Rogers State University’s 104th commencement ceremonies on Saturday will recognize its largest graduating class, including inaugural graduates from its Master of Business Administration program.
The associate degree ceremony will be held at 10 a.m., while the bachelor’s and master’s degree ceremony will begin at 1 p.m. Both ceremonies will be held at the Claremore Expo Center.
During Saturday’s ceremonies, the university expects to award diplomas to more than 740 students who earned master’s, bachelor’s and associate degrees from all three campuses and online. The class of 2016 includes RSU’s largest group of bachelor’s degree students at 421, with an additional 23 students earning degrees from Cameron University as part of the collaborative elementary education degree program between the two universities.
Since RSU received accreditation as a four-year university in 2000, the university has awarded more than 6,700 diplomas, including more than 3,100 bachelor’s degrees and nearly 3,600 associate degrees.
Eight students from the MBA program are expected to earn diplomas on Saturday. The MBA program represents the first graduate degree program to be offered by RSU and was developed in partnership with regional business and industry. The program accepted its first students for the fall 2014 semester.
To mark this occasion, the university asked MBA student Katrina Loy Herndon, who was recognized as the outstanding graduate for the inaugural MBA class, to present remarks at both commencement ceremonies.
Herndon graduated from Claremore Sequoyah High School in 2009 and attended RSU as a student-athlete competing on the Hillcat softball team. During her undergraduate career, she was a leader both on the field and in the classroom. As a result, she was named an Academic All-American during her senior year. She graduated with honors from RSU in 2013 and shortly thereafter began working for AEP/PSO as a project coordinator in the transmission project services department. She was among the first people to apply for the MBA program when it began enrolling students in 2014.
The university will provide a live online stream of both ceremonies for those unable to attend in person. RSU Public TV will film the ceremonies.
Keepsake videos of the ceremonies will be available for purchase on DVD. The discs will be priced at $20 each for either the associate ceremony or the bachelor’s and master’s degree ceremony; the discs will be available for shipping approximately two weeks after the event.
DVDs can be purchased by mail or by phone through RSU Public Television. To order by phone and pay with a credit card, call 800-823-7210. Payment may be made with VISA, MasterCard, Discover or American Express.
To order by mail, send a note identifying which ceremony recording you wish to receive, along with a check or money order to RSU Public TV, 1701 W. Will Rogers Blvd., Claremore, OK 74017.
For more information or to view the live stream, visit www.rsu.edu/commencement.