As the semester comes to a close, so does a chapter in many ETSU senior and graduate students’ lives.
The fall Commencement ceremony will take place on Dec. 14 in the Mini-Dome. The morning ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. and will honor graduates from the colleges of Business and Technology, Biomedical Sciences, Clinical and Rehabilitative Heath Sciences, Pharmacy, Public Health, the School of Continuing Studies and Academic Outreach and the Clemmer College of Education. The afternoon ceremony will begin at 3 p.m. and will honor graduates from the colleges of Arts and Sciences and Nursing.
“It’s really a celebration,” said Registrar Tom Donohoe. “A celebration that you’ve met your goal, and they call it commencement because you’re now moving on with your life.”
Dr. Lori Meier and Patrick Cronin will be speaking at Commencement. Meier is a professor in the Clemmer College of Education and recently won the 2019 Distinguished Faculty Award in Teaching. Patrick Cronin is a professor in the Department of Theatre and Dance and is an accomplished actor.
There will be 1,463 total students honored at the commencement ceremony with 382 students having graduated over the summer and 1,081 students graduating this semester. Students are given a plastic tube to hold their diplomas during Commencement, but do not actually receive their diplomas until the beginning of next semester.
“The first Wednesday of the next term’s classes we’ll have them [diplomas] in our office, and then for some students, if they live outside of 30 miles, we’ll mail some of those diplomas out,” said Jessica Miller, the associate registrar. “We ask them [students] to come in with a photo I.D. to pick up their diplomas, and there is also a form online that they can do if they need somebody to pick it up for them.”
Both Donohoe and Miller say Commencement ceremonies are one of the highlights of their job.
“The graduates worked hard to get to where they are, and we work hard to make sure that your commencement day is a good day,” said Donohoe.
Due to construction on the Mini-Dome, doors will be open on the side of the Mini-Dome facing the parking garage. Students and their guests are encouraged to park and enter from the side facing the parking garage and allow extra time to go through security.
