Nearly 800 Southeast students to receive degrees at winter commencement

Nearly 800 students will receive degrees at Southeast Missouri State University's winter commencement.

The ceremony is set for 2 p.m. Dec. 19 at the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau, according to a news release from the university.

An honors convocation is planned for 10:30 a.m. for 185 undergraduates.

A total of 611 students will receive undergraduate degrees, and 162 will receive master's and specialist degrees, for a total of 773.

That number is up from last year's winter commencement. In 2014, 680 students graduated ­-- 549 undergraduates and 131 master's and specialist candidates. The university recognized 160 at the honors convocation.

Southeast's winter commencement numbers always are lower than those of spring commencement. In May, the school broke a record for its largest graduating class, when 1,390 students graduated -- 1,113 undergraduates and 277 master's and specialist candidates.

Warren Anderson, professor of cultural and linguistic anthropology in the Department of Global Cultures and Languages, will deliver this semester's commencement address. Anderson has been with the university since 1998, when he joined the Department of Sociology and Anthropology.

During the honors convocation, 41 undergraduate students will graduate summa cum laude, 30 will graduate magna cum laude and 102 will graduate cum laude. One student will be recognized for graduating with academic distinction, and 11 as honors scholars. Graduating members of the Phi Eta Sigma, Phi Kappa Phi and Omicron Delta Kappa honor societies also will be recognized.

Steven Hoffman, coordinator of the historic preservation program and professor of historic preservation, will speak at the honors convocation. Hoffman also is this year's recipient of the Provost's Research, Instruction and Development for Excellence, or PRIDE Award, to be presented at commencement.

The PRIDE Award recognizes faculty members who demonstrate "excellence as a teacher, an extraordinary level of scholarship and services and whose overall accomplishments are especially noteworthy," the release stated.

kwebster@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3646

Pertinent address:

1333 N. Sprigg St., Cape Girardeau, MO