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WMU to award 1,800 degrees at three ceremonies

Dec. 9, 2009

KALAMAZOO--Western Michigan University will grant degrees to more than 1,800 students during three commencement ceremonies Saturday, Dec. 19, in Miller Auditorium.

WMU President John M. Dunn will preside over the ceremonies.

Schedule

  • 9 a.m.--Ceremony for graduates of the colleges of Education and Human Development and Engineering and Applied Sciences.
  • Noon--Ceremony for graduates of the Haworth College of Business, College of Health and Human Services, and Extended University Programs.
  • 3 p.m.--Ceremony for graduates of the colleges of Arts and Sciences, Aviation and Fine Arts.

During the December 2009 ceremonies, WMU will confer 1,868 degrees: 1,377 at the bachelor's level, 457 at the master's level, one at the specialist level and 33 at the doctoral level.

The December graduation exercises will feature music by the Western Brass Ensemble, conducted by Deanna Swoboda. The national anthem and the alma mater will be sung by the University's chapter of the Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia professional music fraternity, conducted by Zechariah Shrum. Graduates will be welcomed as new alumni of the University by Richard Bailey, president of the WMU Alumni Association.

Tickets

Tickets are required for guests to attend commencement, and each participating student is eligible to reserve up to four guest tickets. Should there be extra tickets, students who are participating in one of the exercises may request up to two more tickets on a first-come, first-served basis from the Miller Auditorium box office beginning at 8 a.m. Friday, Dec. 18.

After all ticketed guests have been seated in Miller, any remaining open seats will be offered to those without tickets. Guests without tickets may view the commencement ceremonies live on a large screen in Brown Hall, which is near Miller.

Live coverage

All of the December ceremonies will be broadcast live on Channel 5 of EduCABLE, the University's cable television system, and throughout the Kalamazoo area on Public Media Network Channel 22, a local public access channel on the Charter Communications commercial cable television system.

A live Webcast of the ceremonies will be available online to a limited number of people the day of graduation. Those planning to view the Webcast will need to install Windows Media Player on their computers.

Recordings and photos

The University's TotalTech store will be providing professional recordings of the ceremonies in DVD and VHS formats. The recordings will cost $25 each, plus shipping and formatting fees if any, and may be ordered by mail or calling (269) 387-3930.

In addition, a professional photographer will take pictures of each graduating student. Color proofs will be sent to the students, but purchase of prints is optional.

Additional information

The University conducts formal graduation exercises in June, December and April, although WMU students also may graduate in August. A final list of December 2009 graduates is expected to be distributed to hometown newspapers by March.

Visit wmich.edu/commencement for complete graduation information, including how to view the live Webcast or obtain tickets, recordings and student photos.

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Media contact: Jeanne Baron, (269) 387-8400, jeanne.baron@wmich.edu

WMU News
Office of University Relations
Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo MI 49008-5433 USA
(269) 387-8400
www.wmich.edu/news