657 Southeast students to receive degrees Dec. 15

More than 650 students are slated to receive diplomas during Southeast Missouri State University�s upcoming fall commencement ceremonies Dec. 15 at the Show Me Center.

The honors will be bestowed in two ceremonies; one at 10 a.m. for candidates in the College of Education, Health and Human Studies and Harrison College of Business and Computing, and another at 2 p.m. for the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics and Holland College of Arts and Media.

Missouri Department of Higher Education head Zora Mulligan and former Cape Girardeau Mayor Jay Knudtson will deliver the commencement addresses to the morning and afternoon sessions, respectively.

The 657 students graduating include 528 undergrads, 122 are master�s degree candidates and seven specialists. Eleven of those students will be recognized for graduating with a perfect 4.0 GPA and 192 will graduate with honors.

The overall numbers are down from last year�s fall commencement ceremonies at Southeast, which saw more than 800 graduates.

Mulligan is the current Missouri commissioner of higher education, a post she has held since her appointment in 2016 by the Coordinating Board for Higher Education. Before leading the Department of Higher Education, she served as the department�s assistant commissioner, general counsel and legislative liaison, helping to revise financial-aid programs to help low-income students and reviewing the process by which public colleges and universities pursue capital projects.

Mulligan has also served as the University of Missouri System�s chief of staff.

Knudtson, a prominent area businessman, is executive vice president and board director of First Missouri State Bank. He also served a six-year term on the Southeast Missouri State University Board of Regents, presiding over that body for more than two and a half years.

Knudtson studied at Southeast and will receive his own diploma during the ceremony. In 2006, he was awarded the university�s Vandiver Show Me State Award.

tgraef@semissourian.com

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