April 23, 2012

 

Contacts:
Dan Carter, University Relations, 657-2269

 

Largest class in MSUB’s history to cross the stage on Saturday

 

MSU BILLINGS NEWS SERVICES — Montana State University Billings faculty, staff and students this week are putting the finishing touches on the 2011-12 academic year. The week culminates with convocations and academic awards ceremonies on April 26-27, with commencement ceremonies on Saturday, April 28.

 

Happy graduates at MSUB's 2011 commencement ceremonies The five academic colleges at MSU Billings will host individual convocations on Thursday and Friday, recognizing students for academic achievement and service within their major fields of study. Undergraduates who will be graduating with honors during the MSU Billings Commencement ceremony on Saturday will receive honor cords during their college’s convocation ceremony.  Top graduate students will also be recognized.

All events are free and open to the public.

 

Commencement ceremonies are scheduled for Saturday, April 28, at 10 a.m. in Rimrock Auto Arena at MetraPark with undergraduate and graduate diplomas given to 1,028 students, the largest graduating class in MSU Billings’ history. 

 

The commencement speaker this year is the Hon. Sidney Thomas, a justice on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Judge Thomas was confirmed by the United States Senate to serve as a judge on the circuit court in 1996.  The circuit hears appeals from federal courts and administrative agencies in nine Western states, including Montana. He will become the Chief Judge of the Circuit within the next few years.  

 

Thomas was born in Bozeman, received a B.A. in Speech-Communication at Montana State University in Bozeman and his J.D. from the University of Montana School of Law. During his undergraduate years, Thomas served as a student member of the Montana Board of Regents of Higher Education.

 

Commencement will be followed by the traditional Graduates’ Reception at the MSU Billings campus, 1500 University Drive. The reception will be held at Alterowitz Gym on North 27th Street just across the street from the Cisel Hall parking lot. 

 

Meanwhile, convocation ceremonies will also take place this week for each of the academic colleges. Those events celebrate the success of the graduating students and also include special student awards from departments and divisions.

 

Convocation for the MSU Billings College of Technology will be on Thursday, April 26 at 6 p.m. in the College of Technology’s Health Sciences Building, with a welcome by Dean Marsha Riley and a reception to follow. The College of Technology will confer 347 degrees during the Commencement ceremony on Saturday.

 

Convocation for the MSU BillingsCollege of Allied Health Professions will be on Friday, April 27, at 9 a.m., in Cisel Recital Hall, with a welcome by Dean Dr. Diane Duin with a reception to follow in Apsaruke Hall. The College of Allied Health Professions will confer 122 degrees during the Commencement ceremony on Saturday, including 40 master’s degrees. 

 

Convocation for the MSU Billings College of Business will be on Friday, April 27, at 11:30 a.m. in Cisel Recital Hall, with a welcome by Dr. Tim Wilkinson, interim dean of the College of Business. A reception will follow in McDonald Hall. The College of Business will confer 109 degrees during the Commencement ceremony on Saturday.

 

Convocation for the MSU Billings College of Arts and Sciences will be on Friday, April 27, at 2 p.m., in Petro Theatre, with a welcome by Dean Dr. Tasneem Khaleel and a reception to follow in Rimrock Café at the Student Union Building. The College of Arts and Sciences will confer 287 degrees during the Commencement ceremony on Saturday, including 23 master’s degrees.

 

Convocation for the MSU Billings College of Education will be on Friday, April 27, at 4 p.m., at Alterowitz Gym, with a welcome by Dean Dr. Mary Susan Fishbaugh. A reception will follow in Alterowitz Gym.  The College of Education will confer 163 degrees during the Commencement ceremony on Saturday, including 75 master’s degrees.

 

For more information about the five MSU Billings convocations, or the commencement ceremony on April 28, call the University Relations Office at 657-2269 or see the university’s special event web pages at www.msubillings.edu/convocation or  www.msubillings.edu/commencement.

 

 

PHOTO ABOVE: Graduates from the MSU Billings class of 2011 share some memories before last year’s commencement ceremonies. This year’s commencement will be Saturday, April 28 at 10 a.m. at MetraPark’s Rimrock Auto Arena.