Largest number set to graduate in May
By Brent Yarina
Staff Reporter

For the second consecutive year, TCU graduates will walk across the Tarrant County Convention Center’s stage to receive their diplomas, Chancellor Michael Ferrari said.

This year, more than 1,200 students are expected to graduate, the largest in TCU history, Ferrari said.

Ferrari, who will be attending his final graduation as the university’s chancellor, said the 2002 graduating class started a tradition last year when they voted to have their commencement ceremony moved from the Daniel-Meyer Coliseum.

He said the decision to move graduation off campus provided more space for the graduating class and their visitors. If graduation were to take place on campus, graduates would have been limited to inviting seven guests each. The ceremony is scheduled for 2 p.m. May 10.

“The commencement ceremony will once again be held downtown this year simply because Daniel-Meyer Coliseum is not large enough to hold the graduating class and guests,” Ferrari said.

Despite the commencement ceremony moving downtown for a second-straight year, Ferrari said, the pre-commencement reception will continue to remain on campus.

However, due to the great success of last year’s ceremony, he said, graduation does not appear to be moving back to campus any time soon.

“It went excellently,” Ferrari said. “Parking was excellent, the convention center was decorated with TCU symbols and virtually all felt it was better than restricting guests or splitting the class with more than one graduation ceremony on campus.”

Jenn Greer, a senior speech pathology major, said she is happy the university decided to keep graduation off campus this year. She said although it would be nice to have graduation at an on-campus location, the most important element is meeting the students’ and family members’ needs.

“I’d rather have graduation downtown in a larger venue and be able to invite as many guests as I want than have strict limits on how many people can attend or have each college graduate separately,” Greer said.

Ferrari also said because this year’s graduating class will be the largest in TCU history, there is no campus location large enough to accommodate for a commencement ceremony at this time. He said the university expects more than 1,200 students to graduate this semester and that the number of graduates will continue to increase each year.

Meg McArthur, a senior anthropology and history major, said she does not agree with the decision to move graduation off campus again this year, by saying that a commencement ceremony should never take place away from the university.

“Graduating off campus just feels more impersonal to me,” McArthur said. “I understand the university’s decision, but I’m disappointed not to be graduating on campus, where I spent my last four years.”

Pam Sanguinet, manager of academic progress services, said the university has no other option but to move graduation downtown this year, because the university has 1,208 degree candidates.

These candidates consist of 940 bachelor’s degrees, 252 master’s degrees, including 34 from the Brite Divinity School and 16 Ph.D.s, she said.

Sanguinet said the official number of candidates, who are eligible to graduate is expected to change before the commencement ceremony, as many students will fail to meet university policies.

“All these candidates are not guaranteed to graduate,” Sanguinet said. “If a student doesn’t meet the academic or financial requirements of the university, they will not be able to graduate.”

She said no student will be able to graduate if they have not turned in a transcript from another university, failed a class, received an incomplete grade or failed to pay the university.

Brent Yarina