Jewell to celebrate the Class of 2025

04/23/2025

William Jewell College celebrates the Class of 2025 at a Commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 17. The traditional Walk Around the Quad led by Kansas City Celtic Pipes and Drums begins at 10 a.m. with Commencement at 10:30 a.m. in the Mabee Center. The event is open to guests, and a link to the recording will be available on this page after the event.

The Commencement Speaker: Raghu Adiga, M.D.

As CEO of the Liberty Market for The University of Kansas Health System, Dr. Raghu Adiga is committed to serving the healthcare needs of residents of Kansas City’s Northland and Northwest Missouri with high-quality patient care. An infectious disease specialist, he served for seven years as chief medical officer at Liberty Hospital before assuming the role of president and CEO in June 2022.

Dr. Adiga oversees more than 2,000 employees in the Liberty market that includes Liberty Hospital and 18 primary and specialty care clinics in the rapidly growing Northland. He is a committed servant leader to physicians and employees and positively impacts his patients and community.      

In 2021 Dr. Adiga was honored by William Jewell College with the William F. Yates Medallion for Distinguished Service for his leadership and dedication to the health and safety of the region during the COVID-19 pandemic. He was named to the Kansas City Business Journal’s “20 to Know” list and has been listed among “Top Doctors in Kansas City” and “Healthcare Heroes” by Ingram’s Magazine. Earlier this year, the medical staff leaders and the hospital board awarded him the Stocksdale medallion for his lifetime contributions to the hospital and its patients. Dr. Adiga serves as a board member for the Center for Practical Bioethics, Medical Liability Alliance of Missouri Hospital Association and Regional Policy Board of American Hospital Association.  He is an active member of the Northland Chamber of Commerce, Northland Health Alliance and Liberty Economic Development Corporation.

Dr. Adiga finished his Internal Medicine residency at the University of Illinois at Chicago and completed Infectious Diseases fellowships at the University of Chicago and the University of Missouri, Columbia. He has practiced medicine in Missouri since 1997 and is a respected thought leader on the post-pandemic realities creating challenges for independent and rural hospitals in the evolving healthcare environment.

The Senior Speaker: Carson Krop

Carson Krop was voted by his classmates to deliver the senior address. The Liberty North High School graduate and Jewell’s 2024 Homecoming King is a nursing major and nursing tutor, a Pryor Leadership Fellow and a member of Cardinal Sound, Jewell Jazz Band and Phi Gamma Delta. He’s excited to start his career at The University of Kansas Medical Center in Neurological ICU.