Angelo State Announces Spring 2018 Commencement Schedule of Activities

SAN ANGELO, TX — Almost 1,000 students are scheduled to graduate during Angelo State University’s spring commencement ceremonies on Saturday, May 12, in the Junell Center/Stephens Arena, 2235 S. Jackson St.

Graduates of the College of Education, Archer College of Health and Human Services, and College of Graduate Studies and Research in those academic fields will walk the stage during a 10 a.m. ceremony. Graduates of the College of Arts and Humanities, College of Business, College of Science and Engineering, and College of Graduate Studies and Research in those academic fields will walk the stage in a 2 p.m. ceremony. All of ASU’s commencement activities are open free to the public, and the two ceremonies may also be viewed live on the ASU website at www.angelo.edu/commencement.

During ASU’s commencement, 27 doctoral degrees, 326 master’s degrees and 643 bachelor’s degrees are scheduled to be presented. Graduate students will earn 27 doctor of physical therapy, 33 master of arts, eight master of professional accountancy, four master of agriculture, 44 master of business administration, 161 master of education, 42 master of science, 19 master of science in nursing, and 15 master of security studies degrees.

Undergraduates will receive 107 bachelor of arts, two bachelor of applied arts and sciences, one bachelor of border security, 114 bachelor of business administration, nine bachelor of fine arts, four bachelor of intelligence, security studies and analysis, 29 bachelor of interdisciplinary studies, one bachelor of music, 285 bachelor of science, nine bachelor of science in health science professions, 31 bachelor of science in nursing, 18 bachelor of security studies, and 33 bachelor of social work degrees.

The commencement speaker will be ASU alumna Norma Jennings, an award-winning author from Jamaica. A 1982 ASU graduate, she built a successful career as a corporate executive before returning to her first love of writing, publishing her first novel in 2012. It is titled “Daughter of the Caribbean” and is based mainly on her own life, including growing up in Jamaica on her grandmother’s sprawling Twickenham sugarcane plantation. Her second novel, “Passenger from Greece,” delves into the rising tide of drug trafficking in the Caribbean. It was published in 2015 and won a “50 Great Writers You Should Be Reading Book Award” from The Authors Show Radio. It was also a finalist in the Best USA Book Awards and has generated interest from movie producers. Her forthcoming third book, “Marooned,” is a provoking and brutal historical fiction novel about colonialism in Jamaica.

The commencement ceremonies will highlight three days of graduation-related events on the ASU campus. On Thursday, May 10, the Social Work Department will conduct the annual Pinning Ceremony for its graduates at 5 p.m. in the Houston Harte University Center, 1910 Rosemont Drive.

On Friday, May 11, ASU’s Air Force ROTC Detachment 847 will conduct its Spring Commissioning Ceremony for eight graduating cadets at 9 a.m. in the Houston Harte University Center. The cadets will receive their appointments as second lieutenants in the U.S. Air Force.

At 6 p.m. on Friday, the Physical Therapy Department will conduct its annual Awards Banquet at the LeGrand Alumni and Visitors Center, 1620 University Ave. Various student awards, including those for Academic Excellence, Research Excellence and Clinical Excellence, will be distributed, as well as several faculty awards.

Then at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, the Nursing Department will conduct the annual Pinning Ceremony for its graduates in the Houston Harte University Center. Pinning ceremonies became a U.S. tradition in the early 1800s to mark students’ completion of their education and entry into the profession.