Commencement Weekend Schedule

Cottey College is preparing for Commencement and other related activities. As these important events draw closer, drivers on Austin are asked to take note of the increased pedestrian and visitor traffic and to drive safely. The public is invited to attend the following Commencement weekend events.

The weekend begins Friday, May 10, with the Merry Ann DeVaney Sauls Writing Awards Contest at 10 a.m. in the Missouri Recital Hall. Named after Mrs. Sauls, a 1959 graduate of Cottey College, the contest was developed to enhance the prestige of academic writing in the disciplines at Cottey. Awards are given in six areas of academic writing: composition, creative writing, everyday writing, professional writing, and writing in a foreign language. Category winners will read selections from their papers.

The activities continue that evening with Baccalaureate, a non-denominational service honoring graduates, at 7 p.m. in the Cottey College Chapel.

On Saturday, May 11, graduates and returning students will be honored for their academic achievements at the Honors and Awards Convocation, beginning at 10 a.m. in the Auditorium of the Haidee and Allen Wild Center for the Arts.

Capping, one of the longest running Cottey traditions, also takes place Saturday at 7 p.m. on the Main Hall steps. Seniors have their mortarboards pinned atop their heads by those who have significantly impacted their lives. In the event of inclement weather, the ceremony will be moved to the Auditorium in the Center for the Arts.

Commencement will be Sunday, May 12, at 10 a.m. in the Hinkhouse Gymnasium. This year’s College Marshal, leading the student procession, will be Professor Theresa Spencer, professor of music.

The Commencement speaker this year is Kim Krause Haddow, Cottey Class of 1975. Haddow is a respected women’s and men’s golf coach at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Arizona. Since joining Embry Riddle in 2001, Haddow’s women’s team has won every California Pacific Conference championship, and the team has recorded back-to-back top 10 finishes in the NAIA National Championships.

At the University of Florida, Haddow led her team to two NCAA Championship appearances and her University of Arizona teams were in the NCAA Championships seven times, finishing in second place in 1992. Haddow was the NCAA Coach of the Year that year.

In 2017, Haddow received the NAIA Coach of Character Award. This award is given annually to an NAIA head coach who embraces the five core values of the NAIA Champions of Character program, as demonstrated through sport and how a culture of community leadership through volunteering or service is instilled within the athletic program. Cottey became a member of the NAIA last spring.

Campus visitors may consult the online campus map for information on venues. Parking is available at the Center for the Arts on the corner of Austin and Tower Streets. Additional parking may be found in the lot south of Robertson Hall, accessible off of Tower Street.