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WMU to confer 2,000 degrees SaturdayDec. 8, 2008 KALAMAZOO--Western Michigan University will grant degrees to more than 2,000 students during three commencement ceremonies Saturday, Dec. 13, in Miller Auditorium. WMU President John M. Dunn will preside over the ceremonies. Leading off the day's graduation exercises will be a ceremony at 9 a.m. for graduates of the College of Arts and Sciences and College of Engineering and Applied Sciences. The second ceremony, set for noon, will be for graduates of the College of Aviation, College of Health and Human Services, and Haworth College of Business. The third ceremony will start at 3 p.m. and is for graduates of the College of Education, College of Fine Arts and Extended University Programs. During the four ceremonies, WMU will confer 2,073 degrees: 1,495 at the bachelor's level, 537 at the master's level and 30 at the doctoral level. The 9 a.m. exercises will include the conferring of an honorary Doctor of Science degree to WMU alumnus William S. Hough of Kalamazoo. Hough's background includes exploring the South Pole, working with a number of federal agencies and a career as a science educator. He first came to WMU in 1943 as a Navy serviceman enrolled in the V-12 Officer Training program. Following World War II, he returned to the University to study physics under the G.I. Bill. The December graduation exercises will feature music by the Western Brass Ensemble, conducted by Steve 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 Marcus Jordan. Graduates will be welcomed as new alumni of the University by Christopher Womack, president of the WMU Alumni Association. Tickets are required for guests to attend commencement, and each participating student is eligible to reserve up to five guest tickets. 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 from the Miller Auditorium box office beginning at 8 a.m. Friday, Dec. 12. After all ticketed guests have been seated in Miller, any remaining open seats will be offered to those without tickets. Guests without tickets may view the commencement ceremonies live on a large screen in Brown Hall, which is near Miller. All of the April ceremonies will be broadcast live on Channel 28 of EduCABLE, the University's cable television system, and throughout the Kalamazoo area on one of the Community Access Center channels (channels 19-22) on the Charter Communications cable system. A live webcast of the ceremonies will be available online to a limited number of people the day of graduation. Those planning to view the webcast will need to install Windows Media Player on their computers. The University will be providing professional recordings of the ceremonies on DVD and VHS videotape through its TotalTech store. In addition, a professional photographer will be taking pictures of each graduating student. Color proofs will be sent to the students, but purchase of prints is optional. Complete information about the upcoming graduation exercises, including how to obtain tickets, recordings or student photos, is available at wmich.edu/commencement. A final list of WMU's December 2008 graduates is expected to be posted on that Web site by spring. Related article Media contact: Jeanne Baron, (269) 387-8400, jeanne.baron@wmich.edu WMU News |
