December Commencement Honors 800 Graduates

More than 800 people made the transition from James Madison University student to alumna or alumnus during fall commencement Saturday, Dec. 18, in the JMU Convocation Center.

Graduation exercises began at 10 a.m. for 657 undergraduate students and 164 graduate students, their families and guests. A total of 161 master's degrees, two educational specialist degrees and one doctoral degree were conferred. 

JMU alumnus William Jasien ('85), executive vice president and head of institutional markets for ING, one of the 20th largest financial institutions worldwide, was the commencement speaker. Jasien began his career with ING in 1993 and has held executive positions, including the head of U.S. retail markets, global business development and U.S. Customer Operation Centers. 

He is serving a six-year term on the Board of the Securities Investor Protection Corp., having been nominated by President George W. Bush in 2006 and confirmed by the U.S. Senate for the role. Before joining ING, Jasien was a member of the administration of President George H.W. Bush. His duties included serving as Assistant to the President for Financial Management and Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Treasury for Finance and Management. 

Jasien served on the JMU Board of Visitors, the university's governing body, from 1996 to 2004, concluding his term as vice rector. 

In addition to Saturday's main commencement ceremony, graduates from JMU's nursing and ROTC programs observed traditional ceremonies. Sixty nursing students participated in a private pinning ceremony Friday, Dec. 17. 

Four students were commissioned as Army second lieutenants during the ROTC Commissioning Ceremony at 2 p.m. Saturday in the auditorium of Memorial Hall. Col. William Schiek, commander of the Medical Center Brigade at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and a 1987 JMU graduate, spoke at the ceremony.