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Bellarmine University awarded 542 degrees during its May commencement ceremony, moved outdoors to Owsley B. Frazier Stadium to accommodate Bellarmine’s continued enrollment growth. The ceremony took place at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 9, 2015.

Michael B. McCallister, chairman of the Humana Foundation and retired president and chairman of Humana, delivered the commencement address. He also received an honorary degree during the commencement ceremony.

McCallister rose through the ranks at Humana for 26 years before being named the company’s president and chief executive officer in 2000. As the company grew into one of the largest healthcare companies in the United States, he held a series of executive positions at different hospitals in California, Texas and Arizona. He advanced to upper-level management positions during the 1990s, making his mark as a senior vice president during a time when the company faced financial losses. 

After Humana named McCallister president and chief executive officer in 2000, he announced that the company would focus on its core health insurance businesses and return to profitability. He introduced an all-digital health plan called Emphesys, designed to transfer all medical-provider transactions to the Internet and eliminate the use of paper. He also unveiled a revolutionary consumer-driven healthcare plan that allowed employees to make their own decisions, with employers contributing to each employee's tax-free personal account or allowance.

His strategies paid off: By 2004, Humana was ranked by Business Week as one of the top-performing companies in the United States. The company is now one of Louisville’s largest employers and an important corporate citizen. 

Saturday’s ceremony included 411 undergraduate and 131 graduate degrees. Including students who graduated last August and December, Bellarmine awarded 815 degrees during the 2014-15 academic year.

Bellarmine's Class of 2015 (click image to enlarge).