So, the big day finally arrives. It was cloudy and looked like rain all morning but we managed to get through all the festivities without anyone getting wet.
The graduate school has grown to the point where it has finally been given its own separate ceremony on Friday night so that Saturday morning is all about the undergraduates. This shortens the main ceremony and gives it a clear focus on what JMU is really all about: undergraduates. The speaker this year was Paul Holland ('82). Paul has become an important actor in the green movement and he gave what most people reckoned was probably an above average commencement address.
The satellite ceremony for the College of Science and Mathematics was held again this year on the lawn next to the East Campus Library. We had a good crowd. There was a reception afterwards with food and drink provided by the College. A good time was had by all.
Continuing with our new tradition of having a speaker at the College ceremony as well, this year we heard from Mathematics professor, Dr. David Pruett. He gave a thoughtful and inspiring talk and it was well received. the photo above shows David in one of his reflective moments at the reception.
We tried to gather all the PandA grads for a photo after the ceremony and we got most of them. As you can see in the photo, only the guys showed up. More photos are going on the PandA web page soon so you can see all the details of who was there.
We wish our graduate well and hope they come back often to visit and keep us up to date on their lives and careers. We wouldn't be upset if some were to make lots of money are remember us either!
