¢ Erin E. Bennett and Jenna L. Wilcox, both of Lawrence, graduated summa cum laude from Creighton University in Omaha, Neb., on May 12. Bennett received a Bachelor of Science, and Wilcox earned a Bachelor of Social Work.

¢ Devon Elizabeth Hardy-Bireta, Lawrence, graduated summa cum laude from Truman State University in Kirksville, Mo., on May 5. She received a Bachelor of Arts in history and had a cumulative grade-point average of at least 3.9. Hardy-Bireta was named to the President’s List for earning a 4.0 grade-point average during the spring 2007 semester.

¢ Rebecca Nicolette Verhaeghe, Baldwin City, and Desmond Charles Granger, Lawrence, were named to the Vice President for Academic Affairs’ List for the spring 2007 semester at Truman State University in Kirksville, Mo. They earned a grade-point average of 3.5 to 3.99.

¢ Several area students were named to honor rolls at Washburn University for the spring 2007 semester. Lawrence students named to the President’s Honor Roll for earning a grade-point average of 4.0 include Kristin Bell, Megen Duffy, Richard Eastridge, Valerie Grose, Kristen Harms, Jerald Hopkins, Mouhamadou Lamine Kane, Kim Ledbetter, Sarah Morrison, Julie Reece, Haley Smith, Ashley Taylor, Stephanie Woodman and Caroline Yarnevich. Other area students include Cody Heston, Oskaloosa; Allegra Fisher and Kasandra Williams, Perry; and Kristin Barnes, Tonganoxie.

Lawrence students named to the Dean’s Honor Roll for earning a grade-point average between 3.4 and 3.99 include Benjamin Aber, Katherine Baxter, Rebekah Berkley, Jennifer Billet, Megan Blair, Kofi Annor Boye-Doe, Andrew Brown, William Brubaker, Stephanie Coon, Ryan Cox, Rebecca Cruse, Andrea Curtis, Jason Flory, Lori Forst, James Hall, Michael Harmon, Joe Harrell, Jeffrey Hornberger, Courtney Kimple, Kristi Lane, William Malcolm, Sarah Martin, Brooke McDonald, Katherine Meyer, Sarah Moore, Sean O’Callaghan, Angela Pearson, Kevin Prather, Carolyn Raynes, Bobi Riley, Michael Roessler, Emily Sears, Elizabeth Sheely, Heather Strahl, Melanie Tuffley and Melissa Wenger.

Other area students are Amanda Turner, Baldwin City; Ashley Foos and Christopher Ketter, Lecompton; Leah Overbaugh, McLouth; Sarah Bellinger, Tracie Bishop, Kristen Garren and Ellen Langlois, Oskaloosa; Lilly Varner, Overbrook; Kathryn Brooks and Britain Stites, Tonganoxie; and Krystle Barthol, Wellsville.

¢ Southwestern College in Winfield conducted commencement exercises on May 6. Area graduates included Hayley Holthus, Basehor, who received a Bachelor of Arts; and Joseph Bellinger and Tom Hartley, of Lawrence, who both earned a Bachelor of Science.

¢ Several area students in Baker University’s School of Nursing were named to Dean’s List for earning a 3.5 grade-point average or higher during the spring 2007 semester.

Lawrence students named to the list include Sarah Bagwell, Melissa Baranek, Esther Bowman, Kelci Burns, Amanda Crabbs, Jennifer Dixon, Lindsay Gutierrez, Jamie Haverkamp, Terry Herschell, Sally Jennings, Michael Lanier, Elizabeth Mariano, Eileen Murtha, Danielle Reed, Debra Slack, Sierra Slavin, Jodie Smith and Abbie West.

Other students include Sarah Dunn, Baldwin City, and Joah Buchanan, Eudora.

¢ Bonnie Toplikar, Lawrence, was named to the President’s List at the University of Iowa in Iowa City for the spring 2007 semester. Students named to the list had a minimum 4.0 grade-point average in all academic subjects for the preceding two semesters. Toplikar is a student in the College of Business Administration.

¢ David Jesse and Cameron Karlin, both of Lawrence, graduated from Iowa State University in Ames during spring commencement ceremonies. Jesse received a Master of Science in interdisciplinary graduate studies, and Karlin, who graduated with distinction, received a Bachelor of Science in economics.

¢ Engineering students at Kansas University finished 10th overall at the 2007 Society of Automotive Engineers Formula Car Challenge, conducted in Romeo, Mich.

