APRIL 21, 2010 - State Colleges and Universities to Hold Spring Graduation Ceremonies

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Distinguished representatives from various fields will deliver commencement addresses during this spring’s graduation ceremonies at Oklahoma’s public colleges and universities.

Ceremonies are listed alphabetically by city and include dates, times, locations and commencement speakers’ names, when available.

East Central University will hold commencement ceremonies May 8 at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. in the Kerr Activities Center in Ada. August Petersen and Randy Rinnell, ECU alumni, will serve as commencement speakers during the ceremonies.
Western Oklahoma State College will hold its annual commencement at 8 p.m., May 7 at the WOSC gymnasium in Altus. Randy Cumby, WOSC president, will serve as commencement speaker.
Northwestern Oklahoma State University will welcome Tim Blodgett, president and CEO of Hometown Connections, as commencement speaker during its annual graduation ceremony at 10:30 a.m., May 8 at Ranger Field in Alva.
The University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma, Chickasha, will hold two commencement ceremonies April 23 in the Te Ata Memorial Auditorium. USAO President John Feaver will serve as commencement speaker during the ceremonies at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. USAO will award an honorary degree to Lonnie Jourdan, a generous benefactor and friend of the university. Last year, USAO regents renamed the Home of the President to The Jourdan House in his honor.
Rogers State University will hold its annual graduation ceremonies May 8 at the Claremore Expo Center. Associate degrees will be presented at 10 a.m., and bachelor’s degrees will be presented at 1 p.m. Former Oklahoma Gov. George Nigh will serve as commencement speaker.
Southeastern Oklahoma State University’s annual commencement will take place at 10 a.m., May 15 at the Paul Laird Football Field in Durant. U.S. Rep. Tom Cole will be the commencement speaker.
The University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond will hold its annual commencement ceremonies over two days inside Hamilton Field House. Bachelor’s degrees for the College of Education and Professional Studies will be presented May 7 at 3 p.m. The College of Mathematics and Sciences will hold its ceremony on May 7 at 7 p.m. Master’s degrees for the College of Education and Professional Studies will be presented at that time as well. On May 8, the College of Business Administration will hold its ceremony at 10 a.m., while the colleges of Fine Arts and Design and Liberal Arts will hold their ceremonies at 2 p.m.
Dr. Ramona Paul, assistant state superintendant of education, will serve as speaker during Redlands Community College’s annual commencement at 8 p.m., May 14 inside the gymnasium on campus in El Reno.
Oklahoma Panhandle State University’s annual commencement will be held at 10 a.m., May 15 at Oscar Williams Field House in Goodwell. Serving as commencement speaker will be Chancellor Glen D. Johnson, Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education.
Willie E. Gary, renowned civil rights attorney, will speak to graduates during Langston University’s commencement at 10 a.m., May 15 at W.E. Anderson Stadium.
Cameron University, Lawton, will hold its annual commencement ceremony at 7:30 p.m., May 7 at the Cameron Stadium. Yvonne Kauger, Oklahoma Supreme Court justice, will serve as the commencement speaker.
Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College’s annual commencement will be held at 8 p.m., May 6 on the Red Robertson Field on campus in Miami. Serving as commencement speaker will be Chancellor Glen D. Johnson, Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education.
Rose State College, Midwest City, will hold its commencement ceremony at 7 p.m., May 7 at First Southern Baptist Church, Del City. Dr. Betty White, RSC Board of Regents chair, will serve as commencement speaker.
Doris Kearns Goodwin, author and presidential historian, will speak to graduates of the University of Oklahoma during its 118th annual commencement at 7 p.m., May 14 inside the Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman.
Jim Pulliam, former Connors State College faculty member, will be the commencement speaker during the ceremony at 7 p.m., May 7 at the Muskogee Civic Center.
