Baccalaureate Speaker: Kirbyjon Caldwell |
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On Sunday, May 18, the Reverend Kirbyjon H. Caldwell will be Penn’s guest speaker for the Baccalaureate Ceremony, an interfaith program that includes music, readings and prayers.
Two consecutive ceremonies will be held in Irvine Auditorium in order to accommodate all those who wish to attend. Graduating students whose last names begin with A–K are invited to attend at 1:30 p.m.; those whose last names begin with L–Z are invited to attend at 3 p.m.
Wharton alumnus Kirbyjon H. Caldwell is senior pastor of Windsor Village United Methodist Church in Houston, TX. Under the leadership of Rev. Caldwell since 1982, church membership has increased from 25 members to more than 16,000, making it one of the largest Protestant churches in the country. As a result of his effective social entrepreneurship, both he and the Windsor Village Church Family have been featured extensively in national and international media, including US News & World Report, BBC, The Wall Street Journal and CBS Evening News. He was included in Newsweek’s “Century Club,” their list of 100 people to watch as America moved into the 21st century.
In partnership with the church, he has spearheaded several independently operated nonprofits and community development projects that have impacted the social and economic landscape of central Southwest Houston, including The Power Center and Pointe 2.3.4. The Power Center is a 21st century service delivery model of private and public partnership that serves 11,000-plus families a month. Pointe 2.3.4. is a 234-acre, mini-master-planned community that encompasses a commercial park; Corinthian Pointe, a residential subdivision consisting of 462 homes; a YMCA; an HISD elementary school; a senior high charter school; Texas Children’s Pediatrics Center; an independent living facility; and a Community Center. The nonprofit projects have produced 700 permanent jobs and make a $65.5 million cash flow impact on the community annually. He is the founder of three schools that provide education to students from elementary to senior high school.
Rev. Caldwell serves on several corporate and nonprofit boards, including NRG Energy where he serves as chair of the Governance Nominating Committee, Inc., Bridgeway Capital Management; and MD Anderson-The University Cancer Foundation. He is also a limited partner with the Houston Texans NFL Franchise.
A native Houstonian, Rev. Caldwell was educated in the Houston public schools; received a BA in economics from Carleton College; an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School in 1977; a master’s degree in theology from Southern Methodist University, Perkins School of Theology; and two honorary doctor of law degrees, one from Huston-Tillotson College and another from Carleton College.
He is the author of the best seller The Gospel of Good Success and co-author of Entrepreneurial Faith.
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