GROVE CITY, Pa. – Grove City College President Richard G. Jewell ’67 recently announced the speakers for the 2009 Baccalaureate and Commencement ceremonies on the Grove City College campus, set for May 15 and 16.

College Trustee and United States Circuit Judge for the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals the Hon. Alice M. Batchelder will address approximately 564 graduates at 10 a.m. May 16 in an outdoor ceremony on the Quad between Harbison Chapel and Crawford Hall.

Dr. Douglas Pratt will offer the sermon to students at a 7 p.m. Baccalaureate ceremony on May 15, also planned for the Quad. He is senior pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Bonita Springs, Fla., for a congregation of nearly 2,000 members.

In the case of inclement weather, both events will be moved to the Arena of the Physical Learning Center.

The Hon. Alice M. Batchelder was appointed by President George H.W. Bush on Dec. 2, 1991, to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. She began her post a month later, and had previously served as U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Ohio, after being appointed by President Ronald Reagan. Batchelder also served as U.S. Bankruptcy Judge from 1983 to 1985 and practiced law with Williams and Batchelder in Medina, Ohio from 1971 to 1983.

The College Trustee earned her bachelor’s degree from Ohio Wesleyan University, and her law degree from the University of Akron School of Law, where she was the editor of the law review. She received her LLM degree from the University of Virginia School of Law. She also studied at the Economics Institute for Federal Judges at the Law and Economics Center at George Mason University School of Law. She’s received two honorary doctorates, one from Lake Erie College in 1993 and one from the Akron University School of Law in 2001.

The judge’s many professional positions include the Ohio Board of Bar Examiners, an Impartial Hearing Officer by the Ohio Department of Education, a member of the School of Law Advisory Committee for the University of Akron, three committees for the Judicial Conference of the United States, the Constitutional Law Drafting Committee for the National Conference of Bar Examiners, and on the Board of Trustees of the Law Alumni Association and the Intellectual Property Law & Technology Advisory Council for the University of Akron School of Law. Her professional memberships include the Federal Bar Association, Medina County Bar Association and Federal Judge’s Association.

In 1993, she was honored with the Outstanding Alumni Award from the University of Akron School of Law and the 1996 Honored Alumni Award from the University of Akron. In 1997, the Medina County YWCA recognized her with the Women of Distinction Award.

Batchelder is married to Rep William G. Batchelder III, who serves in the Ohio legislature and is a former state judge. They have two adult children: William G. Batchelder IV, who attended Grove City College, and Elisabeth Batchelder Akers.

Before serving First Presbyterian Church in Bonita Springs, Fla., Dr. Douglas Pratt was previously senior pastor of Memorial Park Presbyterian Church in the North Hills of Pittsburgh until 2004.

A native of Pittsburgh and a graduate of New Wilmington Area High School, Pratt earned degrees from Allegheny College, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, Calif.

Pratt was ordained in Shenango Presbytery and is now in the 30th year of his ministry. In addition to serving pastorates in Kansas, Pennsylvania and Florida, he also authored the book “A Replica of Greatness” in 1999; served on the boards of several Christian mission organizations, including World Mission Initiative, the Caleb Project, Frontiers and Young Life; and has been active in leadership roles in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

He is married to Jeanne, a native of Boardman, Ohio, and has a nephew and niece who are Grove City College alumni: Joel and Jillian Antonucci.