Summer commencement set for Aug. 20; Bill Boyd to give keynote

William J. Boyd, fire chief of the Bellingham Fire Department, will address graduates and their families at the summer commencement ceremony at Western Washington University at 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 20, in Carver Gymnasium. About 394 undergraduates and 88 master’s candidates will receive degrees this quarter. Summer commencement includes all majors, and only one ceremony will take place. The ceremony will include the first presentation of the Western Washington University President’s Award, the university’s highest community honor, to Jack and Jo Ann Bowman of Lummi Island. The award is presented to those who have given distinguished service to the university and the region. Tickets will not be required for admission into Carver Gym. Seating is on a first come, first serve basis. Additional viewing is available in the Science, Mathematics and Technology Education (SMATE) building. Boyd, the ceremony’s main speaker, has worked as a firefighter for 28 years and is chief of the Bellingham Fire Department. The immediate past president of the Western Alumni Association, Boyd earned a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Western in 1982 and graduated from the National Fire Academy Executive Fire Officer Program in 2004 As part of a regional incident management team, Boyd serves as an incident commander at large-scale emergencies throughout the state. Boyd also consults and lectures for the Department of Homeland Security on integrating new and social media into emergency communications plans. In his speech, Boyd will urge graduates to be heroes, to be courageous and to make a difference in the lives of others. Recipients of the President’s Award, Jack and Jo Ann Bowman, met as students at Western in the 1950s and later lived all over the U.S. and Europe with Jack Bowman’s rising career in the pharmaceutical industry. Forty years later, when Bowman retired as head of Johnson & Johnson’s worldwide pharmaceutical and diagnostic divisions, the couple moved to Lummi Island. They have supported nonprofit organizations such as the Whatcom Community Foundation, the Lummi Island Heritage Trust, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Whatcom County, St. Joseph Hospital, Whatcom Hospice and the Whatcom Museum of History and Art. They also are highly engaged in the life of Western: the couple established the Daniel L. Bowman Presidential Discretionary Endowment at Western and sponsored President Shepard’s 100 Community Conversations. They support the Bowman Family Distinguished Scholars in Leadership, the Karen W. Morse Institute for Leadership and the Bowman Distinguished Professorship in Leadership. Summer commencement’s student speaker will be graduating senior Michael Brenaman, who will receive a Bachelor of Arts in Human Services. Brenaman served in the Army for nine years and worked at companies such as T-Mobile and Northwest Computer and as a service officer for Disabled American Veterans. After receiving his associate’s degree from Whatcom Community College, he began his education at Western in 2009. At Western Brenaman established the Veteran’s Safe Zone program, which he had created with other veterans at Whatcom Community College. The program includes safe-zone symbols that faculty and staff can display outside their offices to encourage veterans to come in and talk. In his speech, Brenaman will stress the importance of education as well as integrating veterans into college life and participating in civil engagement. After the completion of each ceremony, graduates will proceed to the walk in front of Old Main, where they will pass through a corridor of faculty and deposit their Western identification cards in a box that is later cemented into Memory Walk. Western’s 100,000th degree recipient graduated in the 2010-11 academic year and the entire 2010-11 graduating class will be recognized with a commemorative brick paver installed in the sidewalk in front of Old Main. An honorary 100,000th degree recipient was recognized at the fall 2010 commencement ceremony. Western began awarding degrees in 1933 and this recognition does not include certificates and other diplomas awarded prior to 1933. 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) 650-3701.