BAKER COLLEGE OF AUBURN HILLS SALUTES GRADUATES SATURDAY, JUNE 14

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – The 2014 commencement ceremonies for 680 Baker College of Auburn Hills graduates will be held Saturday, June 14, at the Apostolic Church, 3655 N. Squirrel Road, Auburn Hills. The first of two ceremonies begins at noon for graduates of the health sciences programs. A second ceremony for graduates of the business administration, education, human services and technical programs will be held at 4 p.m.

“We are looking forward to a congratulatory celebration that recognizes the accomplishments of our students,” said Jeff Love, Baker College of Auburn Hills president. “Our graduates should be commended for choosing to invest in themselves to gain the skills and training necessary for workplace success.”

This is the last graduating class to be congratulated by Love as president. He is retiring on Aug. 31 after leading the Auburn Hills campus for 19 years. Love has been affiliated with Baker College since 1968. He started at the Flint campus, where he was a business and economics instructor, department chair, dean of business administration and vice president for academics.

At the noon commencement ceremony, speakers are Clarence Sevillian, president and CEO of McLaren Oakland, and Debra Bell, a Baker College student graduating with a health navigator associate degree.

Sevillian began his career with McLaren in 1998 as a staff physical therapist at the Pontiac medical center. He accepted roles with increasing responsibility at McLaren’s Flint and Lapeer campuses before returning to McLaren Oakland as president and CEO in 2011. He serves on several boards in Oakland County and throughout the state of Michigan and holds degrees from Vanderbilt University, University of Michigan-Flint and Lawrence Technical University.

Bell, of Clarkson, has maintained a 4.0 GPA at Baker and completed her clinical experience requirement at McLaren Flint.

At the 4 p.m. commencement ceremony, speakers are Kathleen Schwartz, an active community volunteer, and Martha Ortiz, a Baker student who will receive a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice.

Schwartz is involved on several boards of directors and committees statewide, routinely holding executive board positions. She has worked in several positions for St. Joseph Mercy Oakland, including head of nursing and vice president for community services. Schwartz earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing and an MBA at Michigan State University.

Ortiz, of Pontiac, is an intern at Crossroads for Youth, a not-for-profit organization that works with at-risk youth.

Both Sevillian and Schwartz are members of the Baker College of Auburn Hills Board of Regents.

The largest private college in Michigan, Baker College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and is a member of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. It is a nonprofit higher education institution, serving more than 35,000 students on 12 campuses and in three satellite locations. Baker grants certificates and associate, bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business, health sciences, education and human services, and various technical fields, as well as a doctorate of business administration. As a career college, the Baker College system is pleased to report that 97 percent of its available graduates are employed. For more information about Baker College, please check out our website at www.baker.edu.

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