Rose State College President Terry Britton, whose career at the college spans more than 40 years, delivered his "farewell commencement" speech before hundreds of graduates and their families on Friday, May 10, at the First Southern Baptist Church in Oklahoma City.

Britton noted that Rose State’s student body is among the most diverse in Oklahoma—but said that diversity is only a first step in insuring a better society, and that building that society was now up to the graduates.

"I think we should treat diversity as a necessary first step to build on," Britton told the students. "You did not enter here as data or stats.  You came with dreams, with faith in the system, and with joyful expectancy.  Faculty and staff did their best to live up to your expectations.  As you move on, do the same wherever you land: greet each individual with an open mind and a vulnerable heart; work for equality and diversity in the workplace; teach your children to be inclusive and not exclusive."

Student Senate President Elizabeth Larios-Rodriguez, invited to speak to her graduating class, said the "community" in "community college" meant that she would always be a part of a larger whole to which she was now responsible.

"To be a Rose State Raider will forever mean that I will have loving and caring people who stand behind me, and that I have a foundation and a loving institution that truly believed in me," Larios-Rodriguez said. "We now have a responsibility. We have to go out and make something happen. We have to be the change. We have to be the innovators."

Dr. Britton joined Rose State College two years after its beginning, when it was Oscar Rose Junior College. During his tenure, Rose State went from an enrollment of approximately 2000 to more than 11,000 today. Dr. Britton became president in 2006.

Graduates, their families, faculty and staff later enjoyed a reception in honor of the event, complete live music.

Dr. Britton has served as a professor of English and Director of the Learning Resource Center as well as president. A lifelong Oklahoman from the southwestern town of Anadarko, Dr. Britton has published numerous works, including a recent volume of poetry titled, "Along the Washita," about his days growing up there. Britton asked faculty to use creativity and artistry to look forward and plan for the next steps of the college.

Dr. Jeanie Webb will step up July 1 to become the seventh president of Rose State College, the first woman to hold the position. Dr. Webb has served as Rose State’s vice president of student affairs for 12 years. The Rose State College Board of Regents named Dr. Webb as president in March.

More than 350 students participated in this year’s ceremony, but more than 1200 students at Rose State College were listed as candidates.

Fenwick is the public relations coordinator at Rose State College.