FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Nov. 24, 2009 

MUW’s December Graduates’ Recognition Ceremony set for Dec. 4

By Jill D. O’Bryant           

COLUMBUS, Miss. -- Mississippi University for Women will hold its seventh annual December Graduates’ Recognition Ceremony on Friday, Dec. 4 at 6 p.m. in Rent Auditorium of Whitfield Hall.            

Students who participate will receive a long‑stemmed red rose and a certificate of participation. Diplomas will be mailed to the students after grades are final.           

Participants who wish to do so will have the opportunity to thank those who were particularly helpful during their college years. Those students will be limited to one minute at the microphone.           

"This is a very special ceremony for our students," said Dr. Claudia A. Limbert, president. "It gives the students a sense of closure since many of them are not able to come back to campus in May to participate in commencement. We have found they enjoy the December ceremony so much that they often don’t feel the need to participate in the May ceremony too."           

Dorothy Kerzel, chair of the Department of Science and Mathematics and professor of mathematics, will be the keynote speaker. A faculty member at MUW since 1997, she was chosen to receive the 2009 Kossen Faculty Award of Excellence at the May commencement exercises.           

Kerzel earned her bachelor’s degree from Lewis and Clark College, master’s from University of Wisconsin‑Madison and doctorate from Washington State University.

A reception will be held in the lobby of Whitfield immediately following the ceremony.