Franklin Hosts 165th (Virtual) Commencement Ceremony

Contact:

Sherry Mercurio
Executive Director, Office of Community Relations
(614) 947-6581
Email: sherry.mercurio@franklin.edu

Franklin University, Ohio’s #1 Adult-Focused University, will hold its 165th Virtual Commencement Ceremony on Friday, Sept. 18 at 7 p.m. (EDT), during which the University’s newest degree candidates will receive their diplomas. 

At the urging of state and local health departments, as well as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, we are taking all necessary precautions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. To provide the opportunity to celebrate this important milestone, we have transitioned the Summer 2020 Commencement to a virtual celebration. While we have re-created some aspects of our traditional ceremony, the focus of our-prerecorded ceremony reflects our graduates and their accomplishments.

COMMENCEMENT SPEAKERS
Receiving an honorary degree and speaking at Franklin’s 165th Commencement is Stacey K. Armstrong. Stacey serves as the chief operating officer (COO) at OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital. Stacey originally joined OhioHealth in 1991, as a medical technologist at Riverside. She then transitioned into management positions that progressed into leadership roles at both Grant and Riverside Hospitals.
 
From 2010 to 2015, she gained experience in various vice presidential roles including vice president of ambulatory care services and vice president of operations at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.
 
Stacey returned to OhioHealth in 2015 to assume the role as vice president, specialty practice operations, OhioHealth Physician Group. Prior to her current role as COO at Riverside, she served as chief operating officer, and then president, at Grant.
 
In addition to her current role, Stacey is also the co-accountable executive for CareConnect (Epic), OhioHealth’s electronic medical record. She also serves as the operational liaison to the Administrative Fellowship Program, and is the accountable executive for an OhioHealth Joint Venture Endoscopy Board.
 
Stacey received her MBA from Franklin University and her bachelor’s degree in medical technology from Indiana University.
 
Stacey lives in Westerville with her husband, Alan. They have four daughters, two sons-in-law and four granddaughters (with a fifth on the way). In her free time, she enjoys reading and spending time at Indian Lake with her family.

Also addressing the graduates will be graduating student speaker Dayna Reid. Dayna has a decade of experience in the entertainment industry. From corporate and musical events, to traveling across the country with ice shows and working internationally in South Africa. The proudest moment of her career was a four-month residency in Tokyo, with the circus.
 
Dayna’s interest in public administration began in 2016 while working with executive leadership at Columbus State Community College. The mission of higher education institutions to ensure that all students achieve their goals and have the opportunity for quality careers inspired Dayna to seek out secondary education for herself. She realized that her passion for making things better along with her international experience could transfer into a new career. Dayna hopes to use her degree to influence organizational development and apply strategic thinking to change in public and nonprofit organizations.
 
Dayna is thankful for the two most solid supports in her life, her mother and her husband who always encourage and bolster her drive and passion for personal growth.
 

About Franklin University

Accredited, nonprofit, and dedicated to educating adults since 1902, Franklin provides onsite course options at our Main Campus in downtown Columbus, Ohio, and is an innovator in providing personalized online education. The University offers applied in-demand undergraduate, masters, and doctorate programs that enable adult learners to achieve their educational and professional goals. Through agreements with partner institutions, the University also offers international academic programs, including its top-ranked MBA.

Franklin University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and holds specialized accreditations for specific academic programs through the International Accreditation Council for Business Education, the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation, and the Commission on Accreditation of Health Informatics and Information Management Education. The National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security have designated Franklin University as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education (CAE-CDE).