Commencement Set For May 17

Students at the 2006 Commencement Ceremonies. Photo Credit: HSU Marketing & Communications
Arcata - Some 2,200 graduates and credential recipients are scheduled to cross the stage on Saturday, May 17, when Humboldt State University hosts its 2008 Commencement, expected to draw an estimated 25,000 guests to Redwood Bowl.

Following a tradition begun in 1975, the University will conduct separate graduation ceremonies for each academic college. With President Rollin Richmond presiding, the ceremonies will start with the College of Natural Resources and Sciences at 8:30 a.m., continue with the College of Professional Studies at noon and conclude with the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at 3:30 p.m.

Each exercise will be held in Redwood Bowl, rain or shine.

HSU Alumnus Michael Crooke (‘86, ‘89], founding chief executive officer of Revolution Living and former chief executive officer of Patagonia, will be commencement speaker at all three ceremonies. He is a well-known advocate of building businesses that result in balanced and meaningful living. He delivered the annual Chung-Watson business lecture at Humboldt State in 2006.

Commencement 2008 will confer Honorary Doctorates of Humane Letters on Cheryl A. Seidner, Tribal Chair of the Wiyot Tribe and a 30-year staff member of the University’s Educational Opportunity Program, and HSU alumnus Michael Randolph Fielding (‘57, ’63), former senior partner of PriceWaterhouseCoopers, who helped to establish the Humboldt State University Advancement Foundation, which promotes private giving.

All three ceremonies will be broadcast live on Channel 12 television beginning at 8:30 a.m. Channel 12 will rebroadcast them Saturday evening, starting at 6:00 p.m.

Commencement will be streamed live around the world via high-speed Internet connections through the Arcata web-streaming company StreamGuys. A link to the Internet broadcast will be available from HSU’s commencement website at http://www.humboldt.edu/~grad/broadcasts.html.

All guests are encouraged to arrive early for their respective exercises. Continuous shuttle service will be available from the two main campus parking lots (Harpst and Rossow Streets and 14th & Union) to transport attendees to Redwood Bowl. Individuals with disabilities and those requiring wheelchairs will have access to parking close to the shuttle stops.

Each ceremony will begin with a procession accompanied by “Pomp and Circumstance” or by “Light and Truth,” written by Professor Emeritus Valgene Phillips, and performed by the HSU Brass Choir.

HSU will produce DVDs of each ceremony and ordering information and other details are at http://www.humboldt.edu/~grad/broadcasts.html. The Commencement Office can be reached at (707) 826-5155.