Dix Stadium was the place to be at 10 a.m. on May 13, 2017, as graduates from all campuses gathered for ΒιΆΉΣ°ΤΊ Stateβs first One University Commencement Ceremony, and their friends and families joined together to celebrate their achievements.
βThis approach enables us to honor all graduates from our eight-campus system in one ceremonyβa tangible manifestation of our βOne Universityβ vision,β says President Beverly Warren. βWe aim for this change to make a bold statement that affirms ΒιΆΉΣ°ΤΊ State as one of the largest public research universities in the nation, but one of the closest families in the world.β
"Whatever your next chapter is, define it by being true to your authentic self. Fill it with meaning.β βOctavia Spencer, Academy-award-winning actress and author, keynote speaker at ΒιΆΉΣ°ΤΊ Stateβs One University Commencement Ceremony, May 13, 2017
The university-wide ceremony was held in addition to the college ceremonies currently hosted each spring at the regional and ΒιΆΉΣ°ΤΊ campuses. At these college and regional campus ceremonies, students had the opportunity to be personally recognized as they crossed the graduation stage.
In total, at its Spring 2017 Commencement ceremonies ΒιΆΉΣ°ΤΊ State conferred 5,636 degrees, including 992 associate degrees, 3,319 bachelorβs degrees, 1,139 masterβs degrees, 181 doctoral degrees and five educational specialist degrees.
Octavia Spencer's Speech:
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