Commencement ceremonies Dec. 10 and 11 recognize fall degree candidates, summer graduates
Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021
More than 1,325 students are candidates for graduation this fall from Kansas State University. Commencement ceremonies will be Dec. 10 and 11. The ceremonies also will recognize K-State's more than 580 summer 2021 graduates.
MANHATTAN — Kansas State University fall commencement ceremonies will be Friday, Dec. 10, in Manhattan and Salina, and Saturday, Dec. 11, in Manhattan. Fall 2021 degree candidates and summer 2021 graduates will be recognized at the ceremonies.
Tickets are not required and all ceremonies are open to the public. Per the university's current COVID-19 policies, face masks must be worn at all times inside university facilities. Learn more at k-state.edu/covid-19.
More than 1,325 students are candidates for degrees this fall from K-State. Projected to be awarded are 1,060 bachelor's degrees, more than 270 master's degrees and more than 60 doctorates. More than 220 graduation candidates are earning their degrees through distance education.
K-State awarded degrees to more than 580 students this summer, including more than 300 bachelor's degree graduates, 225 master's degree graduates and more than 50 doctoral graduates.
Ceremonies start at 1 p.m. Dec. 10 on the Manhattan campus with the Graduate School in Bramlage Coliseum. Herman "Mogri" Mongrain Lookout, a master Osage language instructor and founding director of the Osage Nation Language Department, will receive an honorary doctorate from K-State at the ceremony and deliver the commencement address. Wint Winter Jr., Lawrence, a member of the Kansas Board of Regents, will represent the board at the ceremony.
Commencement for Kansas State University Salina will be at 7 p.m. in the campus's Student Life Center. The speaker will be Brian Youngers, owner and CEO of Ad Astra Flight Group, an aircraft management company based in Wichita. Youngers earned a bachelor's degree from the K-State Salina professional pilot program and has served in leadership roles at several aviation organizations and companies, including the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center.
Ceremonies on Dec. 11 will be in Bramlage Coliseum on the Manhattan campus. The schedule and speakers:
• College of Arts and Sciences, 8:30 a.m. Researchers Myron "Mike" and Elaine Jacobson will be the speakers. Mike Jacobson earned his doctorate in biochemistry from K-State, while Elaine Jacobson earned her bachelor's and doctorate in biochemistry from K-State. As a research team, the Jacobsons have focused on the roles of vitamin B3 and vitamin B3-derived molecules in human health. This work led them to co-found Niadyne Inc., a skincare company that markets its products worldwide.
• College of Education, 10 a.m. The speaker will be Katie Buhler, a fourth-grade teacher at West Elementary School in Wamego. Buhler, who earned her bachelor's degree in elementary education from K-State in May 2020 and taught her first year during the COVID-19 pandemic, is the recipient of a College Football Playoff Foundation's Extra Yard for Teachers Award for her teaching and her dedication to her students during the pandemic.
• College of Business Administration, 11:30 a.m. John D. Lageman, a retired senior vice president, sales and marketing, Deere & Company, will be the speaker. Lagemann enjoyed a 38-year career with Deere & Company, including in key positions nationally and internationally, before retiring in October 2020. He earned a bachelor's degree in feed science and management and an MBA from K-State.
• College of Agriculture, 1 p.m. The speaker will be Blake Flanders, president and CEO of the Kansas Board of Regents. Flanders, who earned a bachelor's, master's and doctorate from K-State, was named to his current position in 2015. His experience in education also includes serving as president of instructional services at Manhattan Area Technical College from 1998-2004.
• College of Health and Human Sciences, 2:30 p.m. Josh Umbehr, a family practice physician, will be the speaker. Umbehr earned a bachelor's degree in nutritional sciences from K-State in 2003 before earning his medical degree from the University of Kansas Medical School. Umbehr offers direct primary care services at his practice, Atlas MD, in Wichita.
• Carl R. Ice College of Engineering, 4 p.m. The speaker will be David C. Everitt, retired president, Agriculture and Turf Division, Deere & Company. Everitt joined Deere & Company after earning his bachelor's degree in industrial engineering from K-State in 1975. He served in various management positions in engineering, mechanical services and sales before rising to president of the company's agricultural division in 2001. He retired in 2012.
A virtual commencement ceremony will be available beginning Dec. 6 at global.k-state.edu/commencement for distance education students unable to attend their commencement ceremony in person. The website will include a listing of students earning degrees through distance education, a place for family and friends to post congratulatory messages, and other commencement-related offerings.
Related to commencement will be the commissioning ceremonies for Kansas State University's ROTC units on Dec. 10 in Forum Hall at the K-State Student Union. The Army ROTC ceremony will be at 10 a.m. while the Air Force ROTC ceremony will be at 1 p.m.
More information on the university's commencement ceremonies is available at k-state.edu/graduation.
