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May Commencement Will Be Wesleyan's First as a University
Virginia Wesleyan University to Celebrate Graduates at 49th Commencement Ceremony on Saturday, May 19, 2018
News Release | February 23, 2018
Virginia Wesleyan University's annual Commencement Ceremony will be held on Saturday, May 19, 2018, at 11 a.m. Commencement ceremonies bring together the Virginia Wesleyan community to mark the achievement of degrees and to recognize and celebrate graduating students. The 2018 Commencement will be the 49th for Virginia Wesleyan but the institution’s first as a university. Virginia Wesleyan made the transition from college to university in 2017.
This year’s Commencement is scheduled to take place on the University Commons in front of the Greer Environmental Sciences Center, making it the first Virginia Wesleyan Commencement to take place outdoors since 2003, when Commencement was held on Rose Hall Lawn. Prior to the completion of the Jane P. Batten Student Center, Virginia Wesleyan’s Commencement was historically held outdoors on the Hofheimer Library Plaza and later on the Chapel Lawn. From 2004 to 2017, the ceremony took place in the Batten Student Center.
Approximately 300 Virginia Wesleyan graduating seniors will participate in the 2018 Commencement Ceremony. Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Social Work degrees will be conferred by Virginia Wesleyan President Scott Miller and Provost and Vice President Timothy O’Rourke.
Pamela Northam, educator, environmentalist and wife of Virginia Governor Ralph Northam, will serve as the 2018 Commencement speaker. Pamela Northam has taken a leading role in Hampton Roads and Virginia to protect water quality, improve the health of the Chesapeake Bay, and ensure the Commonwealth’s natural beauty is preserved for generations to come.
Commencement will be preceded by a Baccalaureate Service on Friday, May 18, at 6 p.m. at Haygood United Methodist Church in Virginia Beach. A preludial concert by the Wesleyan Chorale will begin at 5:30 p.m. Reverend Karla Kincannon, a 1976 graduate of Virginia Wesleyan, will serve as the Baccalaureate speaker. Kincannon is an artist, author, and director of spiritual formation at Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Alexandria, Virginia.
The University will recognize Pamela Northam and Karla Kincannon with honorary degrees during the Commencement ceremony. In addition, four awards will be presented to distinguished Virginia Wesleyan faculty—the Samuel Nelson Gray Distinguished Teaching Award, the Frank and Jane P. Batten Distinguished Scholar Award, the Service and Community Engagement Award, and the United Methodist Church General Board of Higher Education and Ministry Exemplary Teacher Award.
There will be an ROTC Commissioning Ceremony following Commencement at 1 p.m. on May 19 in the Hofheimer Library. At this ceremony, graduating seniors who have successfully completed the Army ROTC training program while students at Virginia Wesleyan will be formally commissioned into the U.S. Army.
Commencement will be live streamed online and simulcast in Boyd Dining Center for guests on campus during the ceremony. The music for the Commencement Ceremony will include bagpipes, the Eastern Virginia Brass ensemble and selections from the Virginia Wesleyan Chorale under the direction of Bryson Mortensen, Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Choral Music.
In the event of a severe weather forecast, the 2018 Commencement Ceremony will be moved to Convocation Hall inside the Jane P. Batten Student Center. No tickets are required to attend Virginia Wesleyan’s 2018 Commencement Ceremony provided that the ceremony takes place as scheduled outdoors. In the event that Commencement is moved to the Jane P. Batten Student Center due to a severe weather forecast, tickets will be required. Learn more about Virginia Wesleyan's Commencement Ceremonies.