Four-Hundred-Fifty-Six Set to Graduate from Taylor University

Four-hundred-fifty-six students are expected to graduate from Taylor University during Commencement exercises in the Kesler Student Activities Center Fieldhouse on Saturday, May 21, at 10 a.m.

The day’s featured speaker is former Taylor Interim President Dr. Paige Comstock Cunningham.

Cunningham, who served as Taylor’s Interim President from 2019-2021, is a 1977 alumna of Taylor University, graduating summa cum laude. She also holds PhD and Master’s degrees from Trinity International University, as well as a JD from Northwestern University Law School.

Prior to her term as Taylor’s Interim President, Cunningham served as a member of Taylor’s Board of Trustees, capping her tenure as the Chair. Additionally, she was the Executive Director of The Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity and an affiliate professor at Trinity Law School and Trinity Graduate School. Prior to that, Cunningham was an adjunct instructor at Wheaton College. She continues to serve on the Advisory Board of the Wheaton College Center for Faith, Politics and Economics. Earlier in her career, Cunningham served roles as Executive Director, General Counsel, and President of Americans United for Life, a national pro-life advocacy organization located in Washington, D.C.

Cunningham and her husband Jay, also a 1977 Taylor graduate, are parents to three grown children, and grandparents to seven.

Taylor officials will also award honorary doctorates to:

• Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth – author, speaker, host of Revive Our Hearts
• Bishop Claude Alexander – author, speaker, pastor
• Helen Jane "Janie" (Smith '59) Kesler – former First Lady of Taylor University

Taylor’s graduating class consists of 245 women and 211 men. Of these graduates,

• 16 will receive Master of Arts degrees;
• 207 will receive Bachelor of Arts degrees;
• 230 will receive Bachelor of Science degrees;
• 37 Bachelor degree recipients are completing the requirements for at least two majors;
• Two will receive Bachelor of Music degrees;
• And one will receive a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.

Taylor’s Class of 2022 comes from 33 states and 15 foreign countries that include the Bahamas, Bolivia, Brazil, Cambodia, China, Ecuador, Egypt, Ethiopia, France, Honduras, Hong Kong, Ireland, Japan, South Korea, and Zambia.

Two-hundred-ninety-three of the Baccalaureate degree candidates have achieved academic honors:

• 76 cum laude,
• 121 magna cum laude,
• 96 summa cum laude,
• And 17 undergraduates who are on track to graduate with a perfect 4.0 grade point average.

In addition, 65 percent of the Class of 2022 participated in at least one study/service abroad trip.

The graduates of the Class of 2022 will join 25,937 previous graduates of Taylor University.