JMU Honors Its Newest Graduates
News
JMU graduate.
The time-honored tradition of May commencement exercises begins anew for the Class of 2012 as graduate and undergraduate students make the transition to become alumni of James Madison University.
Dr. Linwood H. Rose, who is stepping down as president of the university June 30, will speak at both the graduate ceremony Friday, May 4, at 7 p.m. in the JMU Convocation Center and the undergraduate ceremony Saturday, May 5, at 9 a.m. in Bridgeforth Stadium. Students should arrive at the stadium by 8:30 a.m. so that they may be seated on the field for the program to begin promptly at 9 a.m.
Rose will confer degrees to approximately 3,567 undergraduate students and 558 graduate students – 545 master's degree, three educational specialist degree and 10 doctoral degree candidates while presiding at his final commencement exercises as JMU's fifth president.
As president, Rose has guided JMU with a deep knowledge of the university's character and tradition honed during a career that began when he joined the professional staff in 1975. His increasing duties led to assignments in every division of the university, preparing him to lead JMU, beginning his presidency in 1998, to national prominence in higher education.
While there will be ample space for undergraduate commencement guests, three satellite viewing areas of the main ceremony for anyone who would prefer to stay inside and not maneuver around the stadium will be available in Wilson Hall, Festival Conference and Student Center Ballroom and the Convocation Center.
Beginning at 11 a.m., commencement celebrations will continue at individual college programs at various campus locations.
- College of Arts and Letters: JMU Quadrangle
- College of Business: JMU Convocation Center
- College of Education and University Studies: Godwin Hall
- College of Integrated Science and Technology: Bridgeforth Stadium
- School of Engineering: Ballroom, Festival Conference and Student Center
- College of Science and Mathematics: Rose Library lawn (East Campus Library)
- College of Visual and Performing Arts: Soccer/Lacrosse Field
Twenty-one cadets will receive their commissions as second lieutenants at the ROTC Commissioning Ceremony at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 5, in Memorial Hall Auditorium. Lt. Gen. Raymond V. Mason, U.S. Army deputy chief of staff for logistics, will speak at the traditional ceremony in which graduating cadets take their oath of office and accept rank pins and first salutes.
Mason, who graduated from JMU in 1978, is the highest-ranking active duty JMU Army ROTC alumnus. He oversees the policies and procedures used by a quarter million Army logisticians throughout the world. After earning a B.A. in business marketing and management, Mason was commissioned a second lieutenant in the quartermaster corps. He holds two master's degrees, one in procurement/contract management from Florida Institute of Technology and another in national resource strategy from the National Defense University.
A private pinning ceremony for 56 nursing program graduates and their guests will be held Friday, May 4, as part of JMU's commencement tradition.
JMU's commencement website is located at https://www.jmu.edu/commencement.
