DUE WEST, SC - Erskine College and Seminary baccalaureate and commencement ceremonies will be held Sunday, May 18. This year marks Erskine's 158th College Commencement and its 160th Seminary Commencement.

Baccalaureate will be held at 11 a.m. at the Due West Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, with Dr. James M. Bell preaching. College commencement will be held Under the Towers at 2:30 p.m., with poet Glenis Redmond Sherer delivering the commencment address. Seminary Commencement is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the Due West Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, with retiring Erskine Seminary Dean Dr. Randall T. Ruble speaking.

Dr. James M. Bell was pastor of the Due West Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church from 1982 to 1996. He received his A.B. degree at Erskine College in 1948 and the B.D. from Erskine Seminary in 1952. He was awarded the Doctor of Divinity degree from Erskine in 1979. Prior to pastoring the Due West Church, Dr. Bell served at the Old Providence ARP Church in Spottswood, Va. for 17 years. He also served as Chaplain at Erskine College and pastored several other ARP churches. He is married to the former Lois Alexander, an Erskine alumna, and the couple's six children all attended Erskine.

Glenis Redmond Sherer (right), Erskine Class of 1985, was named the Frances Cardwell Distinguished Lecturer at Erskine College this year. She has hosted the popular monthly "Poetry Slam" at the Village Cafe in Greenville and was the 1995 and 1996 winner of the Asheville, N.C., Poetry Slams. Named to the roster of the South Carolina Arts Commission's Poets-in-the-Schools program, Sherer won the Carrie McCray Literary Award in Poetry, the top prize at the South Carolina Writers Workshop, and has published a small chapbook of her poems. She studied under the renowned poet Sonia Sanchez and has toured nationally and internationally, most recently in the United Kingdom. Sherer is married to Erskine alumnus Blane Sherer and they are the parents of twin girls.

Randall T. Ruble (left), earned an A.B. from Erskine College in 1958. While at Erskine, he received the H.M. Young award, the highest honor given to a graduating senior. He went on to earn a B.D. from Erskine Seminary in 1961 and subsequently was awarded the Th.M. from Princeton Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. from the University of Edinburgh. Since 1965, Ruble has taught Hebrew and Old Testament at Erskine Seminary. In addition, he has served as Chaplain of Erskine College (1971-74), Assistant Dean of Erskine Seminary (1975-76) before being named Vice President and Dean of Erskine Seminary in 1976.

Three honorary degrees will be awarded during this year's ceremonies. Anne McCown Whitesides Alexander of Gastonia, N.C. will be given the Doctor of Humanities degree. Jacob Allen Derrick of Richburg, S.C. is to receive the Doctor of Divinity. Walter Edward HIckman, Jr., of Summerville, S.C. will also receive the Doctor of Divinity.

Anne Whitesides Alexander, a graduate of Muskingum College, New Concord, Ohio, attended Erskine for two years before transferring. Active in the First Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church in Gastonia, she has also served on the Erskine College Board of Trustees and the Gaston County Hospital Board of Trustees. "Anne Alexander has been a loyal supporter of Erskine for many, many years," said Dr. James Gettys, Vice President and Dean. "Her children attended Erskine, and she has served on the Board, worked assiduously for the college and supported every Erskine endeavor."

Jacob Allen Derrick , born in Saluda, Derrick earned the A.B. degree at Erskine in 1965 and received the Bachelor of Divinity from Columbia Theological Seminary in 1968. He was ordained in 1968 and has served several churches in Chester County in addition to his involvement in denominational youth conferences and retreats. He has also served on the Chester County task force on drug and alcohol abuse. "Allen Derrick has been a very strong force in youth ministry in the church, devoting his life to young people," Dean Gettys said. "He has also served very capably on the Erskine College Board of Trustees."

Walter Edward Hickman, Jr. was born in Covington, Va. and graduated from Erskine College in 1953. He earned a Master of Divinity degree from Erskine Theological Seminary in 1959 and served pastorates in the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church and Presbyterian Church USA. He earned a Doctor of Ministry degree from McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago in 1982, writing his dissertation on "Developing a Ministry with Older Adults." He worked as Administrator of the Presbyterian Home of South Carolina in Florence (1985-93) and in Summerville (1993-96). "Walter Hickman has been a leader in the development of Presbyterian retirement centers in South Carolina," said Dr. Randall T. Ruble, Dean of Erskine Seminary. "In addition, he has chaired the state committee which grants licenses to all nursing homes, retirement centers, and other health-care facilities. He is an Erskine grad who has made a real contribution to both church and state."

Erskine is the College and Seminary of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. The College was founded in 1839 and the Seminary in 1837.