Friday, August 08, 2014

[037] MTSU summer commencement will celebrate 853 new grads Aug. 9

           

The ceremony, which will begin at 10 a.m. Aug. 9 in Hale Arena inside Murphy Center, will feature a special commencement address from MTSU professor Scott Boyd, the 2013-14 president of the university's Faculty Senate and a professor in the Department of Speech and Theatre in the College of Liberal Arts.

On Aug. 9, according to a report from the university’s Registrar’s Office, 853 students are set to graduate from MTSU. Of that number, 641 are undergraduates and 212 are graduate students, including 193 master’s candidates, 12 education-specialist degree recipients and seven doctoral candidates. One graduate student also will receive a graduate certificate.

Candidates from all nine of MTSU’s colleges — the College of Graduate Studies, Basic and Applied Sciences, Jones College of Business, College of Education, College of Behavioral and Health Sciences, College of Liberal Arts, College of Mass Communication, the University College and the University Honors College — will receive their degrees during the summer ceremony.

Continuing renovations at Murphy Center aren’t expected to inconvenience students and their families and friends Aug. 9, officials said. The Murphy Center renovations, which include updated concessions and restrooms, a new HVAC system, new arena lighting and a new roof, began in January and are set to be completed this fall.

Speaker Boyd, who earned his Master of Fine Arts degree in theatrical design and technical production from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, joined the MTSU family in 2004 and is the head of the university’s theatre design program. He has extensive design and technical production experience on the community, educational and professional levels of theatre, including multiple projects with New York City companies, and has acted as a consultant for many community, educational and regional theaters across the Southeast.

Boyd is a nine-time finalist for the First Night Nashville Theatre Award for outstanding theater design and a three-time winner for his designs for “The Tempest” and “The Tide Shall Cover the Earth.” He served as the resident designer/technical director for the Nashville Children's Theatre for five years and spent nine years on the faculty of Austin Peay State University before joining MTSU’s faculty.

Students, friends, families and community supporters who attend the Aug. 9 ceremony should be aware that the event lasts about two hours and that graduating students are required to stay for the entire ceremony.

Graduation information — including maps and driving directions to Murphy Center, instructions on watching the ceremonies via streaming video on commencement day, cap-and-gown information and contacts for the Registrar’s Office — is available online at http://www.mtsunews.com/graduation-info.

Live streaming video of the summer 2014 commencement ceremony will start about 15 minutes before the ceremony begins.

MTSU Summer 2014 Commencement at a Glance

Who: A projected 853 graduates* (641 undergraduates, 212 graduate students)
What: 2014 MTSU Summer Commencement ceremony
When: 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 9
Where: Hale Arena inside Murphy Center on the MTSU campus
Commencement speaker: Professor Scott Boyd, theatre professor and 2013-14 president of the MTSU Faculty Senate.


*— Approximate numbers as of Aug. 1, 2014.

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