Northern Kentucky University graduated more than 1,500 students at its spring commencement on Sunday at BB&T Arena.
The Haile/US Bank College of Business, the College of Health Professions and the College of Informatics held their commencement ceremony at 11 a.m. Graduates of the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Education and Human Services held their ceremony at 4 p.m.
Thousands of people filled BB&T Arena to celebrate the students’ achievements and the culmination of an important chapter in their lives.
“Commencement is one of my favorite times here at NKU because it provides a validation of the work we do in the form of the success of our students as they graduate and move on from here. On behalf of the entire university, I congratulate our graduates and am proud to spend this special day with them, their families and their friends,” said Gerard St. Amand, NKU interim president.
Photo by Scott Beseler, NKU Photographer
Sunday morning’s ceremony awarded nearly 700 degrees to graduates. Catherine Schwegman addressed her fellow graduates as the student speaker. Schwegman graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from the College of Informatics and a Bachelor of Science in Applied Mathematics from the College of Arts and Sciences. Doctor of Education honorary degrees were awarded to longtime NKU supporter and active community leader Ellen Rieveschl and to St. Amand.
Speaking in both the morning and afternoon ceremonies, NKU alumnus C. Bruce Johnson (’73) shared lessons he has learned throughout his successful journalism career. Johnson has been an anchor and reporter for Washington, D.C.’s, WUSA9 for over 40 years and has won 22 Emmy Awards.
Johnson was awarded the Doctor of Letters honorary degree during Sunday afternoon’s ceremony that honored more than 800 graduates from the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Education and Human Services. Former NKU Board of Regents Chair Alice Sparks was also awarded a Doctor of Education honorary degree. MacKenzie Boyd served as the afternoon student speaker. Boyd graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies with focuses in Theatre, Environmental Studies and Pre-Law.
On May 4, the Salmon P. Chase College of Law held commencement and honored 136 graduates. During the ceremony, the Honorable Amul R. Thapar of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit was awarded the Doctor of Laws honorary degree.
NKU awarded a total 1,648 degrees during the 2018 Spring Commencement weekend. Read more about NKU’s Spring Commencement graduates here.
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See the NKyTribune’s story about NKU’s honorary degree recipients.
