NC State to Hold Commencement Ceremonies on Dec. 17

North Carolina State University will confer more than 2,900 degrees on graduating students during its fall commencement exercises, beginning at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 17, in the RBC Center in Raleigh. Media coverage is welcomed.

Bill Cowher, Super Bowl-winning coach and NC State alumnus, will deliver the commencement address.

Chancellor James Oblinger will confer 2,917 degrees – 53 associate’s, 1,787 bachelor’s, 831 master’s and 246 doctoral degrees – on 2,789 students during the ceremony. Thirty-three valedictorians will be recognized for earning perfect 4.0 grade point averages during their academic careers at NC State.

Oblinger will also confer honorary degrees on Dr. Freeman Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) and a leader in the effort to assist minority and low-income students in academic achievement, and Dr. Carl E. Wieman, a Nobel Prize-winning professor of physics at the University of British Columbia (UBC).

NC State officials do not expect major traffic congestion, but advise attendees to be in their seats by 8:15 a.m. NC State’s Amalgam Brass Ensemble will begin playing at 8:30 a.m., and graduates will march onto the arena floor at 9 a.m. More commencement information is available online at www.ncsu.edu/registrar/graduation/index.html.

Note to editors: Media seating will be provided near the front of the stage on the left-hand side. NC State News Services personnel will be available to assist reporters.

– barnhill –