Over 1,000 ASU Students Walk The Stage

SAN ANGELO, TX - More than 1,000 Angelo State University students are scheduled to walk the stage during five spring commencement ceremonies.

The ceremonies began on May 10 and run through today, May 11, in the Junell Center/Stephens Arena, 2235 S. Jackson St.

ASU graduates are being presented with 27 doctoral degrees, 373 master's degrees, and 660 bachelor's degrees.

“We have a vision, and we want to be recognized as an innovative university in a lot of different ways, economically, socially, as well as culturally,” ASU President Ronnie Hawkins Jr. said. “When you see the students that are coming in, and the ones that are graduating, and their parents as well, we feel very confident, comfortable that we’ve got the right type of student here that want to be a part of a society and to make it better.”

Provost, Dr. Don Topliff, talked about being competitive with other universities, not just those in the state of Texas. 

“First of all, we are an economically affordable institution, you don’t have to spend $100,000 on a bachelor’s degree to get a great education,” Topliff said. “We continuously promote that. But beyond that, new programs that are attractive to students are really, really important. One of the more recent ones is the commercial aviation program we started three years ago. In fact, this afternoon we will have the first three graduates of that program cross the stage. They’ve done so in three years, and they are certified flight instructors.”

Hawkins Jr. also talked about where he would like to see each of his graduates in 10 years. 

“Well, in 10 years, I hope that that they recognize the importance of how it is that they got their degree here at Angelo State University,” he said. “They're able to mentor other students who are currently at Angelo State University. But more importantly, other people recognize the brand and say, ‘I want somebody who came out of Angelo State University.’”