International Studies Head to Offer Commencement Keynote
Johns Hopkins' Craig Osborne to provide virtual address May 22
US Army Col. (Ret.) Craig Osborne, chief of staff of the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), will deliver the keynote address during Parkland College's 2020 Virtual Commencement Exercises, Friday, May 22, at 7 p.m. via YouTube. The public is invited to visit Parkland's commencement page for a link to the ceremony. 
Osborne retired from active duty in 2019. His 30 years of service in the Army include five combat deployments and participation in Operations Desert Shield, Desert Storm, Joint Guard, Enduring Freedom, and Iraqi Freedom. The Decatur, Illinois, native currently helps lead Johns Hopkins' renowned school of international affairs, with campuses in Washington, DC; Nanjing, China; and Bologna, Italy.
In 1989, Osborne earned a Bachelor of Science in History from Illinois State University along with a commission through the ROTC program as an Army infantry officer. He has also earned an MS in Adult, Occupational, and Continuing Education from Kansas State University; an MMAS in Military Planning and Operational Design from the US Army Command and General Staff College; an MS in National Security Strategy from the National War College; a Graduate Certificate in Advanced International Affairs from the Bush School of Government at Texas A&M University; and a Certificate in Business from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Among his many awards and decorations, Osborne has twice been presented the Defense Superior Service Medal by the Secretary of Defense as well as the Legion of Merit, five Bronze Star Medals for actions in Afghanistan and Iraq, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, three Meritorious Service Medals, the Combat Infantryman’s Badge with Star, the Senior Parachutist’s Badge, the Pathfinder Badge, and the Ranger Tab. He has also received four military awards from the German Government, and he is a recipient of the General Douglas MacArthur Leadership Award for the Army.
Parkland College's 53rd commencement will include a welcome from college administrators President Thomas Ramage and Board of Trustees Chair Bianca Green. New to this year's commencement will be a faculty address and student award presentations. Both segments typically occur during Parkland College's annual Honors Convocation. Retiring economics Professor Amy Myers will provide the faculty address to graduates.
Student presenters for the virtual ceremony will be speaker Stivenson Jean-Baptiste and tassel turner Emma Fleming. Jean-Baptiste, a native of Haiti, studies Business Management at Parkland. He has served as a Parkland Student Government senator, is founder and president of the student-led Business Club, and is president of the International Student Association. Fleming, a Paxton, Illinois, native, studies English literature. She graduated from Judah Christian School before starting at Parkland in 2018. At Parkland, she has been a member of the Programming Board, the Phi Theta Kappa honor society, and the International Student Association. She was also a reporter and editor for the Prospectus, a worker for the Center for Academic Success, and vice president for Parkland Student Government. She plans to pursue anthropology at the University of Illinois in the fall.
The ceremony will also feature music selections by the Parkland College Wind Ensemble and an invocation and benediction by the Rev. Angel Sierra of Forty Martyrs Catholic Church in Tuscola.