UW-Fond du Lac Commencement ceremony set for May 21

Fond du Lac, Wis. –The University of Wisconsin-Fond du Lac will hold its annual spring Honors and Commencement ceremony at 7 p.m. on May 21 in the Prairie Theater, 400 University Dr, Fond du Lac.

This year’s Commencement speaker is Willard (Bill) Henken, Ph.D., UW-Fond du Lac’s founding campus dean.

Dean Henken greeted students as they arrived for the first day of classes at the campus in 1968. He served as campus dean from 1968 until his retirement in 1987.

“I made a point of being here (UW-Fond du Lac) to see the first students walk in,” said Henken. “Students breathe life into an institution; they are the lifeblood.”

He had just earned his Ph.D. in education administration and was a faculty member at the Wisconsin State University-Oshkosh when he was named UW-Fond du Lac’s first campus dean. Those fresh credentials were backed by years of applicable experience: building a private K-12 campus as superintendent in New Delhi, India; recruiting teachers and working on-site for a northern Nigeria teacher project as a graduate student; and serving seven years as Cedarburg High School’s principal.

Henken and his wife, Dolores, have remained committed to supporting the UW-Fond du Lac campus in many ways, including sponsoring an annual scholarship awarded each year through the UW-Fond du Lac Foundation.

Travis Krueger, Lomira, has been selected as the student speaker.

Krueger is earning his associate degree this spring and will be transferring to Marquette University where he plans to major in social justice and welfare. He is a student ambassador and a member of the Student Government Association.

During his time at UW-Fond du Lac he participated in several service learning projects at the Woodlands Senior Park, headed up a mentoring program and coordinated an initiative for students to assist people with yard work and snow removal through the AIDE program (Aiding Individuals with Disabilities and the Elderly).

Graduates at the spring Commencement will be awarded the Associate of Arts and Science Degree. A reception for graduates and their families will be held in the University Center Commons following the ceremony.

UW-Fond du Lac is one of the 13 freshman/sophomore campuses which comprise the UW Colleges, serving approximately 13,000 students across the state of Wisconsin.

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