April 10, 2008 :: More Oklahomans Receiving Bachelor’s Degrees This Year

Media Contact: Ben Hardcastle
Office: 1.405.225.9346
Mobile: 1.405.640.9672
bhardcastle@osrhe.edu

If early projections hold true, more Oklahomans are receiving bachelor’s degrees this year than did last spring.

The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education estimates that approximately 30,000 students will earn degrees during the 2007-08 academic year at Oklahoma’s public colleges and universities.

Preliminary information relating to degrees awarded in 2007-08 was gathered in a survey of higher education institutions. Official data will be available later.

Of those 30,000 graduates, an estimated 17,400 will receive bachelor’s degrees, a 4 percent increase from the 2006-07 academic year. The most popular fields of study among students receiving bachelor’s degrees are business and education.

Business, nursing and general studies are the programs most frequently selected by the projected 7,500 students earning associate degrees.

An estimated 3,900 students will receive master’s degrees in a variety of fields, most notably in education and counseling.

Projections show that 350 students will earn doctoral degrees, while 850 others will receive professional degrees in areas such as law and medicine.

“We are very pleased to see that the number of students graduating from Oklahoma colleges and universities with a bachelor’s degree is continuing to increase,” said Chancellor Glen D. Johnson. “These graduates are the future of our state. I want to congratulate each one of them for their significant accomplishment and wish them the very best in all of their future endeavors.”

Distinguished representatives from various fields will deliver commencement addresses during this spring’s graduation ceremonies. Ceremonies are listed alphabetically by city and include dates, times, locations and commencement speakers’ names, when available.

