Commencement ceremony for 180 graduates at Quincy University set for Saturday morning

QUINCY — Quincy University’s 162nd commencement ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 17 at QU Stadium, 20th and Sycamore. The graduating class is comprised of 180 graduates, with 157 undergraduate and 23 graduate degree recipients.

The procession will be led by university marshal Robert Mejer, distinguished professor of art, assistant marshal David Kirchhofer, professor of physics, and Scott Luaders, professor of chemistry. Sarah Vordtriede-Patton, provost and vice president for academic affairs, will confer degrees. Kimberly Hale, associate provost, will convene the ceremony.

Rev. Daren Zehnle, director of campus ministry, will deliver the invocation, and Rev. Robert Barko, assistant campus ministry, will provide the benediction. Jonathan Stewart, director of choral activities, will perform the national anthem, and 2025 graduates Rachel Hommert and Austin Wood will perform the Quincy University Alma Mater. Both performances will be accompanied by J. Matthew Ward, assistant professor of history.

QU graduates elected Katalina Lopez to deliver the program’s welcome address. Lopez is graduating with a degree in sport management and a minor in criminal justice. She was a orientation leader, resident director, founding member of Sigma Phi Eta and is in the Alpha Phi Sigma Criminal Justice honor society. After graduation, Lopez will return to QU to earn her master’s degree in counseling and will be a graduate assistant for student athlete development and engagement in the student development department.

Ralph Oakley, chair of the QU Board of Trustees, will deliver the commencement address. Oakley is the retired CEO of Quincy Media, Inc.

William H. Metzinger will be awarded an honorary Doctor of Human Letters degree during the ceremony. He is employed by Dot Family Holdings LLC. He was chief financial officer of Dot Foods, Inc., for 24 years, and later was instrumental in the formation of Dot Family Holdings LLC, which enabled the diversification of Dot Foods, Inc. by purchasing other distribution companies. He has served as a senior executive of Dot Family Holdings LLC for the nine years.

During Metzinger’s leadership, the combined annual sales for the Dot organizations grew from $300 million to $14 billion. He continues to serve on the board of directors of several of the Dot Family Holdings companies. 

Metzinger’s professional career began as a certified public accountant with the Quincy-area accounting firm of Gray Hunter Stenn LLP. He worked in the healthcare industry as president and chief executive officer of St. Mary Hospital in Quincy before joining Dot Foods, Inc.

Metzinger earned a bachelor of science in accounting from Quincy University in 1974 and earned his certified public accountant license from the University of Illinois in 1976. He has served on the Quincy University Board of Trustees for 22 years and has been vice chair of the board since 2018. Metzinger is a member of the Blessing Corporate Services Board of Trustees and has served on the boards of several not-for-profit community organizations. 

Metzinger was recognized as Quincy University’s alumnus of the year in 2010.

Michael Hennessy will be awarded an honorary Doctor of Human Letters degree during the ceremony. Hennessy is retired as the president and chief executive officer of the Coleman Foundation, a fully endowed, private, charitable foundation established by J.D. and Dorothy Coleman, previous owners of the Fannie May Candy Company. 

Hennessy began his career with Fannie May by developing internal operating systems and marketing strategies, which were then implemented into all company advertising, marketing and operational responsibilities. Hennessy served as a member of the company’s board of directors and was chief operating officer of Fannie May. 

When Fannie May was sold, Hennessy partnered with a colleague to carry out the day-to-day operations of the Coleman Foundation. He became president in 1993 and CEO in 1995.

During Hennessy’s 30-year tenure, the Coleman Foundation made more than 6,800 grants in the areas of cancer support and treatment, education on self-employment and vocational training for the developmentally disabled. Hennessy expanded the foundation’s inaugural entrepreneurship education programs by developing additional secondary programs, collegiate entrepreneurship chairs and professorships, and community outreach programs.

Hennessy has supported the Quincy University Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. He earned a bachelor of arts degree in psychology and a teaching certificate from Quincy University in 1972. He moved to Quincy when he accepted a teaching position in a dropout prevention program with Quincy Public Schools. After earning a master of arts in guidance and counseling from Western Illinois University, Hennessy took an active role in the counseling and guidance programs at Quincy High School before moving to the Chicago area.

The commencement ceremony will be live streamed at https://youtube.com/live/lRKYm8Z4JpY?feature=share.