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Spring 2015 Commencement Set with 1,700 Students Expected to Participate

Ferris State UniversityFerris State University’s commencement ceremonies will take place Friday, May 8 and Saturday, May 9 in Big Rapids, for main campus students, and in Grand Rapids, for Kendall College of Art and Design students, on Saturday, May 9.

Approximately 2,300 students are eligible to graduate this spring. Of that group, approximately 1,700 students are expected to participate in the May commencement ceremonies. Ferris will also recognize three individuals who will receive honorary degrees and speak at the ceremonies. The three honorary degree recipients are: Dale Hagerman, honorary Doctorate in Health Services; Karl Linebaugh, honorary Doctor of Business and Industry; and Fred Shell, honorary Doctorate of Public Service.

Commencement begins on Friday, May 8 with the College of Health Professions ceremony at 3:30 p.m. in Jim Wink Arena of the Ewigleben Sports Complex. The doors open at 2:30 p.m. At 7 p.m., ceremonies will be held for the College of Arts, Sciences and Education, College of Pharmacy and Doctorate in Community College Leadership. Hagerman, a 1951 graduate of the College of Pharmacy, will speak at the 7 p.m. ceremony. The doors open at 6 p.m.

Ceremonies resume on Saturday, May 9. Beginning at 9 a.m. is commencement for the College of Education and Human Services and Michigan College of Optometry. Shell, vice president of Corporate and Government Affairs for DTE Energy, will address graduates during that ceremony. Doors open at 8 a.m. At 12:30 p.m., a ceremony will be held for the College of Engineering Technology. Doors open at 11:30 a.m. Finally, the 4 p.m. ceremony will be hosted for the College of Business. Graduates in that ceremony will be addressed by Linebaugh, president of Chemical Bank’s North Region. Doors for the 4 p.m. ceremony open at 3 p.m.

Commencement for KCAD will take place on Saturday, May 9 at the Fountain Street Church beginning at 10:30 a.m. Ceremony information for statewide and online students can be found here.

All students who plan to participate in Spring 2014 commencement ceremonies receive six tickets. No extra tickets are distributed by the Commencement Office or the individual college commencement coordinators. Lost tickets will not be replaced. Guests who do not have tickets may watch the ceremony via live stream on the Commencement Office website or on a large screen from an alternate viewing room inside of the Ewigleben Sports Complex. Click here for special accommodations.

Read the capsules on the honorary doctorate recipients:

  • Hagerman, a 1951 graduate of Ferris’ College of Pharmacy, will receive an Honorary Doctorate in Health Services from the university. Hagerman is an important figure in the state of Michigan pharmacy community. He started Ideal Pharmacy before he and his son, Phil, together developed Diplomat Pharmacy, which has provided significant and new economic possibilities for the city of Flint;
  • Linebaugh is president of Chemical Bank’s North Region and an important figure in the Big Rapids community since 1972. He also has deep ties to the university. In addition to serving on The Ferris Foundation Board of Directors, Linebaugh has served in a board position and as past chair for Friends of Ferris, and has membership in the University’s Founder’s Club. He is also past president of the Bulldog Club and served on the 2003 presidential search committee; and
  • Shell, vice president of Corporate and Government Affairs for DTE Energy, a Detroit-based diversified energy company involved in the development and management of energy-related businesses and services nationwide. In his role as president of the DTE Energy Foundation, Shell was supportive of Ferris’ Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia and its mission to use objects of intolerance to teach tolerance and promote social justice.

Tickets are required to attend all Big Rapids commencement ceremonies.