DBU Celebrates 395 New Graduates at Winter Commencement Services

DBU celebrated 395 new undergraduate, master's, and doctoral graduates, and now DBU alumni, at this year’s winter Commencement services held on Friday, December 15. More than 41,000 graduates are now spread throughout the world to bring the transforming light of Christ into their professional and ministry callings.

10:00 a.m. Commencement Service

At the 10:00 a.m. service, Dr. Ndolembai S. Njesada (a DBU alumnus) provided the address to the new graduates. Dr. Njesada holds a Ph.D. from the University of North Texas Health Science Center (UNTHSC) and serves as a consultant in public health and as a political advisor to various NGOs and companies in multiple countries. Dr. Njesada served from 2012 to 2015 as the Country Director for "Malaria No More," a U.S. based Public Health Non-Governmental Organization (NGO). He developed country-wide public health programs on malaria education and intervention. His collaborative effort with government institutions and local and international NGOs led to the first ever universal, mosquito-treated net distribution in his home country of Chad with over eight million nets distributed. In 2015, Dr. Njesada joined Partners for Refugee Empowerment (PRE) in Fort Worth as the Program Manager, providing strategic planning in designing, implementing, and monitoring mental health services for resettled refugees in Tarrant County. In 2018, he resigned as deputy chief of mission at the United Nations Office of International Migration (UN-IOM) to co-found and advocate on behalf of the new "Les Transformateurs" political party in Chad.

3:00 p.m. Commencement Service

Dr. Mark Yarbrough, who serves as the sixth President of Dallas Theological Seminary and teaches as a professor of Bible Exposition, encouraged the graduates at the 3:00 p.m. service. Before stepping into his current role as President, Dr. Yarbrough held numerous academic and administrative leadership positions at DTS, including Research Assistant to the President, Executive Director of Information Technology, Associate Dean for External Education, Vice President for Communications, Academic Dean, and Vice President of Academic Affairs. He was also a recipient of the Faculty Teaching Excellence Award. Dr. Yarbrough is the author of several books, including Jonah: Beyond the Tale of a Whale (2020) and How to Read the Bible Like a Seminary Professor (2023). He earned both his Master of Arts in Theological Studies and his Ph.D. from Dallas Theological Seminary.