Central Methodist University will soon celebrate hundreds of its most recent graduates across multiple campuses and online learning, starting with the Spring Commencement ceremony for Fayette on May 10. The event will take place at 1 p.m. in Puckett Fieldhouse and feature 1969 graduate Laurence R. Tucker as the commencement speaker.

Tucker serves as senior counsel to the law firm of Armstrong Teasdale LLP and works from the firm’s Kansas City, Mo. office. He has practiced law primarily in the field of civil rights litigation in Kansas City for more than 45 years in three different firms. He was an equity partner at Armstrong Teasdale from the time he joined in 1996 until 2016, when he retired from full-time practice and moved to working on specific projects as senior counsel.

Tucker has also acted as the chancellor for the Missouri Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church from 2006 to 2019. In the role of chancellor, he was the legal advisor to the Bishop and the Conference itself. He also served on the Missouri Bar’s Young Lawyer Section, acting as the section’s chair, and was on the Missouri Bar’s Board of Governors. He is a past president of the Missouri Bar, having served in the role from 1995 to 1996.

Tucker is a member of the board of trustees at Central Methodist, serving as the secretary. He has earned many awards throughout his career, including the Missouri Bar’s President’s Award and the CMU Distinguished Alumni Award (1996).

Tucker resides in Liberty, Mo. with his wife, Sylvia. They have three daughters and nine grandchildren.

Tucker’s address and the whole of the Fayette graduation ceremony will be livestreamed for those unable to attend on Youtube.

In addition to the Fayette commencement, CMU celebrate graduation at the Park Hills and Sedalia locations on May 17. The Park Hills ceremony will take place at 11 a.m., while the Sedalia graduation will begin at 1 p.m.