Lindenwood Baccalaureate and Commencement Speakers (1892 - )
1892
Baccalaureate Speaker – Dr. Robert Irwin, President of Lindenwood University, “Books and Their Uses.”
1893
Baccalaureate Speaker – Dr. Robert Irwin, President of Lindenwood University, “ I Have Finished My
Course.”
1984
Commencement Speaker – Reverend S.J. Niccolls, D.D., L.L.D., President of the Board
1895
Commencement Speaker – Reverend S.J. Niccolls, D.D., L.L.D., President of the Board
1896
Baccalaureate Speaker – Reverend George E. Martin, D.D., St. Louis
Commencement Speaker – Reverend S.J. Niccolls, D.D., President of the Board
1906
Baccalaureate Speaker – George Frederic Ayres
1912
Commencement Speaker – President Frederic Ayres
1913
Commencement Speaker – the Honorable Alexander G. Cochran
1915
Baccalaureate Speaker – Reverend Warner H. DuBose, Pastor of First Presbyterian Church of
Farmington, Missouri
Commencement Speaker – Dr. Harry C. Rogers, Linwood Presbyterian Church, Kansas City, Missouri
1916
Baccalaureate Speaker – Dr. W.R. King, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, St. Louis, Missouri
Commencement Speaker – Reverend W.F. Irwin, D.D., Pastor of the Fourth Avenue Presbyterian Church,
Louisville, Ky.
1917
Commencement Speaker –Reverend Horace F. Holton, D.D., “The Spirit of ’17.”
1918
Baccalaureate Speaker – Reverend W.C. Bitting, D.D., St. Louis, Missouri
1919
Baccalaureate Speaker – Dr. Donald C. McLeod, “The Obligation of Talent.”
Commencement Speaker – Reverend G.A. Hulbert, D.D., pastor of the Kingshighway Presbyterian Church
of St. Louis
1920
Baccalaureate Speaker – Reverend John W. MacIvor, D.D., President of the Board of directors of
Lindenwood College
Commencement Speaker – Dr. Harry C. Rogers, “The Glory of the Christian Ideal of Life.”
1921
Commencement Speaker – Reverend W. M. Carter, D.D., Brooklyn, New York.
1922
Commencement Speaker – Harry M. Gage, M.A., L.L.D., President of Coe College, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
1923
Baccalaureate Speaker – Reverend Ivan Lee Holt, D.D., St. John’s Methodist Episcopal Church, St. Louis,
Missouri, “The Higher Gates.”
Commencement Speaker – Dr. R.L. Williamson, Tyler Place Presbyterian Church, St. Louis
1924
Baccalaureate Speaker – Dr. William Crowe, pastor of the Westminster Presbyterian Church, St. Louis
Commencement Speaker – Reverend Harry C. Rogers, pastor of the Linwood Boulevard Presbyterian
Church of Kansas City, “Life’s Greatest Experience.”
1925
Baccalaureate Speaker – Reverend Russell Henry Stafford, D.D., Pilgrim Congregational Church, St. Louis,
Missouri, “The School of the Master.”
Commencement Speaker – the Honorable Sam A. Baker, Governor of Missouri
1926
Baccalaureate Speaker – Bishop Edwin Holt Hughes, D.D., LL.D., S.T.D., of Chicago, Illinois
Commencement Speaker – Dr. Stratton Duluth Brooks, Columbia, Missouri, President of the University
of Missouri
1927
Baccalaureate Speaker – Reverend Jay T. Stocking, D.D., Pilgrim Congregational Church, St. Louis,
Missouri
Commencement Speaker – President H.M. Crooks, Alma College, Alma, Michigan
1929
Baccalaureate Speaker – Reverend William Lampe, D.D., West Presbyterian Church, St. Louis, Missouri
Commencement Speaker – Reverend John W. MacIvor, D.D., Second Presbyterian Church, St. Louis,
Missouri
1930
Baccalaureate Speaker – Rev. Arnold H. Lowe, D.D., “A Religious Diagnosis.”
Commencement Speaker – Reverend Harry C. Rogers, D.D., Linwood Presbyterian Church, Kansas City,
“The New Pioneers.”
