The Winter Commencement ceremony for approximately 280 graduates of Missouri Western State University will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 14 in the arena of the M.O. Looney Complex. Dr. Joseph Friedman of St. Joseph will receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters Degree. Dr. Evelyn Brooks, professor of nursing, will be the commencement speaker. The MWSU Alumni Association will host a free reception for graduates and their families after the ceremony in the Looney small gym. In addition, there will be a pinning ceremony for nursing graduates at 8:30 a.m. in the Fulkerson Center.

For those unable to attend, the commencement ceremony will be available on Missouri Western’s YouTube page (www.youtube.com/user/mwsugriffons) by 2 p.m. Monday, Dec. 16. It will also air on MWTV (Suddenlink channel 39) at 11:30 a.m. Dec. 17, 19, 24 and 26, and at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 22 and 29.

Dr. Joseph “Joe” Friedman ’39

Dr. Friedman is a 1939 graduate of St. Joseph Junior College, which later became Missouri Western State University. He was born in St. Joseph in 1920. He served with the Third Army in World War II, helping to liberate a concentration camp. After the war, he was a podiatrist in St. Joseph for 14 years before abandoning his successful practice to pursue an acting career. He appeared on Broadway and was part of the national touring company of “Fiddler on the Roof.” He later won an Emmy Award for his role as a researcher for a documentary about the Titanic. That award and other memorabilia from Dr. Friedman’s life are on display in the Alumni Room in Missouri Western’s Fulkerson Center, a room made possible by a gift from Dr. Friedman in honor of his late wife, Gladys, and cousin, Joseph Droher.

Dr. Brooks has been on the nursing faculty at Missouri Western since 1995. She is a well-respected and frequently published nurse educator. Among other honors, she has received the Missouri Western Board of Governors Distinguished Professor Award. Dr. Brooks earned a nursing diploma from the Wesley School of Nursing in Wichita, Kan., a bachelor’s degree from Fort Hays State University, a master’s degree from Wichita State University, and a doctoral degree from the University of Kansas.

Missouri Western State University is a comprehensive regional university providing a blend of traditional liberal arts and professional degree programs. The university offers student-centered, high quality instruction that focuses on experience-based learning, community service, and state-of-the-art technology. Missouri Western is located in St. Joseph, Mo., and is committed to the educational, economic, cultural and social development of the region it serves. Visit www.missouriwestern.edu.