Oregon Tech honors students with two in-person graduation ceremonies

The following is a press release from the Oregon Institute of Technology.

KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. - Oregon Institute of Technology (Oregon Tech) is welcoming graduates and their families and friends to campuses in June to celebrate the classes of 2022, 2021, and 2020 during two in-person commencement ceremonies.

Keynote speakers include the president and CEO of Asante, Scott Kelly; Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission (HECC) Chair Terry Cross; and Senator Elizabeth Steiner Hayward of Oregon District 17.

In Klamath Falls, Oregon Tech will hold two ceremonies to honor graduates. The College of Health, Arts and Sciences ceremony is Friday, June 10, at 2 p.m., and the College of Engineering, Technology, and Management will take place Saturday, June 11, at 10 a.m. Scott Kelly is the keynote speaker for the College of Health, Arts and Sciences ceremony, and Terry Cross will speak at the ceremony to celebrate graduates of the College of Engineering, Technology, and Management.

Following the Klamath Falls events, the Portland-Metro campus will celebrate Sunday, June 12, at 2 p.m. with Sen. Steiner Hayward.

Scott Kelly
Scott Kelly is the president and CEO of Asante, a healthcare provider based in Southern Oregon. Kelly has served in several leadership roles, including chief operational officer, executive vice president, chief strategy and business development officer, and chief executive officer of Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center.

Kelly is a member of the Oregon Health Leadership Council. He also chairs the Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems Board, the Jackson Care Connect Board, and Jackson Care Connect Finance Committee. His prior experience includes strategic leadership positions at Saint Agnes Medical Center in Fresno, Calif., and Saint Paul Medical Center in Dallas, Texas.

Kelly holds a Master of Science in Business Administration from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.

Terry L. Cross
Terry L. Cross is the founding executive director of the National Indian Child Welfare Association and chair of the Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission. He is an enrolled member of the Seneca Nation, and received a master’s degree in social work from Portland State University.

Cross is the author of Positive Indian Parenting and co-authored Towards a Culturally Competent System of Care, published by Georgetown University.

Cross has 49 years of experience in child welfare, including 10 years of direct practice.

Elizabeth Steiner Haward
Elizabeth Steiner Hayward is an adjunct associate professor of Family Medicine at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU). She has served as the state senator for Northwest Portland and Beaverton since 2011. Steiner Hayward co-chairs the state Ways and Means Committee, which oversees Oregon's state budget. She is also a member of the Capital Construction Sub-Committee and the Legislative Audits Committee, both of which address portions of the budget. Sen. Steiner Hayward also serves as deputy majority leader on the Oregon Senate Democrats leadership team.

In her time in the Oregon Legislature, she has raised the legal age for purchasing tobacco products to 21, increased statewide vaccination rates, passed legislation establishing the nation’s first statewide universally-offered nurse home visiting program, and addressed the opioid epidemic head-on through behavioral health treatment programs and increasing access to medication-assisted treatment.

Steiner Hayward earned a Bachelor of Arts in Religion from the University of Chicago and a Doctor of Medicine from the University of Massachusetts.

Oregon Tech’s Seattle campus ceremony will take place Tuesday, June 14, to celebrate program graduates who are employees at Boeing. A speaker for the event has not been announced.