Alderson Broaddus University Celebrates 146th Commencement Ceremony May 6

Philippi, W.Va. – Alderson Broaddus University announced Rev. Dr. Marilyn Turner-Triplett as the 2017 Commencement Speaker for the 146^th Commencement Ceremony Saturday, May 6, 2017 at 10 a.m. in Rex Pyles Arena in the Memorial Coliseum.

The traditional Nursing Pinning Ceremony will take place Friday, May 5, at 2 p.m. in Wilcox Chapel.

Turner-Triplett currently realizes her commitment to the gospel of Jesus Christ by serving as the founding director for Rizpah’s Children, the American Baptist Home Mission Societies’ initiative that is focused on creating a network of community outreach ministries that provide long term solutions to the complex problems that children who are encumbered by poverty face each day.  Rizpah’s Children takes its name from Dr. Turner-Triplett’s sermon by that same name which tells the 2^nd Samuel 21:1-10 account of Rizpah, a mother who advocated for the seven slain children of Saul; two of her own and five of another.  The sermon and the ministry call on us to follow Rizpah’s example by proclaiming, through our diligent actions, that we will not stand idly by while allowing children to be consumed by the systems that prey upon the poor.

Dr. Turner-Triplett also facilitates the denomination’s connections with American Baptist related colleges, universities and seminaries.  In that capacity, she works with these institutions of higher learning to assure that the voices of theological educators and their students are included in the ministries and perspectives of the American Baptist Home Mission Societies.

In the past, Turner-Triplett has provided leadership and direction for missional ministries of ABHMS, including discipleship, community and congregational transformation, intercultural strategies, caring and prophetic justice ministries, efforts associated with Children in Poverty, and youth leadership development.  She has also previously provided oversight to the development and implementation of effective mission and management strategies for ABHMS.

Turner-Triplett is a writer whose works are featured in various devotional and inspirational books, Bibles, and magazines. She is actively involved in many faith-based and community boards and organizations. Turner-Triplett loves Jesus, and one of the greatest joys in her life is being called of God to spread the good news of Christian love, power, and faithfulness. She is convinced that the privilege of being able to touch even one life under the power and anointing of the Holy Spirit is to be blessed beyond measure. Her ongoing prayer is that her ministry will please and honor Jesus Christ.

Turner-Triplett was born in Rochester, Pa., the youngest daughter of the late Rev. Walter L. Turner and Julia M. Turner. Her corporate background in Information Technology and Business Process Engineering led her to the Philadelphia area where she heard and answered God’s call to ordained ministry. She is an associate minister at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Springhouse, Pa. where she previously served as executive minister.

Commencement will be streamed online with full audio and video for those relatives and friends who cannot make it to campus. Information regarding the weekend’s activities will be posted as it becomes available at: ab.edu/graduation.

Philippi, W.Va. – Three members of the Alderson Broaddus faculty/staff, Dr. Kayla McKinney, Mr. Nathan Fortney, and Dr. Andrea Bucklew, accepted an invitation to present at the Annual Quality Matters Regional Conference at Berkley College in New York City on April 20-21^st.

Quality Matters is a professional organization comprised globally of over 1000 member schools from across higher education, K-12 education, and educational publishing houses. The mission of Quality Matters is to promote and improve the quality of online education and student learning though the use of a standard quality assurance rubric and a system of professional development.

McKinney, Fortney, and Bucklew’s presentation, titled “Grappling with the Grendel: How the QM Rubric Improves an Online & Traditional Early British Literature Course”, is one of four presentations accepted in the category of “Bending, Flipping, Extending: QM Beyond the Online Classroom” and will discuss how online learning methods and techniques can be applied in traditional face-to-face courses to enhance student learning. Other presenters in this same concentration include representatives from Quality Matters member schools, Virginia Tech, Rutgers University, and the University of Connecticut.

“Designing and teaching this course has shown me the possibilities for online education at Alderson Broaddus University,” said McKinney whose course is at the heart of the presentation. “I’m excited to present at the Quality Matters conference, as I’m sure our team of presenters will come home with many new ideas and methods that will help us to implement additional online courses.”

The conference, which is held annually, brings together educators and administrators from the northeast region of the United States to share, learn, and connect about the future of online education.

“Being asked to present at such a prestigious conference is a true testament to the quality of online education provided at Alderson Broaddus University” said, Associate Provost Dr. Bucklew.

Having Alderson Broaddus presenting alongside major universities from the Northeast speaks volumes about the hard work and dedication of the faculty and staff to the University.

“Since coming to AB in 2014, I’ve always been impressed by the willingness of the faculty to take on new challenges and embrace evolving ideas in higher education,” said Fortney. “Over that time we have more than quintupled the number of online courses we offer, and expanded to include our first online Master’s degree program.”

Fortney was referencing the newly announced Master’s of Education: Teacher Leader program that Alderson Broaddus introduced in October and is set to accept students in Fall of 2017. The program is 100 percent online with both full and part-time tracks.