commencement dvd - Biola University

4 | Biola University
Message froM the
PresIdenT
Welcome to Fall Commencement at Biola University, and congratulations to all of our graduates for a job well
done. This day represents the culmination of years of hard work and perseverance in the area of study to which
the Lord has called you. It also is a moment you are able to celebrate those who stood by you along the way.
Your family, friends, faculty and others have been a part of your journey. Though you have reached this milestone
in your life, you have not done so alone. As you receive your degree today, my prayer is that you have been
equipped in mind and character to impact the world for Christ. May the relationships that have been formed,
the wisdom you have gained and the knowledge that has been imparted serve you well in the years ahead. You
are a special gift of God to Biola University. Our prayers accompany you as you take this important step in
your journey.
Barry H. Corey
President
CoMMenCeMenT sPeaKer
roberta green ahManson
Roberta Green Ahmanson is a writer and philanthropist whose public activities focus on the vital role the arts
play in shaping human experience and the critical role of religion in public life. She is chair of the board of
the Museum of Biblical Art in New York City, a regular speaker at the International Arts Movement’s annual
encounters, and a frequent speaker on the arts. The Ahmansons have sponsored a number of international
art exhibitions, the most recent being “The Sacred made Real” at the National Gallery, London, in the fall of
2009. Ahmanson is also chairman of the board of the Media Project and a contributor to Oxford University
Press’s 2008 award-winning book, Blind Spot: When Journalists Don’t Get Religion. With her husband,
Howard, she is a trustee of the private philanthropy Fieldstead and Company. Most recently, the Ahmansons
received Arts Orange County’s 2010 Achievement Award for Outstanding Arts Philanthropist. Howard and
Roberta were both granted honorary doctoral degrees from Biola University in 2006. During the 2011-2012
Year of the Arts at Biola, Roberta serves as the university’s Visionary-in-Residence.