indies, the University of the West Indies, and Harvard Divinity School.
Dr. Callam is also an author and/or editor of seven books, the most recent being Pursuing Unity and Defending Rights: The Baptist World Alliance at Work (2010). Dr. Callam is a recipient of many honors. He served as a Lay Magistrate in Jamaica from 1988-2006. In 1991, the Jamaica Council of Churches presented him with a Certificate of Recognition for Outstanding Work in the area of ecumenism. In 1992, on the occasion of its twenty-fifth anniversary, the United Theological College of the West Indies honored him with a Certificate of Recognition as an Outstanding Graduate of the institution. Dr. Callam was Special Honoree of the St. Ann Homecoming and Heritage Committee in 2009.
ETBU Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Thomas Sanders, assisted by academic deans, will present the graduating class.
East Texas Baptist University offers graduate programs in business, sports exercise leadership, kinesiology, college and university leadership, counseling, religion, and education, as well as 42 undergraduate degree programs to develop Christian servant leaders. For information, visit www.etbu.edu.