Rev. Nathan Baxter to Address Spring Commencement
April 8, 2005
COLUMBUS, OHIO - Ohio Dominican University will hold its 83rd commencement exercise
at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, May 14, 2005. On that morning, the University will confer
degrees on approximately 280 graduates. The graduates will be joined by hundreds of family
and friends on the Oval in front of Erskine Hall on Ohio Dominican's main campus, 1216
Sunbury Road. (In the event of rain, commencement activities will take place across the street
in Alumni Hall, directly west of Sunbury Road.)
On Friday, May 13 at 7:00 p.m., the traditional hooding ceremony will take place at the
Baccalaureate Mass in Alumni Hall. The homily will be delivered by the Most Reverend Frederick
F. Campbell, Bishop of the Diocese of Columbus.
Reverend Nathan D. Baxter, Rector (see bio below) of St. James Episcopal Church in
Lancaster, Pennsylvania and former Dean of the Washington National Cathedral during the
ceremony, the University will confer an honorary degree, Doctor of Divinity, on Father
Baxter, and an honorary degree, Doctor of Higher Education, on Sr. Charles Marie
Brantl, O.P., Ph.D.
Sr. Charles Marie Brantl is the Director of Assessment and Institutional
Research at Albertus Magnus College. An accomplished educator and administrator
for some 50 years, Sr. Charles Marie has chaired accreditation visiting teams for
the Connecticut Department of Higher Education, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts,
and the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, and also served as chair
of the Advisory Committee on Accreditation for the State of Connecticut Board of
Higher Education. She earned a bachelor's degree in Economics from Albertus Magnus
College, and master's and doctoral degrees in Economics from Fordham University.
She is a member of the Congregation of Dominican Sisters of St. Mary of the Springs
and serves on the Ohio Dominican University Board of Trustees, a post she has held
since 1987. Sr. Charles Marie was a tenured and well-loved faculty member at Ohio
Dominican, teaching from 1965-1976. She also served as Chair of the Economics and
Business Division, as well as the Division of Social and Behavioral Sciences.
The Reverend Nathan D. Baxter
Rector
Saint James Episcopal Church
Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Nathan D. Baxter, a third generation clergyman, was elected as the sixth dean
of the Washington National Cathedral in November 1991, a post he held until June
2003. He was elected 21st rector of historic Saint James Episcopal Church in
Lancaster, Pennsylvania in August 2003. With this assignment, Father Baxter returned
to the Diocese of Central Pennsylvania, where he prepared for ordination at the
Diocesan School of Christian Studies and was ordained in 1977.
As dean of the Washington National Cathedral, Father Baxter served as the chief
priest and executive officer of the world's sixth largest Cathedral. Under his
leadership, the National Cathedral attained some of the largest financial contributions
in its history, and established the Cathedral Girls Choir and the Cathedral Center
for Prayer and Pilgrimage. His ministry advanced the Cathedral's national visibility
and ministry and ecumenical mission with such programs as Major State Day liturgies
that included participation from governors, members of Congress, and civic and
church leaders from across the country.
Father Baxter has served as a spiritual leader during many memorable occasions
in our nation's history. He was selected by President Bill Clinton to write and
deliver the prayer of the nation at the nationally televised White House Millennium
celebration, and he officiated at the Inaugural Prayer Service for President George
W. Bush. He led the National Day of Prayer and Remembrance Service held at the
Washington National Cathedral following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001,
and officiated at the memorial service for the crew of the space shuttle Columbia.
As Dean of the National Cathedral, he presided over the funerals and memorial
services of many prominent Americans including Thurgood Marshall, William Colby,
William Fulbright, Clark Clifford, Pamela Harriman, Ron Brown and Katherine Graham,
as well as the American memorial service for Princess Diana.
Before becoming dean of the National Cathedral, he was administrative dean and
associate professor of Pastoral Theology at Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge,
Massachusetts. He graduated from the Lancaster Theological Seminary with honors
and earned a Doctor of Ministry degree from that institution in 1984. He
completed further studies at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley,
California, the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and the Warren Deem
Management Institute at the Columbia University Executive Center. In addition
to his many academic honors, he is a fellow of the College of Preachers and
in 1998 was designated a Charles E. Merrill Fellow at Harvard University
Divinity School.
Father Baxter currently serves on the boards of Riggs National Bank,
the Faith and Politics Institute affiliated with the U.S. House of
Representatives, and the University of Virginia's Center on Religion and
Democracy. He chairs the Snowden Lecture Fund of the Interfaith Council
of Metropolitan Washington with representation from eight of the world's
great religions, and is a member of the Metropolitan Dialogue of
Washington and the American Society of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem,
the Urban League, the Epsilon Boule of Sigma Pi Phi, and the Cosmos Club
of Washington. He is also a life member of the Union of Black Episcopalians
and the NAACP. Father Baxter is a decorated U.S. Army veteran of the
Vietnam War; a recipient of the Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm and
Combat Medic's Badge.
A noted commentator on faith and national issues, Father Baxter
is a frequent guest on national news programs including Good Morning America,
NBC's Today, and The O'Reilly Factor. Most recently he joined the
MacNeil/Lehrer forum, >We the People. His publications include Visions for the Millennium:
Thoughts on Christian Living and the award-winning Challenge and Comfort:
A Pastor's Thoughts for a Troubled Nation. In 2002, he received the
First Annual Mayoral Clergy Award in the District of Columbia.
Father Baxter is married to Mary Ellen Walker Baxter of York,
Pennsylvania. She holds degrees from Hampton University and Harvard
University and is an administrator at St. Andrew's Episcopal School
in Potomac, Maryland. The Baxters have adult children and one grandchild.
