WT Spring 2023 Commencement Ceremonies Set for May 13

Copy by Chip Chandler, 806-651-2124, cchandler@wtamu.edu

CANYON, Texas — More than 1,300 West Texas A&M University students are expected to don caps and gowns to walk across the stage in three commencement ceremonies set for May 13.

“Our graduating students will celebrate a major milestone with their commencement, which is the result of their hard work and dedication to further their education,” said Dr. Neil Terry, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs. “WT has equipped these graduating students to go on to productive careers or continue their education in professional or graduate school programs, and celebrating this major accomplishment is one of our most important responsibilities.”

In all, WT expects to see 1,310 graduate this spring semester. Additional students who graduate in August also are expected to walk in the May ceremonies.

Commencement exercises will begin at:

• 10 a.m. for students from the Paul Engler College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences and the Terry B. Rogers College of Education and Social Sciences;
• at 2 p.m. for students from the Sybil B. Harrington College of Fine Arts and Humanities and the College of Nursing and Health Sciences; and
• at 6 p.m. for students from the Paul and Virginia Engler College of Business and the College of Engineering.

Each ceremony will be livestreamed at wtamu.edu/commencement.

Thompson Mayberry, a 1982 graduate of WT, will deliver the alumni charge to the new graduates at each ceremony. Mayberry, a Dimmitt native, was a standout defensive back for the WT football team, which won the Missouri Valley Conference during his years on the team. He currently serves as associate athletic director for corporations for WT Athletics.

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, $125 million One West comprehensive fundraising campaign. To date, the five-year campaign — which publicly launched in September 2021 — has raised more than $120 million.

About West Texas A&M University

WT is located in Canyon, Texas, on a 342-acre residential campus. Established in 1910, the University has been part of The Texas A&M University System since 1990. WT, a Hispanic Serving Institution since 2016, boasts an enrollment of about 10,000 and offers 59 undergraduate degree programs and more than 40 graduate degrees, including two doctoral degrees. The University is also home to the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, the largest history museum in the state and the home of one of the Southwest’s finest art collections. The Buffaloes are a member of the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference and offers 14 men’s and women’s athletics programs.

—WT—