DAVID ROSS TO ADDRESS GRADUATES
AT 19TH COMMENCEMENT OF ST. CHARLES COMMUNITY COLLEGE

    David Ross, president of Barnes-Jewish St. Peters Hospital, will be the keynote speaker at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 12, for the 19th annual commencement exercises of St. Charles Community College.  The ceremony will take place in the gymnasium of the College Center on the SCC campus.  A reception will follow in the outdoor campus plaza (in case of inclement weather it will be moved to the Student Center).

    More than 630 students are eligible to graduate, including students who meet the completion requirements for certificates or degrees as of last December or for March, May, and August of the year 2007, according to Kathy Brockgreitens-Gober, registrar and director of admissions and financial assistance.

    At least 77 candidates will receive the Associate of Applied Science degree, at least 80 will receive the Associate of Science Degree, another 41 will receive the Certificate of Achievement, and  434 will receive the Associate of Arts degree. Others who are finishing up requirements as of this summer were also eligible to apply for spring commencement, Brockgreitens-Gober said.  Nearly 200 graduates will receive the “honors,” “high honors,” or “highest honors” distinction, and many of them are members of Phi Theta Kappa, the international honor society of community colleges.

    The second annual Distinguished Alumni Award will be presented to Diana Graveman of St. Charles, a teacher and published author in venues such as the “Chicken Soup” series and other national media publications. Ted Dettmer, president of the college’s Foundation Board, will present the award.  The student speaker will be Suzanne Jackson, an associate of arts degree secondary education graduate from Overland.  Leon Jones, SCC senior faculty member in mathematics and the 2006-07 Faculty Member of the Year, will serve as the commencement marshal.

    This year’s commencement speaker, David Ross, leads a community hospital, licensed for 111 beds that offers full inpatient services and emergency care services, staffed with ER physicians, pediatricians and intensive-care physicians 24-hours a day. Located in St. Charles County, the hospital recently completed a new Outpatient Surgery Center, a Breast Health & Women’s Center, a Cardiology Center and most recently the Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish St. Peters Hospital.

    Ross, a “recovering” lawyer, formerly served as chief executive officer of Phelps County Regional Medical Center, a 240-bed hospital in Rolla, Mo.  Ross led the hospital through a $12 million construction project and created a patient-focused environment that significantly improved patient and employee satisfaction scores.

    Ross has a bachelor’s degree from Yale University.  He also earned both a master’s degree in health care administration and a law degree from Washington University in St. Louis.

    Through his career, Ross has been an active member of the community, serving with chambers of commerce and other civic groups.  He currently serves on the Board of Trustees for St. Charles United Way, and on the boards of the St. Charles Community College Foundation, Commerce Bank, ShowMe Aquatics, and Make-A-Wish Foundation.

    A native of Boston, Ross and his wife, Moira, have two sons and one daughter.

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