CROOKSTON, Minn.
– The Class of 2014 will be honored during
commencement exercises at the University of Minnesota Crookston on
Saturday, May 10. Nearly 250 students will take part in the ceremony, which
begins at 2 p.m. in Lysaker Gymnasium. Graduates will represent 13 countries
and 29 states and include more than 35 online graduates who are setting foot on
the campus for the very first time. The ceremony also recognizes the 20-year
anniversary of the Class of 1994, who were the first to earn baccalaureate
degrees on the Crookston campus.
A
reception in the Northern Lights Lounge, Sargeant Student Center, precedes the
commencement ceremony from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The public is welcome to attend
both events; no tickets are required. A special reception for international
student graduates will be held following commencement exercises at 4 p.m. in
Bede Ballroom, Sargeant Student Center.
On Saturday at 2
p.m., the formal procession of faculty, candidates for degrees, and platform
guests will begin from the Sargeant Student Center to the gymnasium led by Mace
Bearer William Peterson, professor in the Math, Science, and Technology
Department. The procession also includes Faculty Marshal W. Daniel Svedarsky,
professor and director of the Center for Sustainability on the Crookston
campus.
Bringing
greetings from the University of Minnesota Board of Regents is the Honorable
Clyde Allen, from Moorhead, Minn., who will also assist with the conferring of
the degrees.
U of M Crookston
alumnus Tyler Grove ’94 will give the commencement address. Grovewas one of the first to earn a four-year degree from the
University of Minnesota Crookston. His major was in plant industries management
with an agronomy emphasis. While at the U of M Crookston, he participated in
the Crops Team and in NACTA (North American Colleges and Teachers of
Agriculture) competition. In 2007 he earned his master's degree in agronomy
from Iowa State University. In 1995, he was employed with American Crystal
Sugar Company as an agriculturist for the East Grand Forks district, and in
February, 2013, he accepted a position as the ag strategy development manager
at the corporate office in Moorhead, Minn. He was named Outstanding Alumni
during Homecoming 2013.
University
of Minnesota, Crookston Alumni Association (UMCAA) Board President Rory Held
‘11 will bring greetings from the UMCAA and welcome the new graduates to the
alumni association. For the first time, the U of M Crookston Community Band
under the direction of TJ Chapman will play along with selections during the
ceremony by the campus choir under the direction of George French.
Graduating
senior Alexmai Addo, Crookston Student Association (CSA) president, will speak
on behalf of the Class of 2014 and pass the torch of education, a Crookston
campus tradition, to Justin Goodroad the incoming CSA president. Addo, from
Monrovia, Liberia, is a communication major.
The 2014 commencement exercises mark the 106th
graduating class to be recognized on the Crookston campus. A live audio
stream of the commencement exercises will be available at www.umcrookston.edu/people/services/MediaServ/Stream.htm.
For more information, visit the commencement Web site at www.umcrookston.edu/commencement.
