Central Methodist University will hold Winter Commencement exercises at 1 p.m. on Saturday at Puckett Fieldhouse on the Fayette campus. Business owner and author Rogers Strickland is slated as the commencement speaker.

Mr. Strickland is the founder and CEO of Strickland Construction Company, operating out of Olathe, Kan. He also founded and still holds roles with Attic Self Storage Group and Strickland Farms. He earned a Bachelor of Science from Oklahoma State University in 1975 and a Master of Science in management from Troy State University in 1977.

Strickland serves on several governing boards, including the Saint Paul School of Theology board of trustees, the Friends of San Lucas board of directors, and the Camp Wood YMCA board, of which he is a past president. Strickland works closely with the Friends of San Lucan Construction Program, using his funds and resources to help build houses, churches, community centers, and schools in San Lucas, Guatemala.

Prior to starting his businesses, Strickland served as a United Methodist minister in the Oklahoma Conference from 1971 to 1973 and as a Medical Service Corps officer in the U.S. Air Force from 1973 to 1980. He recently published a memoir, “Amazing Grace,” in which he tells firsthand stories from his unique and varied life.

Strickland has strong ties to Central Methodist and the Howard County area. His mother and many of his cousins attended Central, and his uncle Thomas E. Birch – to whom the bandstand on the Fayette square is dedicated – was a Central band director. Strickland also graduated from Kemper Military School in Boonville and later taught in the college program for two years.

The commencement ceremony will be live-streamed for those unable to attend in person at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZni0AftMRA