More than 120 graduates are expected to take part in this year’s winter commencement at Central Methodist University on Saturday, December 9. The event will take place at 1 p.m. in Puckett Fieldhouse and feature board of trustees member James Marchbank as the commencement speaker.
It will be Marchbank’s third time giving a commencement address at Central, where he is serving his second stint as a trustee.
An entrepreneur and businessman until the 2008 sale of his company, Marchbank then pursued a second career in academia, with a focus in management and business strategy. He began teaching in 2008 at Fontbonne University in St. Louis, then went on to teach master’s classes in business all over the world – Bangkok, Thailand; Bucharest, Romania; Bratislava, Slovakia; Beijing, China; and Prague, Czech Republic among the stops. His work has earned him Teacher of the Year awards at several institutions, as well as the Kempker Award for excellence in teaching from Webster University.
In addition to his work with the CMU board of trustees, Marchbank is also on the board for the Boy Scouts of America and has earned the organization’s Silver Beaver Award.
Marchbank is an alumnus of Southeast Missouri State University in Springfield, Mo., where he earned a bachelor’s in marketing. He went on to receive an MBA from Columbia University in New York City, where he was also awarded the prestigious Bronfman Fellowship.
Marchbank and his wife, Kay, reside in St. Louis.
For those unable to attend in person, the ceremony will be livestreamed on Facebook and YouTube. Check the CMU homepage for links on the day of graduation.