For the first time in Biola’s history, a father-son duo will address graduates at Biola’s fall commencement ceremonies. Approximately 165 graduate students and 230 undergraduate students will receive their diplomas December 21, 2012. 

In light of this year’s university — From This Place: Proclaiming Good News in a Changing World — President Barry H. Corey selected father-son team Rev. Adrian De Visser and Prashan De Visser to speak, whose respective ministries illustrate the truth that the Good News does not change, even though the way it is proclaimed might change generation to generation. 

De Visser is the founder and senior pastor of Kithu Sevana Ministries in Sri Lanka, a missions-oriented church-planting organization with a burden for reaching those in areas and communities hitherto unreached by the gospel. Prashan, 25, is the president and founder of Sri Lanka Unites, a youth movement for hope and reconciliation in post-war Sri Lanka. Prashan will be the youngest speaker to ever address graduates at a Biola commencement ceremony.

The graduate ceremony will take place at 2 p.m. and the undergraduate ceremony will take place at 7:30 p.m. in Chase Gymnasium.

The Biola Symphony Orchestra, as well as Biola’s men’s a cappella group, The King's Men, will perform.

For those not able to attend the graduation in person, there will be a live feed to watch the graduation online from Biola’s website: www.biola.edu.

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Biola University, named one of 19 “up and coming” national universities by U.S. News & World Report three years in a row, is a private Christian university located in Southern California. For more than 100 years, Biola has remained committed to its mission of biblically centered education, integrating biblical principles with every academic program. With a current record-high enrollment of 6,250 students, the university’s six schools offer 145 academic programs, ranging from the B.A. to the Ph.D. For more information, visit www.biola.edu.