1933
Baccalaureate Speaker – Reverend D.M. Skilling, D.D., Webster Groves
Commencement Speaker – Reverend Arnold H. Lowe, D.D., Kingshighway Presbyterian Church, St. Louis
1935
Commencement Speaker – Dr. A.H.R. Fairchild, University of Missouri
1936
Baccalaureate Speaker – Right Reverend William Scarlett, Bishop of Missouri, Protestant Episcopal
Church, St. Louis
Commencement Speaker – Reverend John W. MacIvor, D.D., Second Presbyterian Church, St. Louis
1937
Baccalaureate Speaker – Dr. David M. Skilling, President of The Presbyterian Theological Seminary,
Chicago
Commencement Speaker – Reverend Arnold H. Lowe, D.D., Kingshighway Presbyterian Church, St. Louis
1939
Baccalaureate Speaker – The Right Reverend Bishop Edwin Holt Hughes, D.D., Methodist Episcopal
Church, Washington, D.C.
Commencement Speaker – Reverend John W. MacIvor, D.D., Second Presbyterian Church, St. Louis
1940
Baccalaureate Speaker – Dr. Henry C. Rogers, Pastor of Linwood Presbyterian Church of Kansas City,
Missouri, “Where the East Meets the West.”
Commencement Speaker – Dr. Rollo Brown, “A League of Age and Youth.”
1941
Baccalaureate Speaker – Dr. Robert R. Little, Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Commencement Speaker – Reverend John W. MacIvor, D. D., President of the Board of Directors
1942
Baccalaureate Speaker – Dr. Emory W. Luccock, Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, Evanston,
Illinois, “But Now.”
Commencement Speaker – Honorable T. V. Smith, former Congressman at Large, Illinois. Doctor of
Philosophy, University of Chicago. “Discipline For Democracy.”
1943
Baccalaureate Speaker – Dr. George Arthur Frantz, Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, Indianapolis,
Indiana, “Blessed Advice.”
Commencement Speaker – Miss Alice Lloyd, Dean of Women, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor,
Michigan, “In the Time of your Life.”
1944
Baccalaureate Speaker – Dr. J. Harry Cotton, President, McCormick Theological Seminary, Chicago,
Illinois, and the Presbyterian College of Christian Education, Chicago, Illinois
Commencement Speaker – Dr. Guy E. Snavely, Executive Director, Association of American Colleges,
New York, N.Y., “Chance Favors the Prepared Mind.”
1945
Baccalaureate Speaker –Dr Alvin E. Magary, Pastor, Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church, Brooklyn,
New York
Commencement Speaker – Dr. Virgil M. Hancher, President, The State University of Iowa, Iowa City,
Iowa
1946
Baccalaureate Speaker – Dr. Charles F. Wishart, President Emeritus, The College of Wooster, Wooster,
Ohio, “Shadows and Reality.”
Commencement Speaker – Dr. James W. Clarke, Pastor, Second Presbyterian Church, St. Louis, Missouri,
“The Great Adventure.”
1947
Baccalaureate Speaker – Richard Paul Graebel, D.D., The First Presbyterian Church, Springfield, Illinois,
“The Mystery and Knowledge of Life.”
Commencement Speaker – Dr. Franc L. McCluer, President-elect, Lindenwood College, “Shallow Thinking
a Threat to Democracy.”
1948
Baccalaureate Speaker – Edmund F. Miller, D.D., The First Presbyterian Church, Tulsa, Oklahoma, “A
Balanced Life.”
Commencement Speaker – Honorable Walter H. Judd, U.S. Congressman from Minnesota, “Which
Direction Toward Peace.”
1949
Baccalaureate Speaker – Reverend Raymond I Lindquist, D.D., The First Presbyterian Church of Orange,
Orange, New Jersey, “The Educated Person in the World Today.”
Commencement Speaker – Robert H. Kazmayer, “Citizenship in a Democracy Today.”
1950
Baccalaureate Speaker – Reverend Paul Calvin Payne, D.D., “The Individual in a World of Mass
Pressures.”
