By Jimmy Robertson
Nearly 3,000 Hokies will graduate on Dec. 16 during Virginia Tech’s fall commencement ceremonies, which will be held in Cassell Coliseum.
The University Commencement ceremony will begin at 10:30 a.m. The Graduate School ceremony will follow at 2:30 p.m. Both events will be available via livestream video from the university homepage for those unable to attend in person. Doors will open at 9:30 a.m. for the university ceremony and at 1:30 p.m. for the graduate ceremony.
The events will honor approximately 1,909 students who completed their academic degrees during the summer and fall terms.
Edward Weisband, a professor within the Department of Political Science in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences, will deliver the keynote address at the university ceremony. Three graduate students who will each earn doctoral degrees — Ariel Heminger, plant and environmental sciences; Abdulaziz Alenezi, educational research and policy studies; and Steve Gerus, sociology — will speak at the Graduate School’s commencement, sharing their thoughts about their graduate education journeys. Their short remarks will be modeled on the Nutshell Games created by the Center for Communicating Science.
During the ceremony, 1,544 undergraduates will be recognized for earning bachelor’s degrees.
Of the graduates, 633 earned a cumulative GPA of at least 3.4 on a 4.0 scale.
The College of Engineering will feature the most undergraduates receiving degrees with a total of 409. Additionally, Virginia Tech’s six other colleges and the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine will award the following bachelor’s degrees to summer and fall graduates:
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences: 127
College of Architecture, Art, and Design: 35
Pamplin College of Business: 326
College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences: 268
College of Natural Resources and Environment: 70
College of Science: 297
Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine: 12
Virginia Tech will recognize 1,453 summer and fall graduates who will receive an advanced, master’s, or doctoral degree.
The graduate degree candidates include 804 master’s degrees, seven education specialist degrees, 291 Ph.D.s, and 12 doctors of education.
The Graduate School will also recognize its Alumni Achievement Award recipient during its ceremony. Karey Sutton, who received her Ph.D. in Science and Technology Studies in 2010, is the Health Equity Research scientific director for MedStar Health Research Institute in Washington, D.C., where she is responsible for strategy and growth in health equity research and for building partnerships and community relations to foster such research.
During her time at Virginia Tech, Sutton was active in the Black Graduate Student Organization, the Graduate Student Assembly (now the Graduate and Professional Student Senate), and was a Minority Academic Opportunities Program scholar.
A total of 346 students will receive advanced graduate certificates.
