A graduate celebrates during a summer 2013 commencement ceremony.
KALAMAZOO, Mich.—Western Michigan University will grant degrees to more than 1,300 students during two commencement ceremonies Saturday, June 28, in Miller Auditorium.
WMU President John M. Dunn will preside over the summer 2014 ceremonies. In all, the University will confer 1,336 degrees: 845 at the bachelor's level, 421 at the master's level, 70 at the doctoral level and 14 certificates.
Both summer 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 Education and Human Development, Health and Human Services, and Engineering and Applied Sciences as well as Extended University Programs.
- The 12:30 p.m. ceremony is for graduates of the colleges of Arts and Sciences, Aviation and Fine Arts and the Haworth College of Business.
June's graduation exercises will feature music by the Western Brass Ensemble, conducted by Dr. Stephen M. Wolfinbarger. 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 Derek Pothoff. Graduates will be welcomed as new alumni of the University by Jennifer Lentner and Larry Lueth, executive board members of the WMU Alumni Association.
The University only conducts formal graduation exercises in December, April and June, although WMU students also may graduate in August. A final list of summer 2014 graduates is expected to be distributed to hometown newspapers in late summer.
Tickets
Tickets are required for guests to attend commencement, and each participating student was eligible to reserve up to six guest tickets. Tickets will be available for pickup at the WMU Bookstore Shops Textbook Alley location on the lower level of the Bernhard Center during regular business hours through Saturday, June 28. All seats are general admission. Guests who need accessible seating or other accessibility services should call (269) 387-2320 to make arrangements.
Should there be extra tickets, students who are participating in one of the exercises may request up to two more tickets on a first-come, first-served basis with a valid Bronco Card from the Miller Auditorium Ticket Office beginning at 10 a.m. Friday, June 27.
After all ticketed guests have been seated in Miller, any remaining open seats will be offered to those without tickets. Guests without tickets may also view the commencement ceremonies live on a large screen in rooms 1025 and 1028 in Brown Hall, which is near Miller.
Broadcasts and photography
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 99, 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.
A professional photographer will take pictures of each graduating student. Color proofs will be sent to the students, but purchase of prints is optional.
Parking
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.
For more information, including how to obtain tickets or view the live webcast, visit wmich.edu/commencement. Direct questions to the Registrar's Office at (269) 387-4300.