CEREMONY

All degree candidates are asked to meet at 7 p.m. to start line-up procedures.

RECEPTION

The President's Office will host a reception immediately following the ceremony. Friends, family, and faculty are invited to join in congratulating the new graduates. Light refreshments will be served.

SPEAKER

The commencement address will be given by Paul Anderson, who retired this year as Avista Utilities’ Coeur d’Alene area manager. Anderson joined the utility company in 1965 when it was known as Washington Water Power and during his career worked in Avista’s Colville, Wash., district, and in the company’s St. Maries, Silver Valley and Coeur d’Alene districts. Active in the community, he has been president of the Kettle Falls Lions Club, St. Maries Kiwanis and the Coeur d’Alene Rotary, in addition to being a member of the Spokane and Colville Jaycees. At the state level, he chaired the Idaho Economic Advisory Council for Gov. Phil Batt and Gov. Dirk Kempthorne. He has received numerous honors, including three from the Coeur d’Alene Chamber of Commerce: Bob McNabb Volunteer of the Year Award, the Ed Abbott Community Service Award and the 1995 Distinguished Citizen of the Year Award. Anderson earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Montana and completed the University of Idaho’s Public Utilities Executive Course.

PRESIDENT’S MEDALLION

The President's Medallion will be given to Lidwina Dirne, educator and health care advocate. Born in the Netherlands, she grew up during World War II. The experience formed in her a strong desire to “dedicate her life to others.” She earned a degree at Sacré Coeur, a Catholic college for teachers, and worked as a school principal before joining the lay community. In 1957, she immigrated Vancouver, British Columbia, and came to Coeur d’Alene in 1971 where she set up a religious studies program for the two local Catholic parishes. She became a U.S. citizen in 1977. While serving as a facilitator to a support group for divorced and widowed individuals, she learned of one member who was ill but unable to afford health care. That situation led her to focus her energies on providing health care assistance to those in need. The Lake City Health Care opened in 1989 with one volunteer doctor, but grew to include 19 physicians, along with dozens of volunteer nurses and clinic staff. The facility was renamed the Dirne Community Health Center in her honor. In 2006, she was recognized by then-Governor Dirk Kempthorne with the Community Brightest Star Award. She earned a master’s degree in religious studies from Loyola College in Chicago and did post-graduate studies at the University of Notre Dame.