WMU to grant 2,600 degrees during May commencementApril 23, 2010 KALAMAZOO--Western Michigan University will grant degrees to more than 2,600 students during four commencement ceremonies Saturday, May 1, in Miller Auditorium. WMU President John M. Dunn will preside over the ceremonies. Schedule
During the spring 2010 exercises, WMU will confer 2,630 degrees: 2,085 at the bachelor's level, 501 at the master's level and 32 at the doctoral level. Among the graduates will be 53 military veterans and 17 members of the Kalamazoo Public Schools' Class of 2006 who are part of the first class of Kalamazoo Promise scholarship recipients to earn bachelor's degrees. The first bachelor's degree earned by a Promise recipient went to a December 2009 WMU alumna. The day will feature music by the Western Brass Ensemble, conducted by Deanna Swoboda. 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 Jack Bertrand. Graduates will be welcomed as new alumni of the University by Richard Bailey, president of the WMU Alumni Association. Tickets Tickets are required for guests to attend commencement, and each participating student is eligible to reserve up to four 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 8 a.m. Friday, April 30. 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 adjacent to Miller. Live coverage All of the April 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 22 by the Charter Communications commercial 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. Recordings and photos The University will be providing professional recordings of the ceremonies on DVD and VHS videotape through its TotalTech office. The recordings will cost $25 each, plus shipping and formatting fees if any, and may be ordered by mail or by calling (269) 387-3930. 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. Additional information Complete information about the upcoming graduation exercises, including how to obtain tickets, recordings and student photos, is available at wmich.edu/commencement. A final list of May 2010 graduates is expected to be distributed to hometown newspapers mid to late summer. Media contact: Jeanne Baron, (269) 387-8400, jeanne.baron@wmich.edu WMU News |
