MOUNT OLIVE — Mount Olive College will hold its 56th fall commencement on Saturday, December 12. Graduation exercises are scheduled for 2 p.m. in the George and Annie Dail Kornegay Arena.

The commencement speaker will be John Blackwell, dean of the Chapel at Kansas Wesleyan University. Blackwell also teaches in the departments of Religion and Philosophy, English, Behavioral Sciences and the Honors program. For over 30 years Blackwell has been a speaker at numerous conferences and a retreat leader for people of all ages.

Blackwell received his education at San Diego State University, Claremont School of Theology, and Arizona State University, where he earned a Ph.D. in cultural anthropology. Blackwell and his wife, Nancy, make their home in Salina, Kan. They have two grown children, Jaime and Dave; one daughter-in-law, Chynnene; and two bulldogs, Madeline Albright and Lady Astor.

Preceding graduation, Mount Olive College will hold a baccalaureate service in Southern Bank Auditorium at 10:30 a.m. Vaughn Purnell will be the speaker.

Purnell has served as director of Mount Olive College at New Bern since October 2004, having previously held the title of assessment counselor. He entered the education field having worked in the corporate sector for 22 years in human resource consulting, both as an individual practitioner and as an employee and adjunct of several premier firms in the career transition industry. During those years, he was privileged to consult with numerous Fortune 500 companies.

Purnell has also held pastorates in Presbyterian churches in DuBois, Pa., and Stamford, Conn. He earned a BS in math from Grove City College and an M.Div. from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. Purnell and his wife, Pat, have lived in New Bern since 1998. They have two married sons and five grandchildren.