Southwest Baptist University News Release
Contact: Sharina Smith, Office of Marketing & Communications
BOLIVAR, Mo. – The Southwest Baptist University summer commencement is scheduled for Friday, July 30, at 7:00 p.m. in Pike Auditorium in the Mabee Chapel on the main campus in Bolivar. Approximately 150 graduate students will cross the stage and receive their diplomas.
The commencement address will be given by guest speaker Rebecca Randles. Rebecca Randles is an attorney with the firm of Randles, Mata & Brown in Kansas City, Missouri. She has been in practice since 1988 and handles cases involving childhood sexual abuse, clergy abuse, psychotherapist and psychiatric misconduct, educator misconduct, and cases involving psychological or psychiatric issues including sexual harassment and discrimination cases. She has written and lectured extensively on these topics including publication in The Journal of the American Medical Association, Professional Negligence Law Reporter, William & Mary Law Review, Oklahoma Law Review and others.
Randles was named lawyer of the year in 2004. Her most recent cases include $10M settlement with the Dioceses of Kansas City-St. Joseph and a $7.3M judgment against a local woman for cyberstalking.
Randles graduated from Southwest Baptist University summa cum laude in 1985 and from Baylor Law School in 1988. She is active in her community volunteering for social service organizations and is a member of the community advisory board for the UMKC master’s in social work program. Randles also serves as a trustee for Southwest Baptist University.
Randles enjoys horseback riding, reading, traveling, public speaking and spending time with her son, Alex, who is eleven. They attend Pleasant Valley Baptist Church in Liberty, Mo.
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Southwest Baptist University is a leader among private universities in truly integrating Christ-centered academic pursuits with comprehensive professional programs at an affordable price. Since 1878, the faculty and staff have created a caring, academic community to prepare students to be servant leaders in a global society. The University has been named one of America’s Best Christian Colleges® for 13 consecutive years, one of America’s 100 Best College Buys® for 14 consecutive years, and it has been named among institutions with America’s Best College Scholarships ® for the past three years by Institutional Research and Evaluation, Inc. For more information, visit www.SBUniv.edu.
SBU’s Office of Marketing & Communications is available to news media 24/7 at 417-399-7918.
