Elms College to Stage 91st Commencement on May 14 

CHICOPEE — College of Our Lady of the Elms will stage its 91st Commencement exercises on May 14 at 10 a.m., with the procession starting at 9:30 a.m., at the MassMutual Center in downtown Springfield.  
More than 400 students — undergraduate, master’s, and doctor-of-nursing practice — will participate in the ceremony 
Francis Kirley, president and CEO of Nexion Health, will deliver the commencement address for the Class of 2022 and receive an honorary degree. As the founder and president and CEO of Nexion Health, Kirley leads more than 40 skilled nursing facilities in Colorado, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. He has more than 32 years of acute and long-term healthcare management experience and founded Nexion to be a strong clinically-driven healthcare organization. 
Honorary degrees will also be awarded to Karen Keating Ansara, founder and chair of the Network of Engaged International Donors, and Maureen Ann Kervick, SSJ, former administrator at Elms College, in recognition of their outstanding contributions to the world. 
Ansara and her husband, Jim, make grants to end global poverty with a focus on Haiti. In late 2008, she launched New England International Donors, now the Network of Engaged International Donors, a nationwide network of more than 180 philanthropists, foundations, and impact investors learning and funding to address the world’s big problems. After the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, Ansara co-founded the Haiti Fund at the Boston Foundation, now the Haiti Development Institute, which strengthens Haitian-led organizations and connects funders to them. 

Sister Maureen taught at schools in the Springfield and Providence Dioceses before becoming administrator at Mont Marie Infirmary. She was director of student services and dean of students at Elms College, associate retreat director of Our Lady of Sorrows Monastery in West Springfield, and a nursing instructor at Springfield College. She also served as vice president of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Springfield from 1987 to 1993. Sr. Maureen was both administrator and executive director at St. Gabriel’s Youth House, Shelter Island Heights, NY, and the administrator of Seton Manor, an agency of Catholic Charities in Boston. She returned to Elms College as director of campus ministry. Currently, she is administrator of The National Marian Shrine and former site supervisor for the Passionist Volunteers. More details on Elms College’s Commencement activities can be found at:  commencement.elms.edu/