Dates of all state public college and university commencements

News Release
May 1, 2019

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – West Virginia’s public colleges and universities will hold their spring commencement ceremonies beginning May 4 and continuing through the following two weeks.

The speakers range from college and university alumni to a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author who will address the new graduates, their families and other guests attending the programs. Details of each of the programs follow:

Bluefield State – May 11. Alumnus Dr. William Robertson will address the graduates and their guests at the 10 a.m. ceremony being held at Brushfork Armory.

Concord University – May 11. The 10 a.m. ceremony for undergraduate and graduate degree candidates from the College of Professional Studies will be held in the Carter Center Main Gymnasium. Concord alumna Linda Poff will be presented an honorary doctorate. The College of Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences and the College of Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Health will hold a ceremony for undergraduate and graduate degree candidates at 2 p.m. in the Carter Center Main Gymnasium. Interdisciplinary Studies and Regents Bachelor of Arts degrees will also be presented as well as an honorary degree to Concord alumnus Robert Tuckwiller.

Fairmont State University – May 11. The 10 a.m. commencement will include graduates from the College of Science and Technology; School of Nursing; School of Fine Arts; and Regents Bachelor of Arts Program. The 4 p.m. ceremony will include graduates of the College of Liberal Arts; School of Business; and School of Education, Health, and Human Performance. Both ceremonies will be held in the Feaster Center and include commencement addresses from Dr. Janet Dudley-Eshbach and Dr. Maria C. Rose, former Presidents of Fairmont State. Both ceremonies will also include the Inauguration of President Mirta M. Martin.

Glenville State College – May 18. West Virginia’s Secretary of State, Mac Warner, will be the speaker for the 10 a.m. commencement in the Waco Center.

Marshall University – May 9. Dr. David Allen, Dean of the University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy will be the speaker for the School of Pharmacy Investiture to be held at 5 p.m. in the Keith-Albee Performing Arts Center.

May 10. Former dean of the Marshall School of Medicine, Dr. Charles McKown, will be the speaker for the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine Investiture at 5 p.m. in the Keith-Albee Performing Arts Center.

May 11. Two-time Marshall graduate and senior public relations executive, Susan Hellems Lavenski, will provide the commencement addresses for graduates of Lewis College of Business; College of Education and Professional Development; College of Science; and College of Information Technology and Engineering at 9 a.m., and graduates of the College of Health Professions; College of Liberal Arts; College of Arts and Media; and Regents Bachelor of Arts at 2 p.m. Both ceremonies will be held at the Big Sandy Superstore Arena.

Potomac State College – May 4. Graduates will hear from Jenny Thrasher, a gold medalist in the 2016 Summer Olympics for rifling, at 11 a.m. in the Church-McKee Arts Center.

Shepherd University – May 11. Graduate students’ ceremony will be at 11 a.m. in the Frank Center Theater, where Dr. Jamie Washington, president and founder of the Washington Consulting Group, will provide the commencement address.
Brandon Dennison, Shepherd University alumnus and CEO of Coalfield Development Corporation, will be the commencement speaker during the 1:50 p.m. ceremony that will be held in the Butcher Center for all undergraduate degrees.

West Liberty University – May 4. U.S. Congressman David McKinley will present the commencement address at the 11 a.m. ceremony, which will be held in the Academic Sports and Recreation Complex.

June 14. Commencement exercises for those graduating with a master’s degree in Physician Assistant Studies will be held at 6 p.m. in the Kelly Theatre.

West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine – May 25. WVSOM’s Class of 2000’s Christopher “Dino” Beckett, D.O. will be the commencement speaker. The 9:30 a.m. ceremony will take place under a tent on the WVSOM grounds.

West Virginia State University – May 11. The 10 a.m. commencement ceremony will take place in the D. Stephen and Diane H. Walker Convocation Center, and will feature the Rev. Ron English, retired pastor of Charleston’s First Baptist Church, as commencement speaker.

West Virginia University – May 10

9 a.m. commencement for Reed College of Media at the Coliseum with Hilde Lysiak, journalist and founder of Orange Street News, as commencement speaker.
9:30 a.m. commencement for College of Law at the Creative Arts Center with commencement speaker Professor Vincent Cardi, Bowles Rice Professor of Law and Professor of the Year as voted on by the 2019 graduating class.
Noon commencement address by Keli Zinn, Deputy Athletic Director for West Virginia University, for College of Physical Activity and Sports Science at Coliseum.
12:30 p.m. commencement for College of Creative Arts at Creative Arts Center with Jay Chattaway, American composer, giving commencement speech.
3 p.m. Mary Beth Adams, research soil scientist for USDA Forest Service, will give the commencement speech for Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Design’s ceremony at the Coliseum.
3:30 p.m. commissioning ceremony for Air Force ROTC at Mountainlair Ballroom.
4 p.m. commencement for School of Public Health at Creative Arts Center – Jan Rader, Chief of the Huntington Fire Department as commencement speaker.
7 p.m. commencement for School of Medicine M.D., Ph.D., and Master’s (Biomedical Sciences, Health Sciences, and Clinical and Transitional Science) at Creative Arts Center, with commencement speech by Clay B. Marsh, Vice President and Executive Dean for Health Sciences.

May 11

9 a.m. commencement for College of Education and Human Services, commencement speaker Ellis Ray Williams, Sr., at Coliseum.
9:30 a.m. commencement speech by Clay B. Marsh, Vice President and Executive Dean for Health Sciences, for School of Dentistry at Creative Arts Center.
12:30 p.m. commencement for Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources at Coliseum, with commencement address by Sharon O. Flanery, Steptoe and Johnson PLLC.
1 p.m. commencement, with address by Rachel Alexandra Kolar, Class of 2019, for School of Pharmacy at Creative Arts Center.
4 p.m. commencement for School of Nursing at Creative Arts Center – commencement speech by Clay B. Marsh, Vice President and Executive Dean for Health Sciences.
4:30 p.m. commencement address by Karen S. Evans, Assistant Secretary for the Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security and Emergency Response, for John Chambers College of Business and Economics at Coliseum.

May 12

9 a.m. commencement for School of Medicine Professional Programs at Coliseum, with commencement speaker Ron Suskind, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author.
12 p.m. commencement for graduate students of Eberly College of Arts and Sciences at the Coliseum, with Judith Gold Stitzel, Professor Emerita of English and Women’s Studies at West Virginia University, giving the commencement address.
3 p.m. commencement for undergraduate students of Eberly College of Arts and Science at the Coliseum with the commencement address by William P. Getty, former President of Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation.

West Virginia University Institute of Technology – May 4. Charleston Attorney and former chair of West Virginia University’s Board of Governors, Tom Flaherty, will be giving the commencement address at the 10 a.m. ceremony held at the Beckley-Raleigh County Convention Center Arena.