It is graduation weekend in Morgantown. Approximately 4,000 students will enter the ranks of West Virginia University alumni.

Former President Bill Clinton, WVU and NBA basketball star Jerry West and “Dangerous Minds” teacher LouAnne Johnson will be among the keynote speakers during 2010 Commencement festivities May 14-16.

The University will host a series of individual, personalized ceremonies for each school and college at a variety of venues on the Evansdale Campus and around Morgantown, including the WVU Coliseum, Creative Arts Center and Student Recreation Center.

Students and their families are encouraged to visit the Commencement website http://commencement.wvu.edu/ for a complete schedule of events, as well as information about photography, lodging and traditions.

All ceremonies will be webcast live at http://commencement.wvu.edu . To access the webcasts, a Flash player is required and the latest version of the browser of your choice is recommended. For the best level of viewing, high-speed Internet is also recommended.

Viewers can access the webcast 15 minutes before the ceremony is scheduled to begin. Following the live streams, the information will be archived and posted to YouTube.com.

The ceremony schedule:

May 14
10 a.m. – Army ROTC Commissioning, Mountainlair ballrooms, Brig. Gen. Dr. Richard W. Thomas

2 p.m. – Air Force ROTC Commissioning, WVU National Research Center for Coal and Energy, Col. Bruce T. Hellen

5:30 p.m. – Honors Convocation, Morgantown Event Center.

May 15
8:30 a.m. – School of Dentistry, Student Recreation Center; Speaker: Dr. Lorena Surber, president of the WVU School of Dentistry Alumni Association.

9 a.m. –School of Medicine (MD/PhD), Creative Arts Center; Speaker: Interim Dean Dr. James Brick.

9:30 a.m. – College of Human Resources and Education, WVU Coliseum; Speaker: former high school teacher LouAnne Johnson, portrayed by Michelle Pfeiffer in the 1995 movie “Dangerous Minds.”

Noon – School of Pharmacy, Student Recreation Center; Speaker: Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of the American Pharmacists Association Thomas E. Menighan.

1 p.m. – College of Law, Creative Arts Center; Speaker: WVU Law School Professor of the Year Anne Lofaso.

2 p.m. – College of Engineering and Mineral Resources, WVU Coliseum: Speaker: WVU 1976 graduate E. J. “Jed” DiPaolo.

5 p.m. –School of Nursing, Student Recreation Center; Speaker: Dr. Diana Mason, who serves as the Rudin Professor at the Hunter-Bellevue School of Nursing and is director of the Hunter College Center for Health Media and Policy.

5 p.m. – College of Creative Arts, Creative Arts Center; Speaker: former WVU first lady and Division of Music alumna Susan Hardesty.

6 p.m. – College of Business and Economics, WVU Coliseum; Speaker: WVU 1966 and 1968 alumnus Douglas Van Scoy.

May 16
9:30 a.m. _ Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design, WVU Coliseum; Speaker: Rustin M. Moore, chair of the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences at The Ohio State University.

10 a.m. –Perley Isaac Reed School of Journalism, Creative Arts Center; Speaker: Tom Harrison, chairman and chief executive officer of Omnicom’s Diversified Agency Services.

10 a.m. – Eberly College of Arts and Sciences Hooding Ceremony, Morgantown Events Center

10:30 a.m. –School of Medicine Professional Programs, Student Recreation Center; Speaker: Paralympic athlete Mike Schlappi.

2 p.m. – Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, WVU Coliseum; Speaker former U.S. President William J. Clinton.

2:30 p.m. – College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences, Creative Arts Center; Speaker: former WVU and NBA basketball star Jerry West will speak.

-WVU-

cd/05/14/10

CONTACT: News and Information Services
304-293-6997

Check http://wvutoday.wvu.edu daily for the latest news from the University
Follow @WVUToday on Twitter.