The University of Minnesota Crookston will celebrate its 57th graduating class with a commencement ceremony on May 4, 2024, at 11 a.m. in Lysaker Gymnasium. This year’s keynote speaker is Julie Borlaug, won’t be able to make it due to illness. UMC Chancellor Mary Holz-Claus will fill in as key-note speaker.
Commencement exercises at UMC will include a reception for graduating students and their families, plus a special gathering for online students before the Commencement ceremony. The formal procession of faculty, candidates for degree, and platform guests will begin from Sargeant Student Center to Lysaker Gymnasium led by mace bearer Kenneth Myers, M.S., associate professor in the Business Department, and includes faculty marshal Phillip Baird, M.S., associate professor for the Agriculture and Natural Resources Department. University of Minnesota Regent Tadd Johnson of Duluth, will bring greetings and assist with conferring the degrees. UMC Alumni Association (UMCAA) Board President Alisha (Aasness) Asleson 2012 will bring greetings from UMCAA and welcome new graduates to the alumni association. Under the direction of TJ Chapman, M.M. and M.S., lecturer in the Math, Science, and Technology Department, the U of M Crookston Community Band will perform a number of selections, and the campus vocal ensemble will perform under the direction of Associate Professor George French, Ed.D. Crookston Student Association (CSA) Vice President Braden Letourneau, a senior majoring in animal science and equine science with a pre-vet emphasis from White Bear Lake, will speak on behalf of the Class of 2024.
This year marks the campus’ 116th graduation ceremony after its inception in 1906 as an agricultural high school, the Northwest School of Agriculture (NWSA). The NWSA held its first ceremony in 1909. In the fall of 1966, classes began for students at the new University of Minnesota Technical Institute, and the U of M “Tech” and NWSA shared the campus for two years. In the spring of 1968, a torch was passed from the 60th and final graduating class of the NWSA to the first graduating class of the Technical Institute. The University of Minnesota Crookston earned its approval to offer baccalaureate degrees in the early 1990s, and by the end of the academic year in 1994, 20 students had completed their bachelor’s degree requirements. They were recognized at the 86th commencement ceremony. UMC celebrated its 30th anniversary as a four-year institution in 2023.
To stream the 2024 ceremony, go to http://www.kaltura.com/tiny/klj4v. For the 2024 candidate list and for more information, visit crk.umn.edu/commencement.
