Eureka College will host its 162nd Commencement Ceremony on Saturday, May 13. The event will begin at 10:30 a.m. in the Christine Bonati Bollwinkle Arena of the Reagan Athletic Complex on the Eureka College campus and will be live-streamed on the college YouTube channel.
The college will recognize and celebrate 83 graduates who have earned degrees within the arts and education, science and mathematics, humanities, and social science and business divisions.
“Commencement is the celebration of the hard work our students did to accomplish their goal,” said Dr. Jamel Wright, President of Eureka College. “I am proud of each graduate for persevering during the challenging years of the pandemic and I know they will be successful in their chosen fields.”
The keynote address will be provided by 1981 Eureka College alumnus Bob Anderson. Anderson is the CEO of the OSF HealthCare System Central Region. Anderson originally joined OSF HealthCare in 1981 as a Medical Technologist in the laboratory at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center. He held various positions in the laboratory, becoming Director of Laboratory Services in 1987 and Corporate Director of Laboratories for OSF
HealthCare in 1998.
In 2005, Anderson moved to Administration as the Vice President of Technical and Support
Services. He then served in the role of Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at
OSF Saint Francis Medical Center from 2011 to 2017 and was the President of OSF HealthCare
Saint Francis Medical Center from 2017 through 2022.
After graduating from Eureka, Anderson earned his master’s in health services administration
from the College of Saint Francis in Joliet Illinois in 1995. In 2012, he earned his Fellow
credential in the American College of Healthcare Executives.
A lifelong Central Illinois resident, Anderson was named a Top 40 Under 40 leader in Peoria. He
has served on the boards of numerous Peoria non-profit organizations, including Family House,
the Heart of Illinois United Way, Peoria Hospitals Mobile Medical Services, Downtown
Development Corporation, and the Central Illinois American Red Cross.
Anderson lives in Eureka with his wife Lynne and has three grown children, Amanda, Elizabeth,
and Jeffrey.
