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Moraine Valley Community College’s 40th annual commencement ceremony will honor summer 2008, fall 2008, and spring 2009 graduates on Friday, May 15, at 7 p.m. in the college’s Cyclone Center (Building G), 9000 W. College Pkwy., Palos Hills. Approximately 400 of the college’s 1,808 eligible graduates are expected to participate in the ceremony.
Illinois State Senator Ed Maloney (D-Chicago) will give the commencement address. Senator Maloney has dedicated his career to education. He earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Lewis University and a master’s degree in education from Chicago State University. He was an assistant principal and dean of faculty at Brother Rice High School in Chicago, and a teacher, counselor, and school administrator at Oak Lawn High School. As the current chairperson of the Higher Education committee in the Illinois State Senate, Senator Maloney is an advocate for community colleges. He has assisted Moraine Valley with being one of four community colleges in Illinois to participate in a $750,000 pilot program that helps high school students become academically prepared to succeed in college, and he sponsored the Threshold Bill, which increased the threshold that community colleges use in the competitive bidding process, ultimately giving local businesses a fairer shot at winning contracts.
Professor of the Year Michelle Zurawski, assistant professor of Biology and sustainability coordinator of Teaching and Learning, will preside over the ceremony as grand marshal. Zurawski, who earned a master of science in Ocean Science with a specialization in Marine Biology from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and a master’s of education in Curriculum Studies from DePaul University, has been teaching at Moraine Valley for six years. Zurawski is an innovative instructor, who uses new “clicker” technology, a song-of-the-day, and other creative techniques to teach biology to her students. She has collaborated with another community college to take her students on a field marine biology course in Belize in summer 2010. As the “green guru” on campus and chair of the college’s Green Team, Zurawski assists faculty at the college with inserting sustainability into their curriculum, co-wrote a grant to plant a rain garden in the college’s Nature Study Area, and always is teaching faculty, staff, and students about ways to be more environmentally friendly. She is the vice president of the Illinois Association of Community College Biologists.
Speaking on behalf of the graduating class will be Tiffany Robinson, of Alsip, recipient of the 2009 Moraine Valley Student Leadership Award and a magna cum laude graduate. Robinson represented her fellow students on campus this past year as the president of the Student Government Association. She plans to attend Trinity Christian College, where she will participate in the Adult Studies program to earn a degree in education.
Also addressing this year’s graduates will be Dr. Vernon O. Crawley, college president, and Joseph Murphy, chairman of the Board of Trustees.
For news media inquiries, call Jessica Crotty, College and Community Relations coordinator, at (708) 974-5281, or e-mail her at crotty@morainevalley.edu.
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