Commencement ceremonies May 9, 15 and 16
Monday, May 4, 2015
MANHATTAN — Nearly 3,400 Kansas State University students will celebrate the completion of their degrees at commencement ceremonies Saturday, May 9, at K-State Salina, and Friday, May 15, and Saturday, May 16, on the university's campus in Manhattan.
The class of 2015 is the 148th to graduate from Kansas State University since the first class graduated in 1867.
The university will award more than 2,600 bachelor's degrees; 734 master's degrees; 124 doctoral degrees; 108 Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degrees; and more than 30 associate degrees. More than 260 students are earning their degree through 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 at 10 a.m. May 9 in the Student Life Center. The speaker will be Steven Dandaneau, the university's vice provost for undergraduate studies.
Ceremonies on the Manhattan campus start May 15 with commencement for the Graduate School at 1 p.m. in Bramlage Coliseum. Nancy Kassebaum Baker, a native Kansan and former U.S. senator for nearly two decades, will be the commencement speaker and receive an honorary doctorate from Kansas State University, the 129th person to receive the honor. Previous recipients include such distinguished individuals as Dwight D. Eisenhower, the U.S. president and military leader; Gordon Parks, a noted photographer; Aaron Copland, a famous composer; and Alf Landon, Kassebaum Baker's father and former Kansas governor.
Commencement for the College of Veterinary Medicine will be at 3:30 p.m. May 15 in McCain Auditorium. Dan Thomson, Jones professor of production medicine and epidemiology and director of the Beef Cattle Institute, will deliver the commencement address.
Representing the Kansas Board of Regents at both ceremonies May 15 will be Regent Helen Van Etten, Topeka.
The following is the schedule and speakers for the May 16 ceremonies:
• College of Arts & Sciences, 8:30 a.m., Bramlage Coliseum, with Peter Dorhout, dean of the college.
• College of Architecture, Planning & Design, 10 a.m., McCain Auditorium, with Jan Burton, Denver, Colorado, co-founder of Rhino Cubed, a tiny structure design company.
• College of Education, 11 a.m., Bramlage Coliseum, with Gail Shroyer, professor of curriculum and instruction.
• College of Business Administration, 12:30 p.m., Bramlage Coliseum, with Julie L. Davis, principal of Davis & Hosfield Consulting, Chicago, Illinois, a litigation support service specializing in financial consulting.
• College of Agriculture, 2:30 p.m., Bramlage Coliseum, with John Niemann, president of Cargill Food Distribution, Wichita.
• College of Human Ecology, 4:30 p.m., Bramlage Coliseum, with Kirk Schulz, president of Kansas State University.
• College of Engineering, 6:30 p.m., Bramlage Coliseum, with Douglas R. Sterbenz, Topeka, retired executive vice president and chief operating officer at Westar Energy.
DVDs of the ceremonies may be ordered through the K-State Campus Store at 800-KSU-CATS or 785-532-6583.
The university's Army and Air Force ROTC units will have commissioning ceremonies at 10 a.m. May 15 in Forum Hall in the K-State Student Union.
