Gordon in the News: last updated 04/02/2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 31, 2008
MEDIA CONTACT: Cyndi McMahon
Office of College Communications
978.867.4236
WENHAM, MA-The 116th Commencement ceremony at Gordon College will take place on Saturday, May 17, 2008 with special guest speaker Dr. Rick Warren, the highly acclaimed author of the best seller, A Purpose Driven Life. This year, an estimated 325 students will receive bachelor's degrees in the liberal arts and sciences and approximately 40 will receive master's degrees in education and music education from Gordon.
Warren is one of the most powerful interpreters of the gospel in our world today. He is passionate about attacking what he calls the five "Global Goliaths"--spiritual emptiness, egocentric leadership, extreme poverty, pandemic disease, and illiteracy/poor education. As a global strategist, Warren advises leaders in the public, private, and faith sectors on leadership development, poverty, health, education, and faith in culture. He has been invited to speak at the United Nations, the World Economic Forum in Davos, the African Union, the Council on Foreign Relations, Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, TIME's Global Health Summit, and numerous congresses around the world. TIME magazine named him one of "15 World Leaders Who Mattered Most in 2004" and in 2005 one of the "100 Most Influential People in the World." Also, in 2005 U.S. News & World Report named him one of " America's 25 Best Leaders."
Warren founded Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California in 1980. Today, he leads an evangelical congregation averaging 22,000 weekly attendees, with a 120-acre campus and more than 300 community ministries. His book The Purpose Driven Life (2002) has sold over 25 million copies and is the best-selling hardback book in American history, according to Publisher's Weekly. Warren is a graduate of California Baptist College and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and holds a Doctor of Ministry degree from Fuller Theological Seminary.
Commencement will begin at 10 a.m. and the ceremony is scheduled take place outside on the campus quadrangular. (*In the case of inclement weather, the ceremony will take place inside the Bennett Athletic Center and will only be open to ticketed individuals.) Information about this year's ceremony is available on the Commencement pages of the Gordon web site.
WHO/WHAT: The 116th Commencement Ceremony at Gordon College featuring Rick Warren, author of The Purpose Driven Life
WHEN: Saturday, May 17. 2008 at 10 a.m
WHERE: Gordon College, 255 Grapevine Rd, Campus Quadrangle*
Other highlights of the 116th Commencement weekend will include an independent ceremony for graduate students at 3 p.m. on May 17, in the Phillips Music Center, and a Baccalaureate service on the evening of Friday, May 16. Baccalaureate is a ticketed-only nondenominational Christian service and will feature a special address by Dr. Roberto Miranda, senior pastor of Congregación León de Judá in Roxbury.
For information about Rick Warren's upcoming appearance at Gordon College, contact Cyndi McMahon at [email protected].
Gordon College is a Christian college of the liberal arts and sciences on Boston's North Shore. The college offers majors in 36 fields and has graduate programs in education and music education. Leading the way in Christian college merit, Gordon is nationally ranked for its excellence in academics and its role in character building. These achievements recognize Gordon as one of the nation's top Christian colleges.
