Summer commencement ceremonies set at SWT

SAN MARCOS, TEXAS — Two individuals who have dedicated their lives to education will be the keynote speakers at Southwest Texas State University commencement ceremonies Aug. 7 and 8 in Strahan Coliseum.

James Appleberry, president of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), will speak at two undergraduate commencement ceremonies on Saturday, Aug. 8.

Commencement ceremonies for the schools of Applied Arts and Technology, Business, Health Professions and Science will take place at 9:30 a.m. Saturday. The schools of Education, Liberal Arts and Fine Arts and Communication will participate in a 2 p.m. ceremony the same day.

Appleberry became president of the AASCU in July 1991, after serving as president of Northern Michigan University for eight years. Prior to his presidency at NMU, he served for nearly seven years as president of Pittsburg State University.

The student commencement speakers for the undergraduate ceremonies are Cynthia Svoboda of New Braunfels and Elena Esparza of Seguin. Svoboda is majoring in nutrition and foods and will speak at the morning ceremony. Esparza is a political science major and will deliver the address at the afternoon ceremony. There are 827 students who are candidates for bachelor’s degrees this summer.

William Kurtz, professor in the administrator preparation program of the Department of Educational Administration and Psychological Services at SWT, will deliver the main address at the Graduate School commencement ceremony to be held at 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 7.

This fall, Kurtz will begin his third decade at SWT, where he has gained a national reputation for working with and serving small, rural schools. He is also well known for his abilities in facility planning and demographics for schools in Texas.

There are 235 candidates for master’s degrees this summer.