Graduation season is here, and the area’s six colleges – Ozarks Technical Community College, College of the Ozarks and Missouri State, Southwest Baptist, Drury and Evangel universities – conferred 7,920 degrees this month.

Drury awarded degrees to 543 graduates at its spring commencement May 14. In all, there were 245 undergraduate degrees, 45 graduate degrees and 268 degrees through the College of Continuing Professional Studies.

Photo provided by DRURY UNIVERSITY

Graduation season is here, and the area’s six colleges – Ozarks Technical Community College, College of the Ozarks and Missouri State, Southwest Baptist, Drury and Evangel universities – conferred 7,920 degrees this month.

SBU’s Ronda Credille, right, professor of business administration and former chair of the Department of Business Administration, was recognized for her retirement May 14. President C. Pat Taylor, center, and interim Provost Allison Langford thanked her for contributions to the school since 1990.

Photo provided by SOUTHWEST BAPTIST UNIVERSITY

Springfield’s March for Babies raised more than $90,000 for community education, research and advocacy through March of Dimes. Rain didn’t damper the April 30 event, where more than 500 participants took to the streets. The first March for Babies was held Oct. 7, 1970, in San Antonio, Texas. Today, the walks are held annually in more than 500 communities nationwide.

Photo provided by MARCH OF DIMES

To much crowd laughter, Ozarks Coca-Cola/Dr Pepper Bottling Co. CEO Edwin “Cookie” Rice Jr. warned the May 17 audience he wasn’t sure what he might say during his 12 People You Need to Know interview. The laughter continued from there. Rice intermixed the bottler’s origin story and the time he drove Ronald Reagan in a parade with corporate strategy and succession talk during the monthly breakfast series. Late last year, the company grew business by 60 percent through a new territory purchase. As to a succession plan, Rice said: “There’s no plan, because I’m still it. But I think she’s in the room,” pointing to daughter and Chairwoman Sally Hargis.