Largest commencement ceremony in Bellarmine's history, with 607 degrees to be awarded
农夫导航鈥檚 on May 14 in Owsley B. Frazier Stadium will include a commencement speech by . The university plans to award 607 undergraduate and graduate degrees, making this
the largest commencement ceremony in Bellarmine's history.
Bellarmine will award Kurtz an honorary doctoral degree. Trustee Joseph P. Clayton,
a Bellarmine alumnus who retired as Dish Network鈥檚 CEO last year, will also receive
an honorary degree.
Kurtz, who is also president of the , has led the Archdiocese of Louisville since Pope Benedict XVI appointed him to the
position in 2007. Before coming to Louisville, Kurtz was Knoxville鈥檚 bishop for eight
years. Prior to that, he served for 27 years in various roles with the Diocese of
Allentown, Pa.
A native of Pennsylvania, Kurtz earned bachelor and master of divinity degrees from
St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, along with a master鈥檚 degree from the Marywood School
of Social Work. He was ordained as a priest in 1972.
Kurtz served on the board of Leadership Louisville from 2008 to 2014, and was vice
president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops from 2010 to 2013, when he was
elected president. In 2014, Pope Francis appointed Kurtz to the Holy See鈥檚 Congregation
for the Oriental Churches.
Clayton, a native of Bardstown, Ky., graduated from Bellarmine in 1971 with a degree
in business administration. A national leader in the fields of consumer electronics,
telecommunications and satellite communications, Clayton is a member of Bellarmine鈥檚
Gallery of Distinguished Graduates. Clayton鈥檚 name is evident across Bellarmine鈥檚
campus, including the School of Communication鈥檚 Joseph P. Clayton Hall and Frazier
Stadium鈥檚 Joseph P. and Janey A. Clayton Field, where candidates for degrees will
be seated during commencement.
The 63rd annual Spring Commencement begins at 9 a.m., with seating available on a
first-come, first-served basis. No tickets are required to attend commencement, although
if the ceremony is moved indoors to Knights Hall because of severe weather, tickets
issued to each graduate will be required for entry because of limited space.