More than 1,100 degrees will be awarded to University of Wisconsin Oshkosh graduates on Saturday, Dec. 13 as an audience of thousands of parents, spouses, partners, extended families and friends pack Kolf Sports Center for 2014 Midyear Commencement ceremonies.
UW Oshkosh is set to confer nearly 1,000 undergraduate and 140 graduate degrees during its Midyear graduation. The graduates are part of a statewide wave poised to earn approximately 10,000 degrees from UW System institutions around Wisconsin. Hundreds of UW Oshkosh students qualified to take part in the ceremonies, as loved ones from around the region, state, nation and world look and cheer on.
The 2014 Midyear Commencement degree total is up from approximately 1,040 degrees awarded in December 2013; 1,080 in 2012; and 990 in 2011. In total, as Dec. 13, UW Oshkosh will have conferred more than 2,500 degrees in calendar-year 2014.
The Midyear Commencement ceremonies will be the first at UW Oshkosh for Chancellor Andrew J. Leavitt, who assumed the role on Nov. 1. Leavitt will lead the University in the conferring of degrees.
“Twice every year, at Spring and Midyear Commencement ceremonies, it is an honor and privilege for our students, staff and faculty to welcome thousands of guests who gather in Kolf Sports Center and recognize and celebrate one of the greatest moments in their loved ones’ lives – the conferring of University honors and degrees they worked so hard to achieve,” Leavitt said.
“This fall, we are sending more than 1,100 graduates onward, out into dynamic careers, to pursue further studies and to engage in a host of life-enriching experiences that will have a profound, positive impact on the people and communities of Wisconsin. Our alumni are writing stories of success that are a testament to the lifelong power of a UW Oshkosh education. I am proud, humbled and excited to participate in my first Commencement.”
Enjoy these moments from 2013 Midyear Commencement…
Survey: UW Oshkosh seniors more than satisfied
When UW Oshkosh students get ready to venture into a new career or pursue graduate studies, they leave the University feeling very good about their experiences, according to the results of a recent survey.
Approximately 88 percent of the 746 UW Oshkosh seniors responding to the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) rated their overall experience at the state’s third-largest university as either “Excellent” or “Good,” according to survey results.
The University fielded the latest survey results this fall. The last time the national rating-instrument that collects information from freshman and senior students about their experiences at higher educational institutions across the United States was administered at UW Oshkosh was in 2011.
The 2014 survey results also reported that 86 percent of UW Oshkosh seniors indicated they would “Definitely” or “Probably” attend the institution again. The survey results also reported high percentages of seniors responding “Very much” or “Quite a bit” to queries asking them to gauge their perceived gains in “thinking critically and analytically” (86 percent), “working effectively with others (77 percent) and a number of other knowledge, skill and personal-development areas.
“The NSSE survey results confirm what our students, staff and faculty have long known: A UW Oshkosh education is highly-valued by our graduates and, according to the graduates themselves, is a sound investment, helping them develop and strengthen knowledge and skills that will carry them far, help sustain a high quality of life and improve our state, nation and world,” Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Lane Earns said.
Other Midyear Commencement highlights
The Dec. 13 Midyear Commencement ceremonies will also feature:
- University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents member José Vásquez offering greetings to Commencement guests. The ceremony’s graduating class speaker will be Kyle Bloedow. UW Oshkosh College of Business Associate Professor of Economics Chad Cotti will deliver the Commencement Address.
- Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Petra Roter’s awarding of the Chancellor’s Medallion to Sue Panek who, for more than 21 years, has served as the executive director of the Oshkosh Area United Way. In several ways, and through several partner programs, Panek has helped establish a strong collaborative relationship with UW Oshkosh. Panek has offered her leadership as a member of the UW Oshkosh Human Services Advisory Committee and on the UW Oshkosh Chancellor’s Advisory Committee. She is an advocate for UW Oshkosh’s new University Studies Program (USP), helping connect out-of-the-classroom, off-campus community learning experience partners, including a spectrum of area nonprofit organizations, with USP coordinators and faculty members. Under Panek’s leadership, the United Way has also been an active partner with the College of Business to administer an IRS-supported Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program for elderly and low-income community members and the College of Nursing’s “Living Healthy Community Clinic” partnership, providing confidential, cost-effective medical care to uninsured individuals in Oshkosh.
A reception for faculty, new alumni and their parents and guests will follow Commencement ceremonies in Kolf’s lower level.
For those who cannot attend the Midyear Commencement ceremony, live, streaming video is available beginning at 9:30 a.m.
In addition to a live streaming webcast , attendees, online audiences, alumni and UW Oshkosh friends and followers alike are invited to join in on the conversation on UW Oshkosh’s social networks —Facebook and Twitter; use #uwograd as a Twitter hashtag. Additionally, download UW Oshkosh’s mobile app to stay up to date on the latest commencement news.
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