Special to the Register
RICHMOND —
Spring Commencement ceremonies at Eastern Kentucky University on Saturday will recognize 2,124 degree candidates, including the first from the University’s inaugural doctoral degree program (see related story).
Because the university no longer conducts summer commencement, this year’s Spring Commencement will feature three separate ceremonies. The first ceremony, at 9:30 a.m., will recognize degree candidates in the Colleges of Business & Technology and Education. The second ceremony, at 1:30 p.m., will recognize degree candidates in the Colleges of Health Sciences and Justice & Safety. The day’s final ceremony, at 5 p.m., will honor candidates in the College of Arts & Sciences. All ceremonies are in Alumni Coliseum.
Each of the keynote speakers is a member of the EKU Foundation Board of Directors, and two are members of the University’s Hall of Distinguished Alumni.
The keynote speaker in the 9:30 ceremony will be Bill Clements of Henderson, senior vice president and branch manager with Hilliard Lyons and a member of EKU’s Hall of Distinguished Alumni. The 1968 Eastern graduate serves as secretary/treasurer of the EKU Foundation Board of Directors and chairs the Finance Committee. He and wife Cindy established an endowment to provide scholarship support for students from the Henderson community studying in Eastern’s College of Business and Technology.
The keynote speaker for the 1:30 ceremony will be Tom Coffey of Nashville, a Somerset native who serves on the Executive and Finance Committees of the Foundation Board and is a member of the University’s Hall of Distinguished Alumni. Coffey, who graduated from Eastern in 1965, is the retired president and CEO of Lincoln National Life Midsouth Corporation and continues to be very active in the insurance and financial services fields. A former president of the University’s International Alumni Association, he also established EKU’s first endowed professorship.
Jane Boyer of Prospect, a former member of the University’s Board of Regents who serves on the Executive Committee of the Foundation Board, will serve as keynote speaker for the 5 p.m. ceremony. A past recipient of the EKU’s Presidential Award of Merit, Boyer has been a strong supporter of many Eastern programs, including the Honors Program, Friends of the Library and Friends of the Fine Arts, as well as Colonel athletics.
All three speakers will receive honorary doctor of humanities degrees.
In all, 1,526 bachelor’s degree candidates will be recognized, plus 457 master’s degree candidates, 134 associate degree candidates, six specialist degree candidates and the one doctoral degree candidate from the College of Education.
Student speakers will be Mary Jennings of Beattyville, 9:30 a.m. ceremony; Tejon Washington of Bartow, Fla., 1:30 p.m. ceremony; and Jessica Slaton of Richmond, 5 p.m. ceremony.
College receptions for the respective graduates and their families will be hosted in the Fred Darling Gymnasium in Alumni Coliseum immediately after each ceremony.
The public is welcome to attend any of the ceremonies.
