Sandra Frazier and Bill Mudd will address graduates 

Bellarmine University will confer an anticipated 781 degrees to new graduates during its 72nd annual commencement ceremonies on Saturday, May 10, 2025, in Freedom Hall at the Kentucky Exposition Center.  
 
A ceremony for graduate and doctoral degree candidates takes place at 10 a.m., and the undergraduate degree candidate ceremony follows at 2 p.m. 
 
During each ceremony, distinguished civic and business leaders will receive honorary degrees and deliver commencement addresses to students and their families. Each ceremony will also feature a graduating student speaker, selected through a competitive process led by the university’s academic deans. 
 
This year’s graduates join a powerful network of Bellarmine alumni whose outcomes set them apart both in Kentucky and nationwide. 99% of Bellarmine’s 2024 graduates were employed or pursuing advanced education within six months of commencement. Those graduates are working in 36 states, plus Washington, D.C., and six international destinations. Over a 40-year career, Bellarmine graduates see an average return on their investment of $1.93 million – well above state and national averages for public and private universities. 
 
Graduate & Doctoral Ceremony – 10 a.m. 
Sandra Frazier, founder and principal of Tandem Public Relations, will address attendees at the graduate ceremony. Frazier is widely respected for her strategic leadership in corporate and nonprofit communications and her deep civic involvement.  
 
She currently serves on the boards of Boston University, the James Graham Brown Foundation and Impetus for a Better Louisville, which she also chaired. In recognition of her enduring commitment to education and service, Bellarmine will award her the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa. 
 
Brandon Graves, a Ph.D. candidate in Education and Social Change, will serve as the student speaker for this ceremony. Graves is a 16-year educator in Jefferson County Public Schools, where he currently serves as a fifth-grade teacher as well as a teacher of special programs. He also spent two years teaching in the United Arab Emirates. 
 
Undergraduate Ceremony – 2 p.m.  
Bellarmine alumni Bill and Michelle Mudd will be honored at the undergraduate ceremony. Bill Mudd, president and COO of Churchill Downs Incorporated, and Michelle Mudd, a dedicated advocate for education and philanthropy, exemplify Bellarmine’s values through their leadership, generosity and community impact.  
 
Bill Mudd has served as a trustee and past chair of the Bellarmine Board of Trustees and received the university’s prestigious Knight of Knights award in 2021. Michelle Mudd serves on the executive board of Maryhurst and has supported numerous organizations across Louisville. Both will receive the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa. Bill Mudd will also deliver the commencement address. 
 
Bailey Korfhage, a double major in Accounting and Finance, will be the student speaker, Korfhage has completed five internships, served as a VITA volunteer, and is a Bellarmine Fellows Scholar, among other accomplishments. She was recently recognized as the outstanding accounting student at the W. Fielding Rubel School of Business student awards event.
 
More information about Bellarmine’s commencement ceremonies is published at www.bellarmine.edu/commencement.