CANYON, Texas — Nearly 1,500 West Texas A&M University students are expected to take part in three commencement ceremonies on May 11.
“Commencement is a wonderful opportunity for our campus to celebrate the culmination of student success and the faculty members who have guided their academic journey,” said Dr. Neil Terry, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs.
In all, WT expects to see 1,273 spring graduates and 195 projected August graduates to be recognized in the May ceremonies.
Commencement exercises will begin at:
- 10 a.m. for the Paul Engler College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences and Terry B. Rogers College of Education and Social Sciences;
- 2 p.m. for the Paul and Virginia Engler College of Business and Sybil B. Harrington College of Fine Arts and Humanities; and
- 6 p.m. for the College of Engineering and College of Nursing and Health Sciences.
Each ceremony will be livestreamed at wtamu.edu/commencement.
Annie Valicek, student regent for The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents, will offer greetings at the 10 a.m. ceremony, from which she herself will graduate.
Dr. Kim McCuistion, assistant vice chancellor and director of Texas A&M–Fort Worth, will confer degrees at the 10 a.m. ceremony and will offer greetings at the 2 and 6 p.m. ceremonies.
WT President Walter V. Wendler will confer degrees at the 2 and 6 p.m. ceremonies.
Joseph B. Peterson Jr., a 2010 graduate of WT, will deliver the alumni charge to the new graduates at each ceremony. Peterson has been a financial adviser with Edward Jones for 10 years, earning his Certified Financial Planner certification in 2022. He has served on the board of directors for United Way of Amarillo and Canyon, Cal Farley’s Boys Ranch, the Amarillo Chamber of Commerce and the Texas Panhandle Builders Association.
Doors at the center, located on the east end of WT’s Canyon campus at the intersection of Russell Long Boulevard and Fourth Avenue, will open to the public an hour before each ceremony begins. Seating is open and on a first-come, first-served basis at the 5,000-seat center. No tickets are required.
Graduates should arrive one hour before their ceremony is scheduled to begin and check in with their college. Agriculture and Natural Sciences, Fine Arts and Humanities, and Business students will enter the north door of the center. Education and Social Services, Nursing and Health Sciences, and Engineering students will enter the south door.
Parking will be available at the center, with overflow parking available behind the Agricultural Sciences Complex and behind the Virgil Henson Activities Center.
Handicapped parking is available at the center.
Each ceremony is expected to last up to two hours. Graduates will exit in a recessional at the end of the ceremonies, and guests may meet their graduates outside the center.
Sign-language interpreters will be available at each ceremony.
Graduating WT students display self-reliance, courage, resourcefulness and the desire to be part of something larger than one’s self, all values that are central to the University’s long-range plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World.
That plan is fueled by the historic One West comprehensive fundraising campaign, which reached its initial $125 million goal 18 months after publicly launching in September 2021. The campaign’s new goal is to reach $175 million by 2025; currently, it has raised nearly $160 million.
