Jones confirmed as MVNU Commencement speaker

MOUNT VERNON, Ohio — The president and general counsel of the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Ohio, C. Todd Jones, will address Mount Vernon Nazarene University graduates during both traditional and Graduate Professional Studies commencement ceremonies on Saturday, May 4, at 10 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., respectively.

While serving on Ohio’s State Board of Education, Jones was part of the leadership team that created Ohio’s graduation standards, honors diploma system, new district report cards and the state’s first rules on the use of restraint-and-seclusion.

He was a member of the George W. Bush administration from 2001-05, serving in the U.S. Department of Education. Prior to that, he was the deputy assistant secretary for Civil Rights Enforcement and led the President’s Commission on Excellence in Special Education.

Rev. Bret Layton will be the featured speaker at the baccalaureate service on Friday, May 3, at 7 p.m. He pastored for 26 years before taking on the role of Vice-President of Advancement and Church Relations at World Gospel Mission in Marion, Indiana. In 2018, he was elected District Superintendent of the West Virginia South District Church of the Nazarene.

All three ceremonies will take place in R.R. Hodges Chapel/Auditorium.

For more information, visit www.mvnu.edu/commencement.

Mount Vernon Nazarene University is a private, four-year, intentionally Christian teaching university for traditional age students, graduate students, and working adults. With a 327-acre main campus in Mount Vernon, Ohio, and several convenient Graduate and Professional Studies locations throughout the state, MVNU emphasizes academic excellence, spiritual growth, and service to community and church. MVNU offers an affordable education to more than 2,200 students from 31 states and 22 countries/U.S. territories.

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