Website: http://www.k-state.edu/graduation/ for a live webcast of ceremonies
News tip/hometown connection: Lansing, Manhattan and Salina
News release prepared by: Stephanie Jacques, 785-532-3452, sjacques@k-state.edu
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Oh, the places they'll go: Commencement ceremonies May 5, 11 and 12; speakers include former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, University President Kirk Schulz
MANHATTAN -- As candidates for graduation, more than 2,800 Kansas State University students are preparing for the next chapter in their lives. Commencement ceremonies will be Saturday, May 5, at K-State Salina, and Friday, May 11, and Saturday, May 12, on the K-State campus in Manhattan.
The class of 2012 is the 145th to graduate from K-State since the first class in 1867.
K-State will award more than 2,450 bachelor's degrees; more than 750 master's; more than 80 doctorates; more than 100 doctor of veterinary medicine degrees; and more than 20 associate degrees. Nearly 150 students are earning their degree through K-State distance education.
A live webcast of the ceremonies will be available at http://www.k-state.edu/graduation/. A virtual commencement ceremony for distance students is available at http://www.dce.k-state.edu/students/commencement/.
Commencement for K-State Salina will be 10 a.m. May 5 in the Student Life Center. The speaker will be Kansas native Skip Yowell, co-founder and vice president of Global Public Relations and JanSport.
Ceremonies on the Manhattan campus start May 11 with commencement for the Graduate School at 1 p.m. in Bramlage Coliseum. Robert Gates, a native Kansan who served under two U.S. presidents as secretary of defense, will be the speaker for the Graduate School ceremony and become the 125th person to receive an honorary doctorate from Kansas State University. Gates is the first individual to receive an honorary degree from the university since 1988. Previous recipients include such distinguished individuals as Dwight D. Eisenhower, the U.S. president and military leader; Alf Landon, the former Kansas governor and Republican presidential candidate; Gordon Parks, the noted photographer; and Aaron Copland, the famous composer.
Commencement for the College of Veterinary Medicine will be at 3:30 p.m. May 11 in McCain Auditorium. Nels Lindberg, a College of Veterinary Medicine alumnus, and Meredyth Jones, clinical assistant professor, will deliver the commencement address.
Representing the Kansas Board of Regents at both ceremonies May 11 will be Regent Kenny Wilk, Lansing.
The schedule of ceremonies and the speakers for ceremonies May 12 are:
* College of Arts and Sciences, 8:30 a.m., Bramlage Coliseum, with Kirk Schulz, university president.
* College of Architecture, Planning and Design, 10 a.m., McCain Auditorium, with Randhir Sahni, architect, city builder and director of Llewelyn-Davies Sahni. He received his master's in architecture from K-State in 1968.
* College of Education, 11 a.m., Bramlage Coliseum, with Kirk Schulz, university president.
* College of Business Administration, 12:30 p.m., Bramlage Coliseum, with Terry Matlack, managing director of Tortoise Capital Advisor LLC. He received his bachelor's in business administration from K-State in 1978.
* College of Agriculture, 2:15 p.m., Bramlage Coliseum, with Emery Castle, professor emeritus at Oregon State University. Castle received both his bachelor's and master's degrees in agricultural economic from K-State in 1948 and 1950, respectively.
* College of Human Ecology, 4:15 p.m., Bramlage Coliseum, with Petros Levis, president of the Human Ecology Alumni Association Board and general manager of Medallion Laboratories, a Division of General Mills Inc. Levis received his bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in food science from K-State in 1988, 1993 and 1998, respectively.
* College of Engineering, 6:15 p.m., Bramlage Coliseum, with Byron Jones, the college's associate dean for research and graduate programs and director of the Engineering Experiment Station.
DVDs of the ceremonies may be ordered through the K-State Student Union Bookstore at 800-KSU-CATS or 785-532-6583.
K-State's Army and Air Force ROTC units will have commissioning ceremonies May 11 in Forum Hall in the Union. The ceremony for Army ROTC starts at 10 a.m., and the Air Force ROTC ceremony starts at 2 p.m.
