Thousands of Oklahomans Receiving College Degrees This Spring

Oklahoma’s public colleges and universities are producing thousands of college graduates ready to enter the workforce this spring. The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education estimate that nearly 34,000 students will earn degrees and college-level certificates during the 2017-18 academic year at Oklahoma state system campuses.

Preliminary information relating to degrees awarded in 2017-18 was gathered in a survey of higher education institutions. Official data will be available later.

Of those graduates, more than 17,275 will receive bachelor’s degrees. The most popular fields of study among students receiving bachelor’s degrees are business administration, psychology and nursing.

Nursing, business and general studies were the programs most frequently selected by the projected 9,068 students earning associate degrees.

An estimated 4,600 students will receive master’s degrees in a variety of fields, most notably in education and business administration.

More than 1,140 students have earned college-level certificates, mainly in the areas of child development, computer science and marketing.

Projections show that approximately 500 students will earn doctoral degrees, while an estimated 1,120 others will receive professional degrees in areas such as law and medicine.

“This is a special time for the thousands of Oklahoma college and university graduates receiving their degrees,” said Chancellor Glen D. Johnson. “The State Regents applaud their efforts and wish them well as they embark on the next phase of their lives.”

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

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

• East Central University will hold commencement ceremonies at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. May 12 in the Kerr Activities Center in Ada. Insurance industry executive Michael Brown and accounting industry executive Janice Gray will serve as commencement speakers.
• Western Oklahoma State College will hold its annual commencement at 7 p.m. May 11 at the WOSC gymnasium in Altus. Ken Parker, chief executive officer of NextThought, will serve as commencement speaker.
• Northwestern Oklahoma State University will welcome Doug Van Meter, partner, BKD CPAs and Advisors, as commencement speaker during its 119th annual graduation ceremony at 10:30 a.m. May 7 at Ranger Field in Alva.
• The University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma, Chickasha, held two commencement ceremonies April 20 in the Te Ata Memorial Auditorium. Two graduating seniors served as commencement speakers.
• Rogers State University will hold its graduation ceremony May 12 at the Claremore Expo Center. Associate degrees will be presented at 10 a.m., and bachelor’s degrees and master’s degrees will be presented at 1 p.m. Zack Stoycoff, vice president of governmental affairs for the Tulsa Regional Chamber, will deliver the commencement address.
• Southeastern Oklahoma State University will hold two commencement ceremonies at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. May 7 at the Bloomer Sullivan Arena in Durant. Lesa Smaligo, principal of the Smaligo Group, 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. Former Oklahoma Secretary of State Dave Lopez will serve as the commencement speaker for the College of Education and Professional Studies ceremony at 3 p.m. on May 4. The Jackson College of Graduate Studies hooding ceremony will be held at 7 p.m. May 4. The College of Business will hold its ceremony at 10 a.m. May 5. The colleges of Fine Arts and Design and Mathematics and Science will hold their ceremony at 2 p.m. May 5, and the College of Liberal Arts will hold its ceremony at 6 p.m. May 5.
• Former State Rep. Lisa J. Billy, Chickasaw legislator, Pontotoc district, seat 5, will serve as speaker during Redlands Community College’s commencement at 4 p.m. May 11 inside the field house on campus in El Reno.
• Dr. Sara Jane Richter, dean of liberal arts at Oklahoma Panhandle State University, will serve as speaker for OPSU’s annual commencement at 6:30 p.m. May 10 in the Anchor D Arena in Oscar Williams Field House in Goodwell.
• Langston University’s 118th annual commencement will be held at 10 a.m. May 12 at W.E. Anderson Stadium. Thomas Hollywood Henderson, former NFL football linebacker, will serve as the commencement speaker.
• Cameron University, Lawton, will hold a hooding ceremony for master’s degree recipients May 4 at 3 p.m. at the Cameron Stadium and its annual commencement ceremony at 7:30 p.m. May 4 at Cameron Stadium. Emmit Tayloe, Cameron alumnus and district judge, will deliver the commencement address.
• Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College’s commencement will be held at 7 p.m. May 10 at the Red Robertson Field on campus in Miami. Bill Osborn, president of Osborn Drugs, will serve as commencement speaker.
