WWU Fall Quarter Commencement Set for Dec. 11
Contact: Office of University Communications, (360) 650-3350
BELLINGHAM – Jim Reavis, a technology security consultant and executive director of the Cloud Security Alliance, will address the fall commencement ceremony at Western Washington University at 10 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 11, in Carver Gymnasium.
The ceremony will include a celebration of the 100,000th degree awarded at Western. Approximately 575 undergraduates and 40 master’s candidates will receive degrees this quarter. Fall commencement includes all majors, and only one ceremony will take place.
Admission into the gymnasium will require a ticket. Each undergraduate and master’s candidate who has signed up to participate in the ceremony will be issued six tickets. Tickets are not required for guests who wish to watch the live televised ceremony in Science, Mathematics and Technology Education (SMATE) building room 150. Comcast will broadcast the ceremony in Whatcom County on Channel 26.
The ceremony’s main speaker, Jim Reavis of Ferndale, is an entrepreneur, strategist, speaker and writer specializing in the future of information security. As president of the Reavis Consulting Group, he advises Fortune 500 companies and government agencies on how to take advantage of emerging trends in information technology while maintaining high standards in security. And as executive director of the nonprofit group Cloud Security Alliance, Reavis helps promote the best information security practices throughout the computing industry and beyond.
A member of the Western Alumni Association board of directors, Reavis says new graduates can have a dramatic impact on the world.
“Whether it’s a business, social or political movement, one person has a greater ability to change the world now than in any time in the past,” Reavis says.
Fall commencement’s student speaker will be graduating senior Bailee Bailey, who will receive a Bachelor of Science in Manufacturing Engineering Technology. A Bellingham native, Bailey’s experience includes helping to design a gravity powered laundry station for a small rural community in Guatemala.
One graduating senior, selected at random from those who signed up for a drawing, will receive the representational honor as the 100,000th degree recipient at the ceremony. And the entire 2010-11 graduating class will be recognized with a commemorative brick paver installed in the sidewalk in front of Old Main. Western began awarding degrees in 1933 and this recognition does not include certificates and other diplomas awarded prior to 1933.
Following commencement, graduates will proceed toward the stage for the memory walk, where they will pass through a corridor of faculty and the President’s party to deposit their Western identification cards in a time capsule.
Commencement parking is available at no cost in most lots. Visitors must observe regulations for handicapped and individually reserved spaces. Lot 14G will be reserved for faculty and staff. A shuttle service to Carver Gym will be available from the tent in lot 12A off Bill McDonald Parkway near Fairhaven College. The shuttle cannot accommodate wheelchairs. Guests in wheelchairs may park in Lot 17G on East College Way. 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) 650-3985.