BGSU to hold commencement Friday, Saturday

The University will celebrate its 293rd graduation in two ceremonies in the Stroh Center Friday (Dec. 14) and Saturday (Dec. 15).

The December graduating class includes 1,001 candidates. Among the undergraduates, 87 will be presented associate degrees and 687 bachelor’s degrees. Of those, 165 have received honors for their high grade-point averages. The 218 graduate students include 205 candidates for master’s degrees and 13 for doctoral degrees.

BGSU students come from all around the world. This graduating class includes 61 international students representing 17 countries. There is also a wide range in overall age, with degree candidates from 18 to 66.

Commencement for the Graduate College and the colleges of Business; Health and Human Services; Musical Arts; Technology, Architecture and Applied Engineering; and BGSU Firelands will be held at 7 p.m. Friday. The colleges of Arts and Sciences and Education and Human Development will hold commencement at 10 a.m. Saturday.

Addressing the Friday candidates will be BGSU alumna Maryrose Sylvester, a 1988 graduate of the procurement and production management (supply chain management) program in the College of Business. She is also being awarded an honorary degree, a Doctor of Business Administration. Sylvester is president and CEO of Current, a startup within GE that blends advanced LED technology with networked sensors and software.

Addressing the Saturday candidates will be BGSU alumna Jan Heppe, who received a Bachelor of Arts in home economics in 1974. Her career included various senior management positions in both department and specialty stores, including Gimbels and Burberry Ltd., a British international luxury brand, where she had held the positions of senior vice president of retail, chief operating officer and president of the Americas Region. She is currently a director on the board of the Sandy Rollman Ovarian Cancer Research Fund Alliance and is the chair-elect for the Bowling Green Foundation Board of Trustees. This spring, she will be serving as an executive in residence for the University’s Apparel Merchandising and Product Development program.