St. Ambrose University will host separate commencement ceremonies for graduate and undergraduate degree recipients at the TaxSlayer Center in Moline on Saturday, May 21.
The graduate hooding and commencement ceremony will begin at 9 a.m. and will honor 130 master’s recipients and 39 doctoral recipients.
The graduating class will hear from commencement speaker Beth Tinsman, founder and CEO of Twin State Technical Services in Davenport and an adjunct instructor in the SAU Computer Information Sciences Department.
Students earning undergraduate degrees will be honored starting at 1 p.m. Former University President Edward Rogalski will address the 401 members of the Undergraduate Class of 2022.
Both commencement ceremonies will be viewable via live-streamed video at www.sau.edu.
The late Patricia VanBruwaene ’74, ’84 MBA will be awarded a posthumous honorary Doctor of Business Administration degree at the afternoon ceremony.
On April 7, SAU president Amy Novak announced the naming of the Patricia VanBruwaene College of Business, honoring the late alumna’s pioneering work as a female leader in the corporate business world.
VanBruwaene died in November 2021 at the age of 71. Her estate included a multi-million dollar gift to St. Ambrose that was the largest single donation in university history. St. Ambrose is not identifying the size of the gift at the family’s request.
VanBruwaene earned a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration degree in 1974, and an H.L. McLaughlin Master of Business Administration degree in 1984. She held numerous positions within the Human Resources Division of Deere & Company. She retired in 2001 as the Manager of Pensions and Benefits for the US and Canada.
Patricia was a leader in the community as well as in the workforce. In 1990, she became the first female president of the Illinois Quad City Chamber of Commerce.
“Patricia’s appreciation for her St. Ambrose degrees was something she expressed often during her ongoing engagement with the University,” Dr. Novak said in a Monday release. “Her generous gift and the example within her life’s work will serve future St. Ambrose business students in significant ways. She is most deserving of this posthumous honor.”
Beth Tinsman has been an instructor in the SAU Computer Information Sciences Department since earning her Master of Science degree in Information Technology Management in 2012. She founded Twin State Technical Services in 1992. Currently, a quarter of her workforce consists of St. Ambrose graduates.
President Emeritus Edward Rogalski retired in 2007 following a 39-year career at St. Ambrose, the final 20 as the 12th president in university history.
During his 20-year tenure as president, enrollment increased by 70 percent, nearly 40 new academic programs were added, and more than a dozen new buildings transformed the campus footprint. The work included five state-of-the-art residence halls, a renovated Christ the King Chapel, and a modern campus center appropriately named the Rogalski Center in tribute to Rogalski and his beloved wife, Bobbi, who died in 2021.
“The quality of the institution has continued to grow,” Dr. Rogalski said in the release. “In reputation, locally and regionally, Ambrose is a much more formidable organization today. I am grateful for Dr. Novak’s innovative leadership at this pivotal time in university history. I remain confident that St. Ambrose will continue to be a vital partner for the Quad Cities and beyond.”
For additional information, visit sau.edu/commencement.