C. William Pollard and Mark Gorveatte received honorary degrees during Indiana Wesleyan University’s annual winter graduation December 18 in the IWU Chapel-Auditorium.
A total of 1,746 students received degrees during two ceremonies.
Pollard, the chairman of Fairwyn Investment Company, spoke at both graduation ceremonies. From 1977 to 2002, he participated in the leadership of The ServiceMaster Company, serving twice as Chief Executive Officer and 12 years as Chairman of the Board.
Pollard was elected Chairman Emeritus in 2002 when he retired from the Board of ServiceMaster and now is an advisor to the company. He has an undergraduate degree from Wheaton (Illinois) College and a law degree from Northwestern University.
Pollard received an honorary Doctor of Business Administration degree.
Gorveatte, who is an ordained pastor in The Wesleyan Church, was inaugurated on September 24, 2010, as the 11th president of Bethany Bible College in New Brunswick, Canada. He is a former member of the IWU Board of Trustees.
Gorveatte served for more than 25 years in several districts of The Wesleyan Church, including pastoral appointments and as superintendent of the Wisconsin and Western Michigan districts of the denomination. He has degrees from Bethany, Southern Wesleyan University and the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Gorveatte received an honorary Doctor of Theology degree.
Most of the December graduates earned their degrees through IWU’s adult education programs, which celebrated their 25th anniversary in 2010. More than 45,000 working professionals have earned degrees since adult classes began in 1985.
The December graduation ceremonies brought to almost 5,260 the number of IWU graduates in 2010. IWU also has graduations in April and December.