The annual ceremony recognized graduating class of 2024, top academic honors, outstanding seniors, retiring faculty, and Professor of the Year

Hillsdale College celebrated its 172nd Commencement on Saturday, May 11. Pat Sajak, television game show host and chairman of the College’s Board of Trustees, delivered the keynote address, and the College conferred honorary degrees and recognized top academic graduates.

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Hillsdale College Hosts 172nd Annual Commencement Ceremony, Welcomes Keynote Speaker Pat Sajak. Photo Credits: Hillsdale College

In his address, Sajak spoke to the graduating students about civility.

“I am always reluctant to get into the ‘world is falling apart’ mode because people my age have always felt the world is falling apart… but there does seem to be something more insidious going on this time in our politics and social media, COVID, in our education establishment, or whichever you think the guilty entity might be. But it does seem to be a growth in animosity between and among individuals,” said Sajak. “Those of you graduating today have so much to offer the world, whether it is in business, health care, education, raising a family, or a hundred other ways. Your Hillsdale education and the values you learned here will make this country and this world a better place. But, I humbly ask that you also strive to practice civility in everything you do.”

Sajak has been the host of Wheel of Fortune longer than anyone has hosted any program in the history of American television. He joined the show in 1981 and has been at the helm for more than 7,000 episodes. He began his broadcasting career as a radio announcer in Chicago in 1967, while attending Columbia College. He left school to join the Army in 1968 and served as the morning disc jockey on the American Forces Vietnam Network in Saigon. Following his military service, his career took him to Washington, D.C., Kentucky, Tennessee, and, in 1977, to Los Angeles. Less than five years later, he was named the host of Wheel of Fortune. He previously served as a board member at the Claremont Institute in California when it was headed by Dr. Arnn. Sajak has served on Hillsdale’s Board of Trustees since 2002. He was the vice chairman from 2003 to 2019 and was named chairman in 2019. He and his wife Lesly have two grown children and split their time between California and Maryland.

“He is retiring after an unprecedentedly long career at the top. There have been huge changes in the media, and his show is a constant — he has been a constant,” said Hillsdale College President Larry P. Arnn. “Above all, what is important to him — his family, his work, his achievements, his life — he is trying to be a good fellow and take care of those he loves and do a good job at his job. I should say, on behalf of the College, that it is grateful, as it has profound reason to be. Thank you, Pat.”

Arnn thanked faculty, administration, parents, and friends of the College for making the ceremony possible. He praised the graduating class and the life they have lived together on campus and in the classroom.

“It is a way of living — a very high way of living, and it’s lived that way by younger people. They have to want to grow. If they struggle, it will be joyous, and they will grow. It is the great progress in nature,” said Arnn. “This senior class has grown as much as any I have ever seen, and I congratulate them.”

Three-hundred and thirty-two undergraduates from the Class of 2024 received their degrees. Forty-one graduate students received their degrees.

Dr. Arnn recognized Professor of English Chris Busch, who is retiring from Hillsdale College after 33 years of service. Dr. Arnn also recognized the 2024 Professor of the Year — Assistant Professor of History Charles Yost — as well as this year’s top academic graduates and outstanding seniors.

Hillsdale College was founded in 1844 and has held this ceremony annually since 1860.

To view photos of the event, click here.

About Hillsdale College

Hillsdale College is an independent, nonsectarian, Christian liberal arts college located in southern Michigan. Founded in 1844, the College has built a national reputation through its classical liberal arts core curriculum and its principled refusal to accept federal or state taxpayer subsidies, even indirectly in the form of student grants or loans. It also conducts an outreach effort promoting civil and religious liberty, including a free monthly speech digest, Imprimis, with a circulation of more than 6.6 million. For more information, visit hillsdale.edu.

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