AMES, Iowa -- An estimated 787 students will receive degrees from Iowa State University at the conclusion of the summer term. A single commencement ceremony for all bachelor's, master's and doctoral candidates begins at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 8, in Hilton Coliseum. No individual college ceremonies are held during the summer.
According to the registrar's office, the breakout of graduating students will be: 467 undergraduates, 221 master's students and 99 doctoral students. These numbers may change once faculty submit final grades for the summer term.
Iowa Lt. Gov. Patty Judge will address the graduating students. Judge, who was sworn in as lieutenant governor in January 2007, previously served two terms as Iowa Secretary of Agriculture (1998-2006) and two terms in the Iowa Senate (1995-99). She is the first woman to serve as the state's agriculture secretary. She formerly worked as a nurse.
Some of Judge's priorities for Iowa are health care reform, jobs creation, support of war veterans and a leading role in the development of biofuels and other renewable energies.
As announced in May, this will be Iowa State's final summer commencement ceremony. The event is being eliminated in response to tight budgets and declining interest among students, particularly undergraduates. In the future, most students who would graduate during the summer will have the opportunity to participate in the spring commencement. All summer graduates will have the option of attending fall commencement in December.