185 Receive Diplomas May 1; Balyo Named First President Emeritus, Duke Receives Honorary D.D.

Pastor Dee Duke addresses graduates at Commencement

(See Grad Academic Honors)

Undergraduate degrees were presented to 185 Western Baptist College graduates during the 58th Commencement on Sat., May 1, at 10 a.m., at the C.E. Jeffers Center. College President, Dr. Reno Hoff presented the diplomas before the largest crowd of well-wishers in recent years. Pastor Dee Duke, senior pastor at Jefferson (Ore.) Baptist Church, served as the keynote speaker.

Former WB president, Dr. John G. Balyo, was honored for over 20 years of service to the College and became the first former president to be named as President Emeritus. His wife Betty, a former president of WB's auxiliary fund raising group, Women for Western, was also recognized. Following the presentation Hoff told Balyo and the crowd, "I've served under four presidents in my 35 years at Western Baptist and there has been none finer than you, John."

Balyo served as president from 1983-91. Under his leadership, Western Baptist survived an economic recession, expanded the student and financial base, and laid the foundation for its present growth. For the past 12 years he has been the College's Chancellor, assisted with donor development, taught several Bible classes, and has continued to mentor and pray for students.

A Western Baptist alumnus, Duke ('75) has served as the pastor at Jefferson Baptist for 30 years. He has modeled and preached the importance of individual and corporate prayer. Duke used his keynote address to tell the graduates the power of focused prayer. “I want to encourage you to think about what it means to be devoted to prayer,” he said. "It changed my life and my ministry."

Following his address, the College honored Duke by presenting him with an Honorary Doctorate of Divinity (D.D.).

Duke leads five accountability groups involving 60 pastors. He also is currently working with 15 churches in the Chicago area through email accountability, with specific focus to increase the volume of prayer in their churches. Duke has also written articles for Moody Monthly, Leadership Journal and Pray! Magazine. He recently finished his first book; The Time is Now - Developing a Lifestyle of Prayer. He and his wife Patty have been married for 33 years and have eight children and two grandchildren.

The College's Business Department awarded the majority of the degrees (44) being presented. The College will also award 35 degrees in psychology and 21 diplomas in both Education and Interdisciplinary Studies. Among the seniors are 47 students graduating from the Adult Studies Division's Degree Completion Program who will earn diplomas in Management and Communication or Family Studies.

A Christian liberal arts college based in Salem for 35 years, WB offers 40 accredited majors and program options.