Description

Jefferson College of Health Sciences celebrates its Spring 2014 Commencement Ceremony for the first time in Elmwood Park’s new Amphitheater on Friday, May 9, 2014, beginning at 10 a.m. A total of 142 Jefferson students on the master’s, bachelor’s and associate degree levels will accept their diplomas and become alumni of the College during the event. These students will graduate from 12 different academic programs at the College.
 
Jefferson College is proudly hosting this event at Elmwood Park, just across Elm Street from its campus at Carilion Roanoke Community Hospital. For more than 100 years, Elmwood Park has evolved from the distinguished home and gardens of P.L. Terry, one of Roanoke's founding citizens, to downtown’s premier greenspace. After an extensive renovation process, Jefferson College is partnering with the City of Roanoke to utilize this beautiful new amphitheater space for our first outdoor graduation event.
 
At the ceremony, Jefferson College welcomes City Manager Christopher Morrill as the Commencement Speaker.
 
Morrill was appointed City Manager of the City of Roanoke March 1, 2010. Previously, he served nine years as Assistant City Manager of the City of Savannah, Ga. From 1999 through 2001, he worked for Research Triangle Institute as Senior Municipal Finance Advisor to the South African National Treasury under a U.S. AID funded project. In this position, he assisted the South African government in developing local government finance legislation, municipal budget reforms, and capacity building programs.
 
From 1990 to 1992 and 1994 to 1999, Morill served as Research & Budget Director for the City of Savannah, Ga. During the years 1992 to 1994, he served in the first group of U.S. Peace Corps volunteers in the former Soviet Union, where he advised the City of Lviv, Ukraine on finance & management issues. He has written numerous articles for Government Finance Review and co-authored The Savannah Story: The Road to Equity and Sustainable Community Development in Economic Development in American Cities: the Pursuit of an Equity Agenda. Morrill completed a three-year fellowship in the Kellogg National Leadership Program, exploring conflict resolution/ community building in Peru, China, Northern Ireland, Spain and South Africa. He is also an ICMA Credentialed Manager and was President of the Government Finance Officers Association of the U.S. and Canada (GFOA) from 2012 to 2013.