ÑÇÖÞAV

DUBUQUE, Iowa - This spring, the ÑÇÖÞAV will recognize and celebrate the academic accomplishments of undergraduate, graduate, and seminary students with two commencement ceremonies on Saturday, April 26, 2025.

The ÑÇÖÞAV Spring Commencement will be held at 1:00 p.m. on campus in the Chlapaty Recreation and Wellness Center. Doors will open at 11:30 a.m. Seating is not ticketed. Thirty-eight graduate students and 254 undergraduate students are eligible to participate in the ceremony.

For those unable to attend in person, the ceremony will be livestreamed and .

Caroline M. Grunenwald (C'08), PhD, a member of the UD Board of Trustees, will deliver the commencement address, titled "The Science of Fulfillment: Why Purpose, Gratitude, and Connection Matter."

Grunenwald is an assistant professor of biology at the University of Missouri, where she leads a research program focused on host-microbe interactions and bacterial stress responses. Her research is focused on defining how bacterial pathogens sense and respond to changes in the environment during infection, promoting evasion of the immune system and resistance to antibiotics, and aims to inform the development of novel treatment strategies and therapeutics against antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

A native of Merrill, Wisconsin, Grunenwald attended the ÑÇÖÞAV from 2004 to 2008, where she majored in biology and environmental science. While attending UD, Grunenwald was a researcher in the lab of Rasika Mudalige-Jayawickrama, PhD, professor of plant biology, and the 2008 recipient of the Department of Natural and Applied Sciences Robert M. Miller Excellence in Biology Award. Grunenwald was active across campus, including singing and touring with the UD Concert Choir, serving on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, and participating in intramural sports. As a member of the UD women's cross country and track and field teams, she earned All-Conference and Academic All-Conference honors. She still holds the school record in the Indoor 1,000m Run.

After receiving her bachelor of science, Grunenwald pursued a master of science in microbiology at Idaho State University and then a doctor of philosophy in microbiology from the University of Tennessee. Her doctor of philosophy dissertation focused on the eco-epidemiology of parasites in wildlife, for which she received several honors including the Gamma Sigma Delta Honor Society Award of Merit for Excellence in Agricultural Research and the Dr. John C. New Jr. Award for Excellence in Public Health or Epidemiological Research. She then went on to complete postdoctoral fellowships at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, and was an American Heart Association Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Madison, Wisconsin. She has authored numerous research publications, and book chapters, as well as served as an invited speaker at national and international scientific conferences. Her research has contributed to advancing the field of infectious diseases by revealing how the bacterial pathogen Staphylococcus aureus shifts its cellular physiology in response to changes in nutrient availability and antibiotic treatment.

In addition to her research career, Grunenwald is committed to mentoring and championing the next generation of students, fostering an inclusive and collaborative learning environment. She strives to help all students, regardless of major, connect scientific concepts to their everyday lives and to uphold the philosophy that science is for everyone. She currently teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in microbiology at the University of Missouri and serves on the Graduate Education Committee in the Division of Biological Sciences. She has completed specialized training in inclusive mentorship through the Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (CIMER) and actively engages in professional service and outreach as a member of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) and the ÑÇÖÞAV Board of Trustees.

Outside of her professional endeavors, Grunenwald is a dedicated wife to Nick Grunenwald and mother to Ella, Cade, and Cora. She is also an avid runner who regularly trains for endurance events and enjoys gardening as a means of cultivating both resilience and balance.

The ÑÇÖÞAV Theological Seminary Commencement will be held at 9:30 a.m. on campus in Blades Chapel, Blades Hall. Doors will open at 9:00 a.m. Seating is not ticketed. Twenty-five seminary students are eligible to participate in the ceremony, with 22 earning degrees and three earning certificates.

For those unable to attend in person, the ceremony will be livestreamed at .

Travis L. Frampton, PhD, president of the ÑÇÖÞAV, will deliver the commencement address, titled "Go Forth and Put on Your Garment."

Frampton is the 12th president of UD. His first day in office was June 1, 2024. Before being elected as president of UD, he served for five years as provost and vice president for academic affairs at Schreiner University (SU) in Kerrville, Texas. He came to SU in 2019 from Hardin-Simmons University (HSU) in Abilene, Texas, where he was vice president for University Mission and Strategic Vision and professor of religion. Previously, he held positions of associate provost, Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACS-COC) liaison, and master of arts in religion program director.

Frampton earned a bachelor of arts in religion from Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama, a master of arts in religion from Yale Divinity School in New Haven, Connecticut, and a dual doctor of philosophy degree in philosophy and religion from Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam (philosophy) in the Netherlands and Baylor University (religion) in Waco, Texas.

As provost and vice president for academic affairs at SU, Frampton created a new academic learning ecosystem for the campus, implemented new academic programs, designed relevant and innovative academic majors, developed mission-critical co-curricular programs, consistently maintained a balanced budget and created ways to improve efficiency, established graduate school pipelines for undergraduates, added resources to increase support for faculty development, and more.

Frampton and First Lady Tonya have three children, Blake, Benjamin, and Brody.

For more commencement information, please visit .