FORMER USM HEAD DELIVERS GRADUATION SPEECH

Commencement speaker Aubrey Lucas knew Southeast Missouri State University's graduating students didn't want to listen to a long speech at the Show Me Center Saturday.

"A commencement speaker is sort of like a corpse at an Irish wake," quipped Lucas, the former president of the University of Southern Mississippi. "You have to have one, but you sure hope he doesn't say anything."

True to his word, Lucas kept his speech short.

Lucas said commencement is a "joyful time" for graduating students who are happy about their achievements. Parents, he said, are "happy and relieved to see this expensive process come to an end."

Degrees were conferred on 491 graduates during the 2 p.m. commencement ceremony. About 4,000 people attended the graduation ceremony for the 446 undergraduates and 45 graduate students.

Leading the class of undergraduates were four students with perfect 4.0 grade point averages. They included Stephanie Slaten of Cape Girardeau and Amy Laut of Fredericktown. The four are among 111 students who have graduated from Southeast with a perfect grade point average in the school's 126-year history.

Lucas urged the graduates to be committed to themselves, others and good causes.

He advised them to be committed to their intellectual, spiritual and physical well being.

"You must ensure that learning continues for the remainder of your life," he said.

He recommended they support organizations that are dedicated to the betterment of mankind. He said universities are among such organizations.

The commencement address was Lucas' second speech at Southeast in two days. He spoke Friday at the investiture of Dr. Ken Dobbins as the school's 17th president.

At Saturday's ceremony, there was a moment of silence to remember student Amy Elizabeth Harris of Poplar Bluff, who died in a traffic accident.

The 23-year-old student was an honor student in the College of Education. She was in her final eight weeks of student teaching when she died.

Dobbins told the crowd that her degree will be awarded posthumously to her husband, Chuck Harris, and her parents in a private ceremony later this month.

The president also singled out graduating student Marcio Vieira of Brazil, who graduated with a computer science degree.

He has worked in the university's Center for Scholarship in Teaching and Learning as an instructional Web manager since 1996.

"I am told that Marcio goes out of his way to provide help and that without his help there is probably not a course Web page on this campus that would operate properly," said Dobbins.

Vieira's father died earlier in the year, but Vieira wasn't able to go home to attend the funeral.

Friends and colleagues paid for a plane ticket so Vieira's mother could make the trip to Cape Girardeau to attend the commencement ceremony.

But it took more than a plane ticket. U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson intervened with the State Department to secure a visa so Vieira's mother could make the trip.

Even that wasn't easy. She had to make a 500-mile trip from her home to Sao Paulo for a personal interview to get the visa.

"Then she began her 14-hour journey, which entailed several connections and braving the Atlanta airport," Dobbins said. "She would likely get the prize, if there were one, for traveling the furthest for commencement, or perhaps for surmounting the most obstacles to get here."

During commencement, Dr. Dennis Holt, interim provost, presented this year's PRIDE Award to Dr. Frederick L. Yeo, assistant professor of middle and secondary education.

The award annually goes to a faculty member who has demonstrated excellence as a teacher and in scholarship and service.