Winter Quarter Commencement Set for March 21

BELLINGHAM– Dennis Murphy, a Western Washington University alumnus who served as dean of the College of Business and Economics for 25 years, will address Western graduates and their families at the winter Commencement ceremony, which starts at 10 a.m. Saturday, March 21, in Carver Gymnasium.

The ceremony will also include a presentation of the President’s Award to Whatcom County residents Irwin and Frances LeCocq for their service to the community.

Approximately 505 undergraduates and about 45 master’s candidates will receive degrees this quarter. Winter Commencement includes all majors, and only one ceremony will take place. Admission is by ticket only, and each graduate will be allowed five tickets.

For guests without tickets, the ceremony will be displayed on large viewing screens in the Science, Mathematics and Technology Education (SMATE) building. Off campus, the ceremony will be broadcast on Whatcom County Comcast Cable Channel 26, and streamed live at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/wwu-live-events1.

Murphy earned a bachelor’s degree in Economics at Western in 1969, and a master’s in Economics the following year. He was dean of Western’s College of Business and Economics from 1982 to 2007 and twice served as Western’s provost, in 1998-99 and from 2007 to 2009. He has retired from administrative work, but Murphy continues to teach several courses a year in Economics and Finance. He also serves on the board of directors of Saturna Capital, on Saturna’s council of economic advisers, and on the board of St. Paul’s Academy. He has been a participant in the US Bank Economic Forum for about 20 years.  He is past chairman of the board of Cascade Financial Corp. and Cascade Bank as well as past-president of the United Way of Whatcom County and the Rotary Club of Bellingham.

The ceremony will also include a presentation of the President’s Award, Western’s highest community honor, to Irwin and Frances LeCocq. Irwin LeCocq is the former president of Peoples Bank and Frances LeCocq was the bank’s community affairs officer. They are also strong supporters of the arts, education and the community’s social safety net. At Western, the LeCocqs have touched the lives of many students through the Peoples Bank / LeCocq Family Scholarships. In the greater community, the LeCocqs also provided crucial support to the Campaign for the Arts, enabling the restoration of the Whatcom Museum and the Mount Baker Theatre.

The ceremony’s student Commencement speaker will be Marguerite Balch, who will receive her Bachelor of Arts in Education degree Saturday in Early Childhood Education. Balch, from Lynnwood, is a student teacher in a first-grade class at Garfield Elementary School in Everett.

Following the ceremony, graduates will have the opportunity to follow WWU tradition and deposit their Western identification cards in a box that is later cemented into Memory Walk in front of Old Main.

Guest parking is free on Commencement day and available in most lots. Visitors must observe regulations for handicapped and individually reserved spaces. Guests are advised to arrive early to avoid traffic congestion and to allow for travel time between the parking lots and gymnasium.

Shuttle bus service will be available from the 12A parking lot off Bill McDonald Parkway near Fairhaven College from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The shuttle buses cannot accommodate wheelchairs; guests in wheelchairs may park in designated lots behind Miller Hall and Arntzen Hall.

Parking attendants will be available to assist guests with special parking needs.

For more information or for disability accommodations contact the Registrar’s Office, (360) 650-3701.