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Commencement at Trinity

Saturday, May 16, 2026

  • 10:30 AM
    Holy Eucharist
    The Ascension of Our Lord
    Gloria Dei Worship Center
  • 11:30 AM 
    Luncheon
    Koinonia Center
  • 1:30 PM
    Commencement
    Gloria Dei Worship Center

Bishop Kevin L. Strickland

2026 Commencement Speaker
Bishop Kevin L. Strickland

The Rev. Dr. Kevin L. Strickland was elected Bishop of the Southeastern Synod on June 2, 2019 and re-elected on May 29, 2025 to serve another six-year term. Prior to being elected Bishop, he served in the ELCA Churchwide office since August of 2014 as the Assistant to the Presiding Bishop, Executive for Worship of the ELCA.
 
Born and raised in Lexington, SC, Bishop Strickland is an honors graduate of Newberry College (Newberry, SC) with a Bachelor of Arts in Religion and Philosophy and a minor in History.  He also obtained a Master of Divinity from Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary (Columbia, SC).  In December of 2019, Newberry College awarded him a Doctorate of Divinity.  In May of 2024, he earned a Doctorate of Ministry degree in Church Leadership and Community Witness from Candler School of Theology at Emory University.  Bp. Strickland also holds a certificate in Executive religious fundraising. 
 
Bishop Strickland served as pastor of Holy Trinity Lutheran (Nashville, TN) and St. Paul Lutheran (Maryville, TN) prior and has served at Incarnation Lutheran (Columbia, SC), St. Philip’s Lutheran (Newberry, SC), Lutheran Church of Redeemer (Newberry, SC), and Mt. Tabor Lutheran (West Columbia, SC) in the area of youth and family ministry.
 
With a heart for justice and advocacy ministry, Bishop Strickland has served on various local and national non-profit boards. He currently serves a member of the ELCA Conference of Bishops and on the boards of Georgia Interfaith Public Policy Council, Inspiritus, Middle East Ready Bench of the ELCA, Ecumenical and Interreligious Committee of the ELCA, Quality of Call Initiative, First Call Process, Immigration Ready Bench of the ELCA, ELCA Church Council,1517 Media, Newberry College, NovusWay, Region Nine Council, James R. Crumley Region Nine Archives, Day 1 Advisory Council, and many others.
 
Bishop Strickland has been published in several worship and preaching journals and books. In April of 2021, he was inducted into Morehouse College Martin Luther King, Jr. College of Ministers.  He and his spouse, Robby, are excited about what God has in store for the Southeastern Synod of the ELCA and look forward to walking this journey together.

Graduating Students

Students may complete the graduation application in myCap. If you have not applied for graduation, you will need to contact the Registrar's Office for assistance at graduation@capital.edu or 614-236-6150.

All prospective graduates will be required to complete the following

  • Application for graduation received by registrar
  • Required coursework
  • Incompletes
  • Official transcripts
  • Any other materials related to completion of the degree

Those that have completed the above requirements may receive their diplomas at the commencement ceremony. Students who complete degree requirements and graduated in summer or fall terms are also eligible to participate in the commencement ceremony.  

All bills and fees must be paid prior to graduation. If your account is not completely cleared by graduation, neither diplomas nor transcripts will be issued. Contact the Financial Aid Office at 614-236-6216 with questions. 

Regalia

Graduation regalia is available to order here. Regalia may be shipped to your home or the Capital University Bookstore. Pickup is available at the bookstore beginning the week of April 27. For any regalia-related questions, please contact Cliff Fehr from Herrf Jones at cfehrway@hotmail.com. 

If you prefer, you may opt-out of purchasing a hood and instead borrow a hood from the seminary. Seminary-owned hoods will be available to borrow prior to the ceremony. Please make arrangements with Dr. Nakamura (lnakamura@capital.edu) to borrow a hood. 

Guest Information 

Directions to Campus

The seminary's address is 2199 E Main Street, Columbus, OH 43209.  For detailed directions, please see below.

From Port Columbus International Airport
  1. Capital is within a short flight of many major U.S. cities. Chicago, Atlanta, Nashville, Washington, D.C., and New York City are all within 90 minutes of Columbus, Ohio. The campus is approximately a 15-minute drive from Port Columbus.
  2. At the end of the airport's main drive, turn left (south) onto Stelzer Road.
  3. Follow Stelzer (which will change names and become James Road) approximately 2.5 miles to Main Street.
  4. Turn right on Main Street.
  5. Travel approximately 1 mile to Pleasant Ridge Avenue.
  6. Turn left on Pleasant Ridge Avenue. 
From the Northwest
  1. Travel south on I-75 to Route 23.
  2. Follow Route 23 into Columbus and take I-270 east to I-71 South
  3. Travel south on I-71 to the Broad Street exit.
  4. Turn east (driving away from downtown) onto Broad Street and drive 2.5 miles to Drexel Avenue in Bexley.
  5. Turn right onto Drexel Avenue and continue south until Drexel ends in front of the campus at Main Street.
  6. Turn left (east) onto Main Street.
  7. At the next light, Pleasant Ridge Avenue, turn right (south).
From the East
  1. Travel west on I-70 to the Livingston Avenue exit.
  2. Turn left (west) on Livingston Avenue.
  3. Turn right (north) at the first traffic light onto Alum Creek Drive.
  4. When Alum Creek dead ends in front of the Kroger store, turn right (east) on Main Street.
  5. At the fourth traffic light, turn right (south) on Pleasant Ridge Avenue.
From the West
  1. Travel east on I-70 to the Bexley/Main Street exit.
  2. Exit at Bexley/Main Street. The exit ramp automatically turns onto Alum Creek Drive, which will dead end at Main Street (in front of the Kroger store).
  3. Turn right (east) on Main Street.
  4. At the fourth traffic light, turn right (south) on Pleasant Ridge Avenue.
From the North or South
  1. Travel I-71 to the Broad Street exit.
  2. Turn east (driving away from downtown) onto Broad Street and drive 2.5 miles to Drexel Avenue in Bexley.
  3. Turn right onto Drexel Avenue and continue south until Drexel ends in front of the campus at Main Street.
  4. Turn left (east) onto Main Street.
  5. At the next light, Pleasant Ridge Avenue, turn right (south).

Parking

  • Guest Parking– All guests have access to all F and S parking lots on campus, but we suggest parking in the F7 and S8 lots for easy access to the Seminary. Please see map here (PDF).
  • Handicap Parking – There are several accessible parking spaces in the F7 and S8 lots and handicap access on the lower level of the seminary. There is also an elevator located down the hall on the left of the lower level.