315 DEGEES; KERN WILL SPEAK AT SEMO GRADUATION

Ninety graduate students and 225 undergraduates will receive degrees at Southeast Missouri State University's summer commencement Friday at the Show Me Center.

Ernest L. Kern, winner of the 1990 Faculty Merit Award, will present the commencement address.

Kern is a professor of earth science and director of the Linda M. Godwin Center for Science and Mathematics Education. The university's Faculty Merit Award recipient traditionally presents the summer commencement address.

Kathryn S. Vickery of Sikeston and Connie Gay Hughes of Bell City will lead the 1991 class of undergraduates. Vickery, who will receive a bachelor of science degree in nursing, has a 4.0 grade point average on a 4.0 scale. Hughes, who has a 3.97 grade point average, will receive a bachelor of science degree in education.

The commencement ceremony is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m.

Prior to that, 20 undergraduates and 34 graduate students will be recognized during the honors convocation at 4 p.m. in Academic Auditorium. The undergraduates have earned at least a 3.5 grade point average on a 4.0 scale. The graduate students have achieved at least a 3.8 grade point average.

Michael Devaney, associate professor of accounting and finance, will address the honors students.

Kern, the commencement speaker, earned a bachelor of science degree in education and graduated magna cum laude from Southeast in 1969. He earned a master of arts degree from Western Michigan University and holds a doctoral degree from the University of South Carolina.

He joined the faculty at Southeast in 1972. Since then, he has taught 20 different courses and supervised study and courses in meteorology and oceanography. He is the author of more than 20 journal articles and publications and has made presentations at more than 20 universities and professional conferences.

Kern developed the KSAM Program (Kindergarten through Sixth Grade Science and Mathematics Improvement Program). The program was initiated in 1985, with funding from the National Science Foundation, to help elementary teachers learn innovative methods for teaching science and math.