Oklahoma City Community College will welcome Gov. Brad Henry as commencement speaker during its graduation ceremony at 7:30 p.m., May 7 in the Cox Convention Center.
Oklahoma State University-Oklahoma City will hold its 47th annual commencement at 7 p.m., May 17 at the Cox Convention Center. Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett will serve as commencement speaker.
OSU Institute of Technology, Okmulgee, will celebrate its commencement at 7:30 p.m., April 22 in Covelle Hall on campus. Dr. Claud Evans, owner-veterinarian at Okfuskee County Veterinary Clinic, will serve as commencement speaker.
Carl Albert State College will hold its graduation ceremony at 7:30 p.m., May 7 at the Mick Thompson Fitness Center on campus in Poteau.
Seminole State College’s annual commencement will be held at 10:30 a.m., May 14 in Raymond Harber Field House on campus. Serving as commencement speaker will be Brad Carter, Seminole attorney and recent unit commander in Iraq. Two sets of mothers and daughters will be graduating this spring: Rhonda Coates and daughter Amelia Coates and Myra Jackson and daughter Martina Perry. Amelia Coates will graduate from SSC before her Strother High School graduation this spring. She has taken concurrent classes every term since her junior year of high school.
OSU, Stillwater, will celebrate its commencement over two days. All ceremonies will be held in Gallagher-Iba Arena. The Graduate College commencement is scheduled for 7 p.m., May 7. For undergraduates, the College of Agriculture Science and Natural Resources and the Spears School of Business will hold their commencement at 9:30 a.m., May 8. The colleges of Arts and Sciences and Human Environmental Sciences will hold their commencement at 1 p.m. The colleges of Engineering, Architecture and Technology and Education will hold their ceremony at 4:30 p.m. The hooding ceremony for the Center for Veterinary Health Sciences will be held at 7 p.m.
Northeastern State University, Tahlequah, will hold its annual commencement ceremony at 10 a.m., May 15 at Gable Field in Doc Wadley Stadium. Dr. Rennard Strickland, nationally renowned expert on American Indian law and culture, will serve as commencement speaker. NSU-Broken Arrow will hold its ceremony at 7 p.m., May 17 at the Union Multipurpose Activity Center in Tulsa. Cindy Morrison, journalist and author, will serve as speaker.
Forrest “Frosty” Troy, founding editor of the Oklahoma Observer, will serve as speaker during Murray State College’s annual commencement at 7 p.m., May 14 on the north lawn of the campus in Tishomingo.
Northern Oklahoma College’s annual commencement ceremonies will be held at 9:30 a.m., May 1 in Foster-Piper Fieldhouse in Tonkawa and at 3 p.m. in Briggs Auditorium on NOC’s Enid campus. Brig. Gen. Ricky G. Adams, assistant adjutant general for the Oklahoma Army National Guard, will serve as the commencement speaker for the Tonkawa ceremony. Col. Mark C. Nowland, commander of the 71st Flying Training Wing at Vance Air Force Base, will serve as the commencement speaker for the Enid ceremony.
The OSU Center for Health Sciences, Tulsa, will hold its commencement at 7 p.m., May 14 at the Spirit Bank Events Center. Stephanie Reed, class president, will be the commencement speaker.
OSU-Tulsa’s annual commencement will take place at 7 p.m., May 10 at the Expo Square Pavilion in midtown Tulsa. Tulsa Mayor Dewey Bartlett, Jr. will be the commencement speaker.
Oklahoma Speaker of the House Chris Benge will serve as speaker during Tulsa Community College’s annual commencement ceremony at 7:30 p.m., May 7 at the Oral Roberts University Mabee Center.
- Southwestern Oklahoma State University will hold its annual commencement at 10 a.m., May 8 at Milam Stadium in Weatherford. Lowell M. Irby, owner of Lowell’s Pharmacy in Artesia, N.M., and Dr. Bob L. Blackburn, Oklahoma Historical Society executive director, will serve as commencement speakers. Irby and Blackburn are being inducted into the SWOSU Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame. SWOSU-Sayre will hold its ceremony at 7 p.m., May 8 in the Sayre High School Auditorium. Louis B. Sims, a 20-year veteran of the Secret Service, will be the guest speaker.
- Eastern Oklahoma State College will welcome Jim Howell, attorney, former state senator and judge, and Eastern graduate, as commencement speaker during its graduation ceremony at 7 p.m., May 7 at the C.C. Dunlap Field House on the Wilburton campus.