WMU to confer 1,200 degrees during summer commencement
KALAMAZOO, Mich.—Western Michigan University will grant degrees to some 1,200 students during a morning and afternoon commencement ceremony Saturday, June 24, in Miller Auditorium.
WMU President John M. Dunn will preside over the summer 2017 ceremonies. This will be the last time Dunn will preside over WMU's graduation exercises, as he is scheduled to retire July 31.
During the exercises, the University will confer 1,222 degrees: 797 at the bachelor's level, 391 at the master's level, two at the specialist level and 32 at the doctoral level.
Schedule
Both June ceremonies will last about two hours and be geared toward students who are graduating from a particular set of degree-granting academic units.
- The 9 a.m. ceremony is for graduates of the colleges of Aviation, Education and Human Development, Engineering and Applied Sciences, and Health and Human Services
- The 12:30 p.m. ceremony is for graduates of the College of Arts and Sciences, College of Fine Arts, Extended University Programs, and Haworth College of Business.
The exercises will feature music by the Western Brass Ensemble, conducted by Dr. David Montgomery. The national anthem and the alma mater will be sung by the University's chapter of the Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia professional music fraternity, conducted by Ethan Feagon. Graduates will be welcomed as new alumni of the University by Jennifer Lentner, president of the WMU Alumni Association.
Tickets
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With the June 2017 commencement, students were able for the first time to reserve guest tickets online and receive electronic tickets. Students needed to request their guest tickets by June 14. Those who did not make the deadline have between Monday and Wednesday, June 19-21, to request two guest tickets, although their availability is not guaranteed. No ticket requests will be accepted after June 21.
Tickets are required for guests to attend commencement, and each participating student is eligible to reserve up to six guest tickets. All seats are general admission. Guests without tickets may view the commencement ceremonies live on a large screen in 2028 Brown Hall, which is near Miller.
More information about the ticketing process and how to use electronic tickets is available at wmich.edu/commencement/tickets.
Live coverage, photos
The summer ceremonies will be broadcast live on Channel 5 of EduCABLE, the University's cable television system, and throughout the Kalamazoo area on Public Media Network Channel 191, a local public access channel on the Charter Communications commercial cable television system.
A live webcast of the ceremonies also will be available online the day of graduation. A maximum of 1,000 connections will be accepted. Not all browsers are compatible with the commencement stream. For directions on how to view the live webcast, visit wmich.edu/commencement/broadcasts.
A professional photographer will take pictures of each graduating student. Color proofs will be sent to the students, but purchase of prints is optional.
Additional details
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Commencement guests should plan to arrive at least 30 minutes before each ceremony. Free parking will be available in all parking areas adjacent to Miller Auditorium. Guests who need accessible seating or other accessibility services should call (269) 387-2320 to make arrangements.
Those who wish to plan their routes to Miller using GPS or online driving directions should put in the following physical address as their destination: 2200 Auditorium Drive, Kalamazoo, Michigan 49008.
The University only conducts formal graduation exercises after the fall and spring semesters and the summer I session, although WMU students also may graduate after the summer II session. A final list of summer I graduates is expected to be distributed to hometown newspapers in August.
For complete graduation information, including how to obtain tickets, view the live webcast or find alternate routes to campus, visit wmich.edu/commencement. Direct questions to the Registrar's Office at (269) 387-4300.
For more WMU news, arts and events, visit wmich.edu/news.