KOKOMO, Ind. —A record 658 graduates will be celebrated at Indiana University Kokomo’s Commencement Tuesday, May 8.
IU President Michael A. McRobbie will preside over the ceremony for the Class of 2018, which represents 36 Indiana counties, four states, and 11 countries. Thirty-six percent of the class is first generation college students, and 18 are graduating with 4.0 GPAs.
Forty-nine students are earning master’s degrees, 597 are earning their bachelor’s, and 12 will receive associate degrees. Some students earned more than one degree.
Chancellor Susan Sciame-Giesecke will present the graduating class at 1 p.m. in the Kokomo Event and Conference Center, 1500 N. Reed Road. A celebration reception will be held on campus in Alumni Hall immediately following the ceremony, for graduates and their families.
“We are so excited that we are having the largest participating class for Commencement for this year,” said Benjamin Liechty, director of alumni relations and campus ceremonies. “It is with great honor we welcome the Class of 2018 into the Indiana University Alumni Association and look forward to their participation in future alumni events and causes.”
Liechty noted that with a record number of graduates, seating in the Kokomo Event and Conference Center will go quickly. He asked graduates to invite seven guests or fewer to the ceremony, and said once seating is full, additional guests will be directed to overflow seating at the event center to watch the live feed.
Additional family and friends may watch the ceremony from the Kelley Student Center, Room 130, via live stream.
Bailey Troutman will represent the graduates as class speaker. Troutman, from Lapel, is graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Communication Arts degree. Faith Renken, Kokomo, will sing the National Anthem and the Alma Mater. Coral Regaldo-Santos, Frankfort, will induct the class into the IU Alumni Association. Both are earning Bachelor of Arts degrees in humanities.
The School of Nursing has the largest number of graduates, with 143 earning the Bachelor of Science in Nursing. The second most frequent degree being awarded is the Bachelor of General Studies, with 80. This brings the grand total of IU Kokomo graduates to 14,981.
Kokomo native Robert Knowling, who rose from an environment of poverty to lead Fortune 500 companies, will receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree during the ceremony.
Knowling currently is chair of Eagles Landing Partners, a strategic management consulting company. The privately held company focuses on enabling executives to embrace and lead transformational organizational change.
Free parking is available at the Kokomo Event and Conference Center, or at the Ivy Tech Community College campus, 1815 E. Morgan St., with shuttle service available.
For more information, go to IU Kokomo Commencement.
Indiana University Kokomo serves north central Indiana.