Commencement Speaker – The Honorable Florence Ellinwood Allen, Judge of the U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals, “The Bridge to the Future.”
1951
Baccalaureate Speaker – The Reverend Raymond I Lindquist, D.D., Pastor of the First Church of Orange,
Orange, New Jersey, “The Mirror of Life.”
Commencement Speaker – Elsie Strange L’Esperance, M.D. “The Future of Women in a Changing
World.”
1952
Baccalaureate Speaker – The Reverend Clem E. Bininger, D.D., Pastor of Second Presbyterian Church,
Kansas City, Missouri, “The Secret of Happy Living.”
Commencement Speaker – Dorothy Fosdick, Ph.D., “On Being Up To Date.”
1953
Baccalaureate Speaker – The Reverend Ganse Little, D.D., Pastor of Pasadena Presbyterian Church,
Pasadena, California, President of the Board of Christian Education of the Presbyterian Church, U.S.A.,
“The Church Vocation.”
Commencement Speaker – Norman Cousins, Litt. D., Editor of the Saturday Review, “What Can One Man
Do?”
1955
Baccalaureate Speaker – The Reverend George Mauze, D.D., Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, San
Antonio, Texas, “Finding God.”
Commencement Speaker – Huston Smith, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Philosophy, Washington
University, St. Louis, Missouri, “Creation Continues.”
1956
Baccalaureate Speaker – The Reverend Theodore A. Gill, D. Theol., Managing Editor of Christian Century,
“And Now?”
Commencement Speaker – The Honorable H. Roe Bartle, LL.B., LL.D., L.H.D., Mayor of Kansas City,
Missouri, “I Believe.”
1957
Baccalaureate Speaker – The Reverend Harry T. Scherer, A.B. D.D., S.T.D., President of Board of
Directors, Lindenwood College, “Remolded Minds.”
Commencement Speaker – Emily Taft Douglas, “What’s Past Is Prologue.”
1958
Baccalaureate Speaker – The Reverend H. Louis Patrick, D.D., Pastor, Second Presbyterian Church,
Kansas City, Missouri, “The Venture with a Future.”
Commencement Speaker – The Reverend W. Sherman Skinner, D.D., Pastor, Second Presbyterian
Church, St. Louis, Mo., Member, Board of Directors, Lindenwood College, “Unchosen Destiny.”
1959
Baccalaureate Speaker – The Reverend Albert J. Kissling, Th. M., D.D., Pastor, Riverside Presbyterian
Church, Jacksonville, Florida, “Choose Life.”
Commencement Speaker – Betty Roadman, “What’s Right With America.”
1960
Baccalaureate Speaker – The Reverend Theodore A. Gill, Th.D., D.D., President, San Francisco
Theological Seminary, “And Come Alive.”
Commencement Speaker – Pauline Frederick, M.A., L.H.D., LL.D., Radio and TV News Commentator,
“Unfinished Business.”
1961
Baccalaureate Speaker – The Reverend Theodore A. Gill, Th.D., D.D., President, San Francisco
Theological Seminary, “Judge Not.”
Commencement Speaker – The Honorable Margaret Chase Smith, United States Senator from the State
of Maine
1962
Baccalaureate Speaker – The Reverend William A. Morrison, D.D., General Secretary, Board of Christian
Education, The United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., “With All Your Mind.”
Commencement Speaker – Pauline Frederick, News Correspondent, National Broadcasting Company
1963
Baccalaureate Speaker – Theodore A. Gill, D.D., minister of West End Presbyterian Church, “The Piety of
the Whole Person.”
Commencement Speaker – Harold Taylor, Ph. D., former president of Sarah Lawrence College, “The
Crisis in Education.”
1964
Baccalaureate Speaker - The Right Reverend George L. Cadigan, D.D., Bishop of the Diocese of Missouri,
The Episcopal Church, Member of the Board of Directors, Lindenwood College, “Some Reflections on
Marriage.”
Commencement Speaker – Eric Frederick Goldman, Ph. D., Special Consultant to the President of the
United States, Rollins Professor of History, Princeton University, “The Thrust of the 1960’s.”
