SOUTHEAST COMMENCEMENT DEC. 11

Wendell Rayburn, president of Lincoln University in Jefferson City, will present the fall commencement address at Southeast Missouri State University.

Commencement exercises are scheduled for Dec. 11 at 2 p.m. in the Show Me Center.

Leading the class of 525 undergraduates are Faiq Mihlar of Colombo, Sri Lanka, Barbara Porter of Granite City, Ill., Gautam Bhimani of Calcutta, India, Cheryl McAllister of Lowndes, Mo., and Kenneth Keesee of Piedmont.

Mihlar will receive a bachelor of science degree in economics and will graduate with a 4.0 grade point average (GPA). Porter, who has a 3.97 GPA, will receive a bachelor of science degree in mathematics; Bhimani, with a 3.95 GPA, will receive a bachelor of science degree in mass communication; McAllister, with a 3.95 GPA, will receive a bachelor of science degree in education with an emphasis in exceptional children; and Keesee, with a 3.94 GPA, will receive a bachelor of arts degree in English and philosophy.

Anthony Kaiser of Gordonville is completing the university honors program and will receive a bachelor of arts degree in English. He will graduate with a 3.75 GPA.

In addition, 25 graduate students will receive master's or specialty degrees, and eight members of Phi Kappa Phi will be recognized. Phi Kappa Phi is an international honor society for academic distinction that brings together men and women from a variety of disciplines who demonstrate excellence in scholarship and integrity of character. Southeast Missouri State University chartered its first Phi Kappa Phi chapter in 1992.

An honors convocation is scheduled for 11 a.m. in Academic Hall Auditorium, where 44 undergraduates and 15 graduate students will be honored. The undergraduates must have earned at least a 3.5 grade point average on a 4.0 scale. The graduate students must have achieved at least a 3.8 average. Randall Shaw, chairman of the industrial technology department, will present the honors convocation remarks.

Rayburn, who will present the commencement address, has served as the 16th president of Lincoln University since Jan. 15, 1988. He previously served as president at Savannah State College in Savannah, Ga., and was the dean of University College and professor of liberal studies at the University of Louisville (Ky.).

Rayburn is known for his civic activities, including serving on the boards of directors of the Jefferson City Chamber of Commerce and Rotary International.

He also is director of the Missouri Capital Punishment Resource Center and is a member of the Foresight Committee of the Missouri Bar. Rayburn is also a human relations consultant and has worked for many local, state, and federal agencies.

On June 30, 1988, President Ronald Reagan named Rayburn to the Board of International Food and Agricultural Development. He was reappointed by President George Bush on Oct. 4, 1990. In November 1992, he assumed the chairmanship of the board of directors of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities.