Congratulations to the Class of 2014! The COB Spring Commencement ceremony was held May 16 at the John Q. Hammons Arena. James Tatum, recipient of the honorary Doctor of
Public Affairs, delivered the commencement address in which he urged students to “choose the harder right than the easier wrong.” To view the complete address and ceremony, click HERE.
A few changes in graduation tradition were initiated this year on the Missouri State campus. First, undergraduates wore maroon graduation robes and caps instead of the traditional black. Graduate and doctoral students maintained use of the black robes and caps. Second, all students were allowed to decorate and personalize their graduation caps. There were some unique caps created. Each of the new traditions appears to have been well received by graduates and families alike.
Leading up to graduation festivities at the end of the week, the University provided a Tagboard website featuring Twitter, Facebook and Instagram posts utilizing the hashtag #BearGrads. Many COB students were featured in photographs, messages of congratulations and an official graduation video on this site. The complete Tagboard page can be found HERE.
Graduation day also saw a couple of events unique to COB. The first was the Technology and Construction Management (TCM) Hard Hat Ceremony, in which graduating TCM and Interior Design (ID) majors receive their MSU hard hats. TCM and ID seniors are allowed to wear their hard hat during the MSU graduation ceremony instead of a traditional graduation cap. The second event was a graduation reception for Entertainment Management seniors. Students in this program gathered with friends and family at the Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts and enjoyed hors d’oeuvres and a special recognition of each graduate from Dr. Philip Rothschild.
This year, Missouri State’s three spring graduation ceremonies saw the conferring of 1,784 undergraduate, 553 graduate, and 40 doctoral degrees. Because the College of Business is so large, we are the only college on campus that has its own ceremony. We are proud to be the largest college on campus and the largest public College of Business in the Midwest region.
Congratulations to the newest class of COB bear grads! Stay connected with Missouri State as alumni by filling out your official alumni registration form!