1965
Baccalaureate Speaker – Reverend George Mauze, D.D., Pastor, First Presbyterian Church, San Antonio,
Texas, “Light in the Dark.”
Commencement Speaker – The Honorable Patsy T. Mink, A.B., LL.D., Representative to the United States
Congress from Hawaii, “Time and Tempest.”
1966
Baccalaureate Speaker – Reverend W. Sherman Skinner, D.D., “Open Minded Faith.”
Commencement Speaker – Franc L. McCluer, Ph. D., President of Lindenwood University, “Conspiracy.”
1967
Baccalaureate Speaker – Reverend B. Davie Napier, Ph.D., D.D., LL.D., Dean of Chapel, Stanford
University, “The Impossible Dream.”
Commencement Speaker – The Honorable Patricia Roberts Harris, J.D., United States Ambassador to
Luxembourg, “The Duty of Dissent.”
1968
Baccalaureate Speaker – William J. Wiseman, D.D., Minister of the First Church of Tulsa, Oklahoma, “On
Reaching for the Best.”
Commencement Speaker – Anne Firor Scott, Ph.D., Professor of History, Duke University, “American
Women – The Unfinished Revolution.”
1969
Baccalaureate Speaker – Franc L. McCluer, former President of Lindenwood University, “Looking Back to
Tomorrow.”
Commencement Speaker – The Honorable Paul Findley, senator from Illinois for the Congress of the
United States, “The Quest for Personality.”
1970
Baccalaureate Speaker – Reverend George J. Warheit, Ph.D., “The Fingers of God.”
Commencement Speaker – The Honorable John C. Danforth, Attorney General, State of Missouri
1971
Baccalaureate Speaker – Reverend Theodore A. Gill, “Ivory, Apes, and Peacocks.”
Commencement Speaker – Robert Hyland, B.A., LL.D., Vice President, CBS, General Manager, KMOX
Radio, “Freedom of Communications: The First Priority.”
1972
Baccalaureate Speaker – Stanley P. Caine, Ph. D., Assistant Professor, Department of History, DePauw
University, “The Gift of Faith.”
Commencement Speaker – the Honorable Barbara M. Watson, LL.B., Administrator, Bureau of Security
and Consular Affairs, Department of State, “The Challenge of Integrity.”
1973
Baccalaureate Speaker – Reverend W. Kent Clise, M.Div., Associate Pastor, First Presbyterian Church,
Kirkwood, Missouri, “Void if Detached.”
Commencement Speaker – the Honorable Leonar K. Sullivan, Member of Congress, Third District,
Missouri
1974
Baccalaureate Speaker – Reverend Theodore A. Gill, “A Theme on Variations.”
Commencement Speaker – the Honorable Dan Rather, A.B. CBS News White House Correspondent
1975
Baccalaureate Speaker - ???
Commencement Speaker – Armand C. Stalnaker, Member of the Board of Directors, Lindenwood College
for Women
1976
Baccalaureate Speaker –Reverend Robert R. McGruther, Pastor, St. Charles Presbyterian Church, “The
Creative Tension of Life in Between.”
Commencement Speaker – Gene I. Maeroff, National Education Correspondent, New York Times, “Back
to Whose Basics?”
1977
Baccalaureate Speaker – Walter A. Oelklaus, High Priest, Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter
Day Saints, St. Charles, Missouri, “Getting It All Together.”
Commencement Speaker – Lesley R. Stahl, CBS News Correspondent
1978
Baccalaureate Speaker – Reverend Mr. Nourse, “The Truth Sets Us Free.”
Commencement Speaker – John D. Vavra, M.D. Director, Unit I Medicine, St. Louis City Hospital,
Professor of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine
1979
Baccalaureate Speaker – Reverend Kay V. Mills, Pastor, Argo Presbyterian Church, Sullivan, Missouri,
“Living in Awareness.”
Commencement Speaker – David E. Babcock, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, The
May Department Stores Company and Member of the Board of Directors, The Lindenwood Colleges
1980
Baccalaureate Speaker – Reverend Mr. Gill, “Astonish Me!”
