LU to divide commencement into two ceremonies

BEAUMONT - From Lamar University - Lamar University is entering a new era, thanks to increasing enrollments and graduating classes too large for a single commencement ceremony.

            For the first time, Lamar will host two ceremonies, Friday, Dec. 18, and Saturday, Dec. 19, then move to two on the same day, Saturday, May 15, 2010.

            “This, of course, is a wonderful problem to have, and it is exciting that we are meeting the educational needs of such a broad range of students from throughout Texas and beyond and that the number of supportive alumni and friends of the university as a result is expanding dramatically,” said Stephen Doblin, provost and vice president for academic affairs. “It is clear that Lamar is the university of choice at both the undergraduate and graduate levels for more and more students every year.”

            “The impetus for this change is Lamar University’s enrollment growth in general and the expansion of our online degree programs, in particular,” Doblin said. “Approximately 1,100 master’s degrees were awarded to Academic Partnerships students in August, and there will be several hundred more finishing in time for December commencement.

            “There is just not enough room in the Montagne Center to accommodate the number of students and their families who will attend commencement from now on, based on both current enrollment and our plans for future growth, both on campus and via distance learning.”

            As of Nov. 18, Lamar was scheduled to confer about 1,500 degrees, with candidates for graduation including three for doctorates, 1,100 for master’s degrees and 400 for bachelor’s degrees. A total of 928 of the master’s candidates are in the Academic Partnership program in education.

            The first commencement will begin at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 18, with graduates of the Colleges of Arts and Sciences, Business and Engineering participating. Gerald McElvy, president of the ExxonMobil Foundation, will be the keynote speaker.

            Graduates in the Colleges of Education and Human Development, Fine Arts and Communication and General Studies will receive their diplomas in ceremonies beginning at 9:30 a.m. Dec. 19. Joe Domino, president and chief executive office of Entergy Texas and a Lamar Distinguished Alumnus, will be the keynote speaker.

            Spring commencement ceremonies will begin at 9:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. May 15 in the Montagne Center, with the same breakdown by colleges.

            “This milestone signals the growth of the university over the past decade,” said Kevin Smith, senior associate provost. “We have been making announcements for 10 years about enrollment growth. We had a couple of setbacks with the hurricanes, but now we’re back on track. Our numbers have reached a tipping point.

            “We cannot accommodate the number of graduates we have in any manner befitting their accomplishments in a single ceremony. So we have moved to two, and we have plans to continue with two ceremonies for the foreseeable future. As Dr. Doblin said, it’s a good problem to have. It’s a new era for Lamar University.”

            Lamar Institute of Technology, which has traditionally hosted its commencement on Friday nights, will move its December ceremony to Thursday – “to be a good neighbor and help us with this problem,” Smith said.

            Scheduling two ceremonies poses dozens of logistical questions about staffing, budgets and planning issues. “The devil’s in the details,” Smith said.