MORRIS COUNTY — Since County College of Morris (CCM) is not able to hold an in-person commencement ceremony this year, the college will provide the Class of 2020 with a virtual celebration Friday, June 12, at 7:00 p.m. on YouTube.
This year’s commencement was originally scheduled for Friday, May 22, but with the college’s move to a remote teaching and learning environment and the extension of the Spring Semester, the date has been moved to June. More than 1,200 students will receive degrees or certificates this year.
The video will be available on the CCM Class of 2020 website by clicking here.
Rev. Dr. Sidney S. Williams, Jr., an impact investor and practical theologian with more than 30+ years of experience in corporate and community development, will serve as the keynote speaker. Prior to becoming a minister, he worked on Wall Street where he developed a successful track record for managing the research, analysis, and development of sustainable business models for new products and services; participated in over $10 billion in public equity and debt offerings, acquisitions, mergers, joint ventures, and intellectual property licensing; and worked for first-tier investment banks.
Williams has pastored churches in Cape Town, South Africa, and trained pastors and served as a missionary on three continents. He currently serves as the senior pastor of Bethel Church of Morristown and has guided the development of the Spring Street Community Development Corporation to improve the quality of life for Morris County families. Programs operated through the community development corporation include Table of Hope, which serves meals five days a week, offers a food pantry and operates a mobile food delivery service, all at no cost; the SOAR program to provide middle and high school students with a pathway to college; and the New Life Recovery & Reentry Program to support those suffering from addictions. He is the author of two books, Morning Meditations: 100 Days to Believing You’re Successful and Fishing Differently: Ministry Formation in the Marketplace.
After obtaining a Bachelor of Business Administration from Howard University, Williams earned an MBA from the Wharton School of Business and then a Masters of Divinity from the Wesley Theological Seminary. In 2018, he earned a Doctor of Ministry Degree from Payne Theological Seminary. Like many CCM students, he was the first in his family to graduate from college.
The commencement ceremony will be led by Faculty Grand Marshal Laura Gabrielsen and will feature remarks from President Anthony J. Iacono, who will highlight several outstanding graduates from the Class of 2020. Also providing remarks will be Morris County Freeholder Director Deborah Smith and a member of the CCM Board of Trustees. Serving as the speaker from the Class of 2020 will be Emma Mendoza, president of the Student Government Association during Academic Year 2019-20, who was named to the 2020 Phi Theta Kappa New Jersey All-State Academic Team for her academic excellence. In addition, the 2020 Peace Prize (www.ccm.edu/peace-prize/) will be presented by Professor Laura Driver. A listing of the names of graduates also will be provided, along with the conferral of degrees and certificates and video tributes for each of the academic schools.
To mark the celebration, CCM has developed a lawn sign families can have printed to recognize the accomplishments of their graduate, noting that the Class of 2020 is “Virtually the Greatest Class of All Time.” That can be downloaded by clicking here. Also housed on the website are Zoom backgrounds of the campus that graduates, their families, and friends can use for virtual celebrations. In addition, the college is asking graduates to post photos on its Instagram account,www.instagram.com/ccm_nj, using the hashtag #CCMGrad2020.
The YouTube Class of 2020 video will remain available for viewing following the premiere airing on June 12.