Commencement Speaker – Patsy Price Bailey, Commissioner, Federal Trade Commission, Washington,
D.C.
1981
Baccalaureate Speaker – no service this year
Commencement Speaker – President of Lindenwood Colleges Robert Johns and Senior Class President
Kirk Joslin (Charge to the Seniors and Seniors Response)
1982
Baccalaureate Speaker – Esther L. Johnson, Professor of Religion, “The Wings of An Eagle.”
Commencement Speaker – Robert W. King, Associate Professor of Business Administration, Alan Shiller,
Assistant Professor of Speech, Carla Stuhler, President of the Senior Class
1983
Baccalaureate Speaker – Reverend Evlyn Wehling Fulton, Executive Presbyter, The Presbytery of Elijah
Parish Lovejoy, “Megatrends and Butterflies.”
Commencement Speaker – Mr. John Ashcroft, Attorney General to Missouri
1984
Baccalaureate Speaker – Reverend Robert McGruther, pastor of the St. Charles Presbyterian Church,
“Bringing Life to a Beginning.”
Commencement Speaker – Gary Cowger, Plant Manager, General Motors, Wentzville Division
1985
Baccalaureate Speaker – Reverend William G. Shoop, D.D., Webster Groves Christian Church, “Food for
the Fed-Up.”
Commencement Speaker – The Honorable Richard A. Gephardt, U.S. Congressman for Third District
Missouri
1986
Baccalaureate Speaker – The Reverend Edward L. Salmon, Jr., The Church of St. Michael & St. George,
“The Value of the Spiritual Dimension.”
Commencement Speaker – The Honorable William L. Hungate, Judge, United States District Court,
“Despise Not Thy Youth.”
1987
Baccalaureate Speaker – The Reverend Rudolph Beard, “On Your Way.”
Commencement Speaker – Dr. Kenneth Thompson, Director, White Burkett Miller Center of Public
Affairs, The University of Virginia, “Life as Renaissance.”
1988
Baccalaureate Speaker – Dr. Collins, “Enduring Values.”
Commencement Speaker – Senator Thomas F. Eagleton, “Change: The Agony and The Ecstasy.”
1989
Baccalaureate Speaker – Dr. McGruther, “Climb Every Mountain (or at least one).”
Commencement Speaker - ???
1990
Baccalaureate Speaker – Dr. Williams, “Where Are You Going?”
Commencement Speaker – Jack Buck
1991
Baccalaureate Speaker – Dr. Edith Irby Jones, Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine, Baylor College of
Medicine and the University of Texas School of Medicine, Houston, Chairman of the Board, Knoxville
College, “Excellence and Achievement.”
Commencement Speaker – Ted C. Wetterau
1992
Baccalaureate Speaker – The Reverend Dr. Robert C. Reynolds, Executive Presbyter, Presbytery of
Giddings-Lovejoy, Presbyterian Church U.S.A., St. Louis, Missouri
Commencement Speaker – Sanford N. McDonnell
1993
Baccalaureate Speaker – The Reverend Dr. Garner Scott Odell, Minister, Family Therapist, Lecturer,
Writer, Parish Associate, Carmel Presbyterian Church, Carmel, California
Commencement Speaker – Richard A. Lumpkin
1994
Baccalaureate Speaker – Reverend George M. Conn, Jr., Associate Director, Higher Education,
Presbyterian Church, U.S.A., Louisville, Kentucky
Commencement Speaker – Horace Wilkins, Jr.
1995
Baccalaureate Speaker – Mr. Harlan Pals, Lutheran Brotherhood, President, Pals Financial Group, “Get A
Life”
Commencement Speaker – The Honorable James M. Talent, U.S. Congress (2nd District, MO)
1996
Baccalaureate Speaker – Ben F. Blanton, Lindenwood College Board of Directors, President, Ben. F.
