Two of Middle Tennessee's leading women will address more than 1,700 MTSU students as they preparing to put their hard-earned degrees to use after the university’s fall 2018 commencement ceremonies, set this Saturday, Dec. 15, in Hale Arena inside Murphy Center.

The morning ceremony, which will begin at 9 a.m. Dec. 15, will feature a special commencement address from Wanda Lyle, managing director of UBS AG and general manager of the UBS Business Solutions Center in Nashville, for graduates in the College of Graduate Studies, College of Basic and Applied Sciences, the Jones College of Business and the College of Education.

MTSU alumna and WSMV-Channel 4 news anchor and journalist Holly Thompson will speak at the afternoon ceremony, set for 1:30 p.m. for graduates in the College of Behavioral and Health Sciences, College of Liberal Arts, College of Media and Entertainment and the University College.

The afternoon ceremony time is a change from past years, intended to give participants a few extra post-graduation moments to celebrate their accomplishments with loved ones.

Friends, families and supporters who can’t attend the Dec. 15 ceremonies in person can watch live online. The university will provide closed-captioning services for the live video stream as well as American Sign Language interpretation at each ceremony.

Live coverage will begin about 15 minutes before each ceremony starts. Each ceremony lasts a little over two hours.
1,471 undergrads, 260 grad students

The university Registrar’s Office reports that 1,731 students are preparing to graduate from MTSU this fall, including 1,471 undergraduates and 260 graduate students. The latter number includes 248 master’s candidates, one education-specialist degree recipient and 11 doctoral candidates.

Two graduate students and 19 undergraduates also will receive certificates for their advanced study.

MTSU’s commencement ceremonies are always free and open to the public. A campus map with parking details is available at http://tinyurl.com/MTSUParking, and a seating chart of Murphy Center, including access for guests who use wheelchairs or have other mobility issues, is available here.

Arrive early, avoid MT Boulevard

University officials are urging commencement guests to arrive early to ease traffic congestion around Murphy Center and help ensure comfortable seating for everyone inside Hale Arena. Motorists also should avoid Middle Tennessee Boulevard because of ongoing construction and use the East Main, Rutherford Boulevard and Greenland Drive campus entrances instead.

Graduation information — including links to maps and driving directions to MTSU, cap-and-gown information, official photographs and contacts for the Registrar’s Office — is available anytime at www.mtsunews.com/graduation-info.

The university will be closed for winter break Dec. 24-Jan. 1, and offices will reopen Wednesday, Jan. 2. MTSU’s spring 2019 semester classes will begin Monday, Jan. 14.