• Rose State College, Midwest City, will hold three commencement ceremonies on May 6. The first will begin at 11 a.m., the second will be at 2 p.m. and the third at 5 p.m. All ceremonies will be held at the RSC Hudiburg Chevrolet Center.
• The University of Oklahoma will hold its 126th annual commencement at 7 p.m. May 11 inside the Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman. OU President David Boren will give the commencement address. The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center Graduate College will hold its commencement May 12 at 2 p.m. in the David L. Boren Student Union, Oklahoma City. Chancellor Glen D. Johnson will serve as speaker.
• Oklahoma City Community College will celebrate its 45th commencement at 7 p.m. May 4 at the Cox Business and Convention Center. H.E. “Gene” Rainbolt, chairman emeritus of BancFirst Corp., will serve as commencement speaker.
• Oklahoma State University-Oklahoma City will hold its 56th annual commencement at 7 p.m. May 14 at the Oklahoma State Fair Park Jim Norick Arena.
• OSU Institute of Technology, Okmulgee, celebrated its 209th consecutive commencement April 20 in Covelle Hall on campus. Terry May, founder/president of MESA, served as commencement speaker.
  Carl Albert State College will hold graduation ceremonies at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., May 12 at Hamilton Auditorium on campus in Poteau.
• Seminole State College’s 85th annual commencement will be held at 10:30 a.m. May 4 in Raymond Harber Field House on campus. Oklahoma State Treasurer Ken Miller will serve as commencement speaker.
• 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 11. Undergraduate ceremonies will take place at 9 a.m., noon, 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. on May 12. Ross McKnight will serve as speaker for the 9 a.m. ceremony; Lee Cockerell will serve as speaker for the noon ceremony; Patricia Walker will speak at the 3 p.m. ceremony; and Jennifer Grigsby will speak at the 6 p.m. ceremony.
• Northeastern State University, Tahlequah, will hold its annual spring commencement ceremonies over two days. All ceremonies will be held at the NSU Event Center. Allan Trimble, NSU Distinguished Alumnus, will serve as the commencement speaker on May 4. Kiemonn Jones, NSU’s Outstanding Young Alumna, will give the address on May 5, and NSU President Steve Turner will deliver the address on May 7. The College of Education will hold its ceremony at 7 p.m. May 4. The Gregg Wadley College of Science & Health Professions and Oklahoma College of Optometry will hold their commencement at 9:30 a.m. May 5. The colleges of Business & Technology and Liberal Arts will hold their commencement at 2 p.m. May 5. NSU-Broken Arrow will hold its ceremony at 7 p.m. May 7 at the Oral Roberts University Mabee Center.
• Former Oklahoma House of Representatives Speaker T.W. Shannon will serve as speaker during Murray State College’s annual commencement ceremony at 7 p.m. May 11 on the north lawn of the campus Administration Building in Tishomingo.
• Northern Oklahoma College’s 112th annual commencement ceremonies will be held May 5. The Tonkawa campus ceremony will be held at 9:30 a.m. at the Foster-Piper Fieldhouse. The Tonkawa ceremony will include graduates from both the Tonkawa and Stillwater campuses. The Enid campus ceremony will be held at 3 p.m. in Briggs Auditorium. Chad Weiburg, deputy director of athletics at Oklahoma State University, will serve as commencement speaker.
• The OSU Center for Health Sciences, Tulsa, will hold its commencement at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. May 12 at the Cox Business Center, Tulsa.
• OSU-Tulsa’s annual commencement will take place at 6:30 p.m. May 14 at the Expo Square Pavilion in midtown Tulsa. Gentner Drummond, lawyer, banker, rancher and business owner, will be the commencement speaker.
• Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum will serve as speaker during Tulsa Community College’s 48th annual commencement ceremony at 7 p.m. May 14 at the Oral Roberts University Mabee Center.
• Connors State College, Warner, will hold its 109th annual commencement at 7 p.m. May 11 at the Muskogee Civic Center. Oklahoma Sen. Roger Thompson will serve as commencement speaker.
• Southwestern Oklahoma State University will hold its 114th annual commencement at 10 a.m., noon and 2 p.m. May 5 at the Pioneer Cellular Event Center, Weatherford. Wendy Borlabi of Chicago, Ill., C.B. Graft of Clinton, Chris McKeever of Edmond, Paul Moore of Acton, Mass., and Jane Sims of Key Largo, Fla., will be inducted into the SWOSU Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame. SWOSU-Sayre will hold its ceremony at 7 p.m. May 3 in the Sayre High School Auditorium, and the College of Pharmacy will graduate on May 4 at 7 p.m. in the Fine Arts Center on campus.
• Eastern Oklahoma State College will welcome Eastern alumnus Justice Tom Colbert, Oklahoma Supreme Court, as commencement speaker during its 109th annual graduation ceremony at 7 p.m. May 4 at the C.C. Dunlap Field House on the Wilburton campus.