East Central University will hold two commencement ceremonies May 10 in the Kerr Activities Center in Ada. Lt. Gov. Jefferson Keel of the Chickasaw Nation will serve as commencement speaker during the ceremonies at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Western Oklahoma State College will hold its 80th annual commencement at 8 p.m. May 9 at the WOSC gymnasium in Altus. Dean Graumann, WOSC Board of Regents secretary, will serve as commencement speaker.
Northwestern Oklahoma State University will welcome Adair Brown, chief executive officer of The Adair Group, as commencement speaker during its annual graduation ceremony at 10:30 a.m. May 3 at Ranger Field in Alva.
The University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma, Chickasha, will hold its 100th spring commencement at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. April 18 in the Te Ata Memorial Auditorium on campus. President John Feaver will serve as the commencement speaker. This is the first of two centennial commencement ceremonies the university will celebrate. The second will be held Dec. 5.
Newly appointed Rogers State University president designate, Dr. Larry Rice, will serve as commencement speaker for RSU’s annual graduation ceremonies May 6 at the Claremore Expo Center. Associate degrees will be presented at 10 a.m., and bachelor’s degrees will be presented at 1 p.m.
Southeastern Oklahoma State University’s annual commencement will take place at 10 a.m. May 10 at Paul Laird Football Field in Durant. Dr. Amanda J. Cobb-Greetham, administrator of history and culture, Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma, will be the commencement speaker.
The University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond will hold its 100th annual commencement ceremonies over two days inside Hamilton Field House. Bachelor’s degrees for the College of Education will be presented May 9 at 3 p.m., and bachelor’s degrees for the College of Mathematics and Science, along with the College of Arts, Media and Design will be presented at 7 p.m. that evening. The College of Business Administration commencement is scheduled for 10 a.m. May 10. The College of Liberal Arts will hold its ceremony at 2 p.m. May 10. Commencement ceremonies for the Dr. Joe C. Jackson Graduate College and fall 2007 graduates will be held at 7 p.m. May 10.
Deputy Director Anthony Hutchison, Office of State Finance, will serve as speaker during Redlands Community College’s annual commencement at 8 p.m. May 16 inside the field house on campus in El Reno.
Oklahoma Panhandle State University’s 98th annual commencement will be held at 10 a.m. May 17 at Oscar Williams Field House in Goodwell. Serving as commencement speaker will be Dr. Sara Jane Richter, OPSU dean of liberal arts.
Patricia Russell-McCloud, attorney, motivational speaker and orator, will speak to graduates during Langston University’s commencement at 10 a.m. May 17 at W.E. Anderson Stadium.
Cameron University, Lawton, will hold its annual commencement ceremony at 7:30 p.m. May 9 at the Cameron stadium. Col. Eileen Collins, U.S. Air Force, will deliver the commencement address. The ceremony will conclude with a fireworks display.
Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College’s 87th annual commencement will be held at 8 p.m. May 1 in the Student Activity Center on campus in Miami. Serving as commencement speaker will be Doug Matthews, NEO alumni, business owner and radio personality.
Rose State College, Midwest City, will hold its 38th commencement ceremony for graduates at 7 p.m. May 2 at First Southern Baptist Church, Del City. Dr. Baillie Dunlap, retiring RSC history professor, will give the commencement address.
President Donnie Nero, will be the commencement speaker during Connors State College's ceremony at 7 p.m. May 9 at the Muskogee Civic Assembly Center . Connors is celebrating its 100th anniversary, and as president of Connors, Nero will focus on the college's past and traditions, as well as what the future holds for the institution.
William Cohen, the 20th U.S. secretary of defense, will speak to graduates of the University of Oklahoma during its 116th annual commencement at 7 p.m. May 9 inside the Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman.
Oklahoma City Community College will welcome Regent Bill W. Burgess, Jr., chairman of the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, as commencement speaker during its graduation ceremony at 7:30 p.m. May 9 in the Cox Convention Center.
Oklahoma State University-Oklahoma City will hold its 45th annual commencement at 7 p.m. May 12 at the Cox Convention Center. OSU President, V. Burns Hargis, will serve as commencement speaker.
OSU-Okmulgee, will celebrate its commencement at 7:30 p.m. April 24 in Covelle Hall on campus. Dr. Kermit McMurry, vice chancellor for student affairs for the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education will serve as commencement speaker.
Carl Albert State College will hold its graduation ceremony at 7:30 p.m. May 9 at the Mick Thompson Fitness Center on campus in Poteau.
Seminole State College’s 75th annual commencement will be held at 10 a.m. May 9 in Raymond Harber Field House on campus. Serving as commencement speaker will be state Sen. Harry Coates.
OSU, Stillwater, will celebrate its commencement over two days. All ceremonies will be held in Gallagher-Iba Arena. The Graduate College commencement is scheduled for 7 p.m. May 2. For undergraduates, the colleges of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Arts and Sciences, and Education will hold their commencement May 3 at 10 a.m. Gov. Brad Henry will give the commencement address. The colleges of Engineering, Architecture and Technology, Human Environmental Sciences, and Veterinary Medicine and the Spears School of Business will hold their ceremony at 2 p.m. Lt. Gov. Jari Askins will deliver the commencement address. The College of Veterinary Medicine will also hold a graduate ceremony at 5:30 p.m.
Northeastern State University, Tahlequah, will celebrate two commencement ceremonies May 10 at Gable Field in Doc Wadley Stadium. U.S. Rep. Dan Boren will give the commencement address. The ceremonies will be held at 9 a.m. and noon. NSU-Broken Arrow will hold its ceremony at 7 p.m. May 12 at the Union Multipurpose Activity Center in Tulsa. Chancellor Glen D. Johnson, Oklahoma State System of Higher Education, will deliver the commencement address.
State Treasurer Scott Meacham will serve as speaker during Murray State College’s 100th annual commencement at 7 p.m. May 9 on the north lawn of the campus in Tishomingo.
Northern Oklahoma College’s annual commencement ceremonies will be held at 9:30 a.m. April 26 in Foster-Piper Fieldhouse in Tonkawa and at 3 p.m. in Briggs Auditorium on NOC’s Enid campus. Chancellor Glen D. Johnson, Oklahoma State System of Higher Education, will serve as the commencement speaker during both ceremonies.
The OSU Center for Health Sciences, Tulsa, will hold its commencement at 7 p.m. May 9 at Union High School Performing Arts Center. Elaine Ramos, class president, will be the commencement speaker.
OSU-Tulsa’s ninth annual commencement will take place at 7 p.m. May 5 at the Expo Square Pavilion in mid-town Tulsa. Chancellor Glen D. Johnson, Oklahoma State System of Higher Education, will be the commencement speaker.
State Regent Stuart Price will serve as speaker during Tulsa Community College’s 38th annual commencement ceremony at 7:30 p.m. May 2 at the Oral Roberts University Mabee Center.
Southwestern Oklahoma State University will hold its 104th annual commencement at 10 a.m. May 10 at Milam Stadium in Weatherford. Brice W. Harris, chancellor of Los Rios Community College in California, and Walter E. Lamar, president and chief executive officer of Lamar Associates, will serve as commencement speakers. SWOSU-Sayre will hold its ceremony at 7 p.m. May 9 at the Sayre High School Auditorium. Elk City Public Schools Superintendent Galeard Roper will serve as commencement speaker.
Eastern Oklahoma State College will welcome state Sen. Richard Lerblance, as commencement speaker during its 99th annual graduation ceremony at 6:30 p.m. May 2 at the field house on the Wilburton campus.