Franklin College will host its 2026 commencement ceremony at 10 a.m., Saturday, May 23 in Spurlock Center Gymnasium on campus. Seating is limited, and tickets are required to attend the ceremony. The event will be streamed live on the College website at www.franklincollege.edu/academics/commencement/.

Martha Sanders Hoover, J.D., will provide the commencement address. She is a restauranteur, philanthropist and founder of Patachou, Inc. and the Patachou Foundation in Indianapolis. She will receive an honorary doctor of humane letters degree from the College during the ceremony.

Baccalaureate will be held at 4:30 p.m., Friday, May 22 in Richardson Chapel. The Rev. Dr. David P. Gushee is a leading American Christian ethicist, author and academic, widely recognized for his work in Christian social ethics, LGBTQ+ inclusion and moral leadership. He will receive an honorary doctor of divinity degree from the College. Baccalaureate is open to the public, and no ticket is required to attend.

Martha Sanders Hoover, J.D., is a visionary entrepreneur who defied expectations by transitioning from a legal career as a sex-crimes prosecutor in Marion County to revolutionizing the hospitality industry. In 1989, with no restaurant experience (and unknowingly pregnant with her third child), she launched Cafe Patachou, an elevated neighborhood café that grew into a beloved Indianapolis chain. She later expanded her impact with acclaimed concepts like Napolese, Public Greens, Bar One Fourteen and Petite Chou.

Long before “values-driven business” was a buzz phrase, Hoover championed farm-to-table dining, sustainability and community engagement. Her leadership earned her six James Beard Foundation finalist nods, Eater’s Empire Builder of the Year accoladesand recognition as one of Food & Wine’s most influential women in food.

Committed to social impact, she founded A Longer Table (formerly The Patachou Foundation) in 2013 to combat childhood food insecurity, providing over 1 million meals to Indianapolis students and gaining national attention for its innovative hunger relief model.

After successfully exiting her company in 2024, Hoover launched The MSH Collective, fostering intergenerational mentorship and supporting women-led businesses. Coming soon, her newest project, Second Rodeo by Martha Hoover, proves that going from underestimated to unprecedented can happen at any age.

Hoover inspires audiences on entrepreneurship, leadership and bold innovation. Through keynotes, panels and mentorship, she challenges individuals to think bigger, lead with intention and redefine possibilities for women in business and beyond.

Rev. Dr. David P. Gushee is widely regarded as one of the most important Christian ethicists of the past 30 years, distinguished by both his prolific scholarship and his global influence.

He is the author, coauthor or editor of more than 30 books, including works that have shaped classrooms and congregations across multiple continents, including Kingdom Ethics, Righteous Gentiles of the Holocaust, Changing Our Mind, The Moral Teachings of Jesus and Defending Democracy from Its Christian Enemies. His books have been translated internationally and continue to frame moral conversations well beyond U.S. contexts.

Gushee has served in significant leadership roles, including the presidency of the American Academy of Religion — one of the highest honors in the field — and the Society of Christian Ethics. His scholarship addresses the most urgent moral challenges of our time: democracy and political integrity, trauma and moral injury, LGBTQ+ inclusion in the church, human dignity and the moral formation of Christian communities in the way of Jesus.

He is currently the Distinguished University Professor of Christian Ethics at Mercer University and Chair in Christian Social Ethics at Vrije Universiteit (Free University, Amsterdam). He is a widely sought-after preacher, teacher and commentator on religion and public life.

Gushee and his wife, Jeanie, live in Atlanta, Georgia, and Chipping Campden, England. They are the parents of three adult children and grandparents of three little ones.

For more information, contact the Franklin College Office of Communications at (317) 738-8185.