Utah State University Schedules First Fall Commencement

Approximately 600 Utah State University students make history Saturday, Dec. 18, when the university holds its first fall commencement ceremony at 10:30 a.m. in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.

 

The 112^th commencement will feature a joint ceremony for both undergraduate and graduate students. Highly honored Utah State Professor Mark Damen will deliver the commencement address. President Kermit L. Hall will moderate the ceremony, which once again will feature the addition of a student commencement speaker. Students will assemble in the Nelson Recreation Center before 9:30 a.m. for the traditional march to the Spectrum for the main activities, where degrees will be conferred.

 

Included among the graduating class of seniors will be 111 master’s students and six Ph.D. students.

 

New to the program this year, all students’ names will be formally announced as they walk across the stage. Assistant Provost Sydney Peterson said this change is among many in a continuing effort to make the ceremony more student-centered. This year’s student commencement speaker is Morgan Tomlinson, valedictorian from the College of Engineering, who will deliver remarks to the graduating class. Tomlinson was selected by a committee of students and other valedictorians from among the pool of valedictorians from each of the colleges.

           

“He was selected by fellow students to represent them at the commencement exercise, and we all look forward to hearing his remarks,” Peterson said.

 

The university added a fall commencement this year because many students finish graduation requirements in the fall, move away for jobs, and then have to return again in spring if they want to participate in commencement activities.

           

“Commencement is the culmination of their time here at Utah State, but for some students it has been inconvenient to return for the event,” Peterson said. “Adding a December commencement will allow more students to participate.”

           

Graduate students, who in many cases are from out of state, and international students are particularly hard hit by the costs of returning for a spring ceremony if they completed graduation requirements in December.

           

Peterson also reminded students that a mandatory graduation rehearsal is scheduled for Friday, Dec. 17, at noon in the Nelson Recreation Center. She said this rehearsal is important so students will be in the right place at the right time for Saturday’s activities.

           

Another change for this year, the university will sponsor a “University Celebration” for graduates and guests immediately following the ceremony in the Taggart Student Center. The various colleges will congregate at various points on the second floor of the student center, where graduates will have the chance to introduce their families and friends to their professors and colleagues.

           

Damen, associate professor of history and theatre, will address both undergraduate and graduate students at the joint ceremony. He received the Carnegie Foundation’s CASE Teacher of the Year award as Utah’s best professor in 1998, the same year he was designated Teacher of the Year in the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences. He was twice named a Utah State Mortar Board Outstanding Professor, and he has received numerous accolades over the years from students.

 

Damen was selected from among a list of outstanding professors on campus, according to President Hall. Hall said he wanted the fall commencement to have a different flavor than the spring graduation ceremony, so he decided to look within the institution for a person who could capture the essence of students’ experiences and who also could send them forth with a message of merit.

 

No honorary degrees will be awarded at the fall commencement. Instead, the university will highlight its seven Carnegie Professors of the Year. Another Utah State professor, Bonnie Glass Coffin, this year was named the state’s top professor, making it seven of the last 10 years in which a Utah State professor has been selected for the honor.

           

The program will not be broadcast live. Check local listings for dates and times at which the program will be rebroadcast on KVLY Valley Channel 3. For more information about commencement, visit the Web site at http://www.usu.edu/commencement/.

 

Contact: Sydney Peterson, 435-797-1170