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A record class of 160 graduates faced some threatening skies and even dodged a momentary raindrop or two before a brilliant sun broke through and capped Martin Methodist College’s 141st Commencement for the Class of 2012 on Saturday, May 5.

With an estimated 2,000 people on the Campus Green, President Ted Brown praised this particular group of seniors for helping bring to a close the Martin 2010 long-range plan and fundraising campaign that raised nearly $42 million.

“This is a class that has been as much committed to the advancement of Martin Methodist College as any in the history of this institution and you have more than done your part,”  Brown said.

Along with the degrees presented to the graduates, Brown presented three significant individual honors as part of the ceremony.

The President’s Award, given to the graduating senior with the highest grade point average, was actually presented to two students who graduated with identical academic records. Eric Wesley Hughes, an English major from Goodspring, Tenn., and Michaela Jacobs, a biology major from Leoma, Tenn., shared that honor.

The 2012 Fred E. Ford Exemplary Teaching Award, given to a member of the faculty for outstanding contributions both in and outside of the classroom, was presented to Dr. John White, associate professor of criminal justice, who was the founding chair of that department and, only a few years later, it has become one of the largest academic programs on campus. He earned his bachelor of science degree from the University of North Alabama, his master of arts degree from Middle Tennessee State University, and his doctorate from Tennessee State University.