Area students on the Jayhawk Motorsports team include Edward Alsop and Jered Nunn, both of Lawrence, and Gretchen Christenson, Tonganoxie.

In addition to a $250 cash prize and the Spirit of Excellence Award for finishing 10th, the team took first-place in the Ductile Iron Design Contest.

The competition required teams to design, build and drive a small formula-style race car. The teams and their cars were evaluated in high performance track endurance, acceleration, presentation, design, cost and technical inspection, among other areas.

Student teams were required to adhere to extensive safety regulations and make technical presentations.

¢ Several area students were honored for grades achieved during the spring 2007 semester at Johnson County Community College in Overland Park.

Lawrence students named to the President’s Honor Roll for earning a 4.0 grade-point average include Kira Barker, Travis Bronson, Sarah Burns, Alexis Cluchey, Benjamin Cross, Anuruddha D Liyanawaduge, Angela Davies, Blake Elder, Aaron Emerson, Letitia Garber, Benjamin Gleeson, Kalanka Goonawarna, Michael Imdieke, Anne Kincaid, Ginger Kincaid, Amanda Koehn, Jacqueline Kurtz, Paikran Lee, Daniel Leist, Guoying Ma, Nicholas Martinez, Matthew Midyett, Todd Morris, Andrew Moskow, Daniel O’Connell, Heather Odell, Hideki Onaga, Brian Powell Jr., Sumanth Raghavendra, Tiffanie Riebel, Katelyn Stevenin, Megan Sweet, Robyn Tackett, Kendra Verhage and Xuejing Zheng.

Other area students named to the President’s Honor Roll include Gabriel Dorsey and Travis Fell, Baldwin City; Alyssa Jordan, Basehor; Jessica Blankenship, Myra Calderon, Christopher Clemmer and Jordan Hevel, De Soto; Heather Simons, Eudora; Melody Tarbox, Ottawa; Andrea Hamilton, Overbrook; Alan Davis, Lisa Holton, David Lamb and Cody Owsley, Tonganoxie; and Ryan Dalton, Wellsville.

Lawrence students names to the Dean’s List for earning a grade-point average of 3.5 to 3.99 include Amanda Baldwin, Sarah Beaulieu, Justin Begaye, Mildred Bell, Justin Boehle, Kevin Brennan, Ian Brown, Elizabeth Browne, Ellen Cavender, Aaron Clary, Nathan Coffman, Katherine Collinge, John Darling, Emmanuel Emah-Emeni, Brian Haynes, Rachel Helker, Kelley Hukle-VanKirk, Matthew James, Xin Jing, Robert Kennedy, Jennifer Kissinger, Dawa Lama Tamang, Eric Leuthold, Emily Lundberg, Cynthia Matthias, Samuel McCall, Calvin McConnell, Rhonda McCracken, Anthony McNulty, Randy Miller, Jason O’Bryon, Brittany O’Donnell, Brenda Ojeleye, Casey Owens, Tommie Peckenpaugh Jr., Kristin Potter, Elizabeth Salas, Adrienne Sanchez, Hannah Sheridan, Paula Smith, Ana Sosa-Hernandez, Kevin Strohfus, Courtney Taylor, Adam Tong, Kerry Townsend, Austin Turney, Kyle Van Buren, Amber Wealthall, Levi Weaverling, Ryan Wing and Jeungen Yu.

Other area students named to the Dean’s List include Travis Climer, Laurie Searl and Jennifer Wyman, Baldwin City; Katie Keith, Ashton McMahon and Katy Peterson, Basehor; Stephen Chick Jr., Thomas Faircloth, Ashley Fisher, Emily Hedge, Andrew Moore, Crystal Sedars, Gary Slater, Benjamin Smith and Adam Wilcox, De Soto; Charles Bannister, Karina Christensen, Katie Kornbrust and Kaori Wakabayashi, Eudora; Ryan Chavers and Carlin Peterson, Linwood; Devin Baker, McLouth; John Cover and Britani Gardner, Ottawa; Leslie Huffman, Overbrook; and Russell George, Jeremy Lee, Anna Rees and Bethany Schwab, Wellsville.

¢ Cameron Moore, Perry, was named to the Dean’s List for grades achieved during the spring 2007 semester at Spring Arbor University in Spring Arbor, Mich. Students who earn a grade-point average of 3.5 or higher are named to the list.