December 3, 2012 (Chattanooga) - Belhaven University’s Chattanooga Campus will honor its graduating students during a commencement ceremony on Thursday, December 13 at 6:30 p.m.

Students, many of them working adults, went through the adult studies programs at Belhaven University Chattanooga and will receive their diplomas in Downtown Chattanooga at Second Presbyterian Church.

Virginia M. Garrison, Director of Student Services, said, ““We are excited that our first group of MBA students are graduating and participating in the December commencement ceremony, along with a number of undergraduates. This is another milestone for Belhaven Chattanooga."

Graduating students will be notified when caps and gowns are available to pick up at the Chattanooga campus. Contact Student Services at 423-265-7784 for any questions or assistance.

The commencement speaker for Belhaven Chattanooga’s graduation ceremony will be Belhaven alum, Dr. Ronald W. McKinney (‘67). He is the pastor of Kinsey Drive Baptist Church and also works at Christian Heritage School as a teacher, coach and a member of the board of directors.

Dr. McKinney graduated from Belhaven University in Jackson, Mississippi with a Bachelor of Arts in Business and minor in Bible in 1967. He received a Masters of Divinity from Reformed Theological Seminary in Clinton, Miss. in 1974. He received his Doctor of Ministry from North American School of Theology in 1990.

After seminary, he was Executive Director for Multi-Communication Ministries, Inc., an international ministry that produced radio and television programs as well as publishing books and periodicals. He served as editor-in-chief of the Sword & Trowel, an international theological journal that had 28,000 subscribers in the US and 48 other countries. He has published more than 800 articles and essays. He is presently seen on the television program, “Majesty,” broadcast twice a week and on several cable systems in North Georgia, Tennessee and Alabama.

Dr. McKinney has pastored Kinsey Drive Baptist Church in Dalton, Georgia since 1990. Previously, he had pastored churches in Tennessee, Mississippi, Texas and Louisiana. For the past 22 years he has been involved with Christian Heritage School which was initially located at Kinsey Drive Baptist Church. He served on the board for 12 years and currently is on the Administrative Council.

Dr. McKinney resides in Dalton with his wife of 37 years, Bonnie, an English teacher at CHS. He has three married daughters, a son, and three grandchildren.

 

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Belhaven University stands among select Christian colleges and universities and has been repeatedly named one of “America’s 100 Best College Buys." The University offers 30 academic majors across a full spectrum of disciplines as well as a variety of graduate programs. In addition, Belhaven has achieved the distinction of being among only 30 universities nationally accredited in each of the major arts – music, theatre, visual art and dance. All programs are taught from a Christian worldview perspective and are guided by the mission to prepare students academically and spiritually to serve Christ Jesus in their careers, in human relationships, and in the world of ideas.

Belhaven University serves over 3,700 students offering undergraduate and graduate degrees on its residential campus, an online degree program, and graduate and adult degree programs in Jackson, Memphis, Orlando, Houston, Chattanooga, and Atlanta.