Judge Mark D. Pfeiffer of the Missouri Western District Court of Appeals to Deliver 2022 Commencement Address
Fulton, MO ‒ May 3, 2022: Westminster College announced today that Judge Mark D. Pfeiffer of the Missouri Western District Court of Appeals will deliver the 171-year-old institution’s commencement address at 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 14, 2022, in Champ Auditorium.
A resident of Columbia, MO, Pfeiffer graduated from Westminster in 1989 with a bachelor’s degree in accounting and earned his juris doctor degree in 1991 from the University of Missouri School of Law.
Pfeiffer was appointed to the Western District Court of Appeals by Gov. Jay Nixon in 2009 and served as chief judge from 2016 to 2018.
His tenure on the Court of Appeals followed a career in private practice spanning nearly 20 years, where he specialized as a trial and appellate attorney in civil litigation.
Pfeiffer is an Executive Committee member of the Council of Chief Judges of State Courts of Appeal and chair of the Missouri Appellate Court Education Committee.
He also is a judicial fellow of the National Board of Trial Advocacy and an active member of the Missouri Bar Association, Boone County Bar Association, and Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association. He previously volunteered in his community with the Ronald McDonald House, the Daniel Boone Little League, and the Columbia Youth Basketball Association.
Born in Jacksonville, IL, Pfeiffer grew up in Columbia and graduated from Hickman High School. At Westminster, Pfeiffer played both varsity baseball and basketball and was a member of the Kappa Alpha fraternity.
He currently teaches American Jurisprudence at Westminster as an adjunct faculty member.
Pfeiffer and his wife, Tracey, are the parents of two grown sons, Wilson and Brady.
“The College is pleased to have Judge Pfeiffer back on campus to deliver this year’s commencement address,” said President and Chief Transformation Officer Donald P. Lofe, Jr. “Our graduating seniors can expect very specific, personalized advice about what a degree from Westminster College truly means and the success it leads to in the professional world.”
Pfeiffer’s address is part of a number of commencement activities at Westminster beginning with baccalaureate at 10:30 a.m. in the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury, part of America’s National Churchill Museum. Baccalaureate seating is limited to graduates, family members, and event employees only.
Doors to the graduation ceremony will open at 1 p.m., with the ceremony starting promptly at 2 p.m. Seating is limited to those with a ticket and members of the news media. For those who cannot attend in person, Graduation 2022 will be livestreamed via Westminster’s YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter accounts.
The ceremony will include a unique diploma presentation for the late Rev. Charles Chrisman Tevis, Class of 1906, to his grandson, Jeffrey Tevis, of Irvine, CA.
The Tevis family searched for the diploma for decades, and Westminster agreed to reprint the document this spring after officially confirming Tevis’ Bachelor of Arts degree.
Following commencement exercises, graduates will participate in the Columns Ceremony, a time-honored Westminster tradition. Just as they are welcomed as freshmen into the Westminster community by walking through the Columns onto campus, graduates say goodbye to Westminster by walking the opposite direction through the Columns and into the world.
A full schedule of commencement activities can be found on the News and Events page of Westminster’s website.
ABOUT WESTMINSTER COLLEGE: Founded in 1851 and home of Winston Churchill’s “Iron Curtain” speech, Westminster College in Fulton, MO, is ranked prestigiously by U.S. News & World Report as the only National Liberal Arts College in Missouri. The institution is in the top 16 percent for graduate earnings and boasts a 98 percent placement rate. Westminster also is a Forbes Best Value College. Westminster focuses on educating and inspiring students to become the world leaders of tomorrow. To find out more about Westminster, please visit the College’s website.
