Spring Graduate Commencement ceremony to be held on April 29

The University of Southern Indiana will hold a Commencement ceremony for graduate students at 6:30 p.m. Friday, April 29 in the Physical Activities Center (PAC) on the USI campus.

The speaker for the Graduate Ceremony is Danyelle E. Granger M'06, vice president of diversity and inclusion director of Old National Bancorp. She completed her Master of Public Administration at the University of Southern Indiana after receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from Ball State University in 2002. She has studied abroad in Korea, Japan and China. 

Granger joined Old National in 2006 as Foundation Program officer. In that role, she was responsible for managing charitable giving for the Old National Bank Foundation, the company's philanthropic arm. She had direct responsibility for the distribution of over $1 million annually to nonprofit organizations in four states. She also coordinated the corporate and employee annual United Way campaigns throughout the company and served as the liaison to over 35 United Ways in four states.

In her current role, Granger is responsible for developing and executing the corporate-wide diversity and inclusion strategy, and leading the development, implementation, management, monitoring and evaluation of Old National's corporate policies and programs as they relate to diversity and inclusion in the company's workforce, workplace, marketplace and community. 

She serves as president of the board of directors for the YWCA of Evansville; is co-founder and chair of the Multicultural Professionals Network; and serves on the board of Habitat for Humanity of Evansville. She is a mayoral appointee to the Evansville Chapter of the Indiana Commission on the Social Status of African American Males, and serves on the career advisory board for USI's Career Services and Internships. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority and is involved in numerous other initiatives that focus on making Evansville a great place to live. 

In 2013, Granger was featured in the Evansville Business Journal as one of the area's 20 Under 40 Leaders and, in 2010, as an "Up and Comer" in the community. She received the Willie Effie Thomas Diversity Education Award from the mayor of Evansville in 2015. She also is a recipient of the Phenomenal Woman Award from the American Association of University Women and the University of Southern Indiana. 

A reception for the graduates and their friends and families will follow the ceremony and will be held in University Center East.

The four Colleges at USI will conduct Commencement on April 30 according to this schedule:

• Romain College of Business and Outreach and Engagement, 9 a.m.
• College of Liberal Arts, noon
• Pott College of Science, Engineering, and Education, 3 p.m.
• College of Nursing and Health Professions, 6 p.m.

Live video of each ceremony will be streamed in University Center East Conference Center (Rooms 2217-2220). The ceremonies also may be viewed online at USI.edu/live-stream.