Blanton Construction
Commencement Speaker – David W. Kemper, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer,
Commerce Bancshares, Inc., “Now That the Tassel is Moved”
1997
Baccalaureate Speaker – Lic. Dora Boyd de Perez Balladeres, First Lady, Republic of Panama, Attorney
Commencement Speaker – Mr. Osborne Earl “Ozzie” Smith, Longtime Cardinal Shortstop, Gold Glove
Winner, Entrepreneur
1998
Baccalaureate Speaker – Dr. Margaret Yang Mar, Professor of English Research, National Normal
University of Taiwan, Taipei
Commencement Speaker – Mr. David R. Mercer, National Executive Officer, YMCA of the USA
1999
Baccalaureate Speaker – The Honorable Lucy D. Rauch, Circuit Court Judge, Saint Charles, Missouri
Commencement Speaker – Mr. Thomas S. Haggai, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, IGA, Inc.
2000
Baccalaureate Speaker – Mr. Raymond W. Harmon, Chairman, Lindenwood University Board of Directors
Commencement Speaker – Mr. Gene S. Kahn, President and Chief Executive Officer, May Department
Stores Company
2001
Baccalaureate Speaker – ???
Commencement Speaker – Mr. Jerry McElhatton, President of Global Technology and Operations,
Mastercard International
2002
Baccalaureate Speaker - ???
Commencement Speaker – Mr. Gary L. Cowger, President, General Motors America, “Check Your Oil”
2003
Baccalaureate Speaker – Sr. Mary Jean Ryan, FSm, President/CEO, SSM Health Care
Commencement Speaker – Mr. August A. Busch III, Chairman of the Board, Anheuser-Busch Companies,
Inc.,
2004
Baccalaureate Speaker – Dr. J. Michael Conoyer, President, Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Ltd.
Commencement Speaker – Mr. R. Crosby Kemper III, Chairman of the Board, UMB Financial Corp.
2005
Baccalaureate Speaker – Reverend Gary W. Myers, Senior Pastor, Dardenne Presbyterian Church,
Dardeene Prairie, MO
Commencement Speaker – Mark Andrew Kern, County Board Chairman, St. Clair County, Illinois
2006
Baccalaureate Speaker – Reverend David M. Blunt, Pastor, Church on the Rock, St. Peters, MO
Commencement Speaker –Robert N. Wildrick, President, Director, and CEO, Joseph A. Banks Clothiers,
Inc.
2007
Baccalaureate Speaker – John M. Primrose, Scout Executive and CEO, Boy Scouts of America, Greater St.
Louis Area Council, “Love, Giving, and Attitude”
Commencement Speaker – Rift Fournier, Peabody and Emmy-Award-winning writer, producer and
director, “Telling Warren Buffett Where to Get Off”
2008
Baccalaureate Speaker – Steve Ehlmann, County Executive, St. Charles County, Missouri, “Crosswords”
Commencement Speaker – Alan Dixon, Partner, Bryan Cave LLC, former U.S. Senator, The Road to
Success”
2009
Baccalaureate Speaker – Louis C. Brock, Retired, St. Louis Cardinals and 1985 Hall of Fame Inductee,
“Cross Pull of Life”
Commencement Speaker – Brenda D. Newberry, Board Chair, The Newberry Group, Inc., “Origins,
Landmarks, Landmines, and Destinations”
2010
Baccalaureate Speaker – David Stewart, Founder and Chairman of World Wide Technology, “Reaching
Forward”
Commencement Speaker – Francis Slay, Mayor, City of St. Louis, “On Not Playing It (That) Safe”
2011
Baccalaureate Speaker – Bob Ramsey, Talk Radio Sportscaster, “You Can’t Win the Pennant on the First
Day”
Commencement Speaker – Michael V. Roberts, Chairman and CEO of the Roberts Companies, “The
Power of Action”
2012
Baccalaureate Speaker – The Very Reverend N. DeLiza Spangler, Dean and Rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal
Cathedral, “The Gift of the Greater Web”
Commencement Speaker – Dan Korte, President of Rolls-Royce Defense, “Curiosity, Hard Work, and
Humility”
2013
Baccalaureate Speaker – Douglas Greenlaw, Chairman/CEO, Greenlaw-Marshall Communications, “The
New Leaders”
Commencement Speaker – General Crosbie E. Saint, US Army, Retired, Former Commander of the US
Army in Europe, “What is Important in the Future Choices I Will Make?”