Some 430 graduating students will be honored during the ceremony beginning at 7 p.m. Commencement is open to everyone and no tickets are required for admission. WCU Chancellor John W. Bardo will preside over the ceremony and deliver the charge to the degree candidates, and faculty member Will Peebles will deliver the primary address.

WCU alumnus Carden (shown at right) will receive an honorary doctorate of humane letters. Widely acclaimed for his written works and spoken performances that bring to life the history, myths and legends of Western North Carolina, Carden is the author of “Mason Jars in the Flood and Other Stories,” the 2001 Appalachian Writers Association Book of the Year.

Peebles (shown below), a professor of music, was recognized as one of the University of North Carolina system’s premier teachers earlier this year when he was named one of 17 recipients of the UNC Board of Governors Awards for Excellence in Teaching. Peebles teaches bassoon, and also is director of the recently formed School of Music within the College of Fine and Performing Arts.

Receptions for the degree candidates and their families and friends will be held in the Ramsey Center following commencement. Receptions will be held on the Ramsey Center concourse for the Honors College and the colleges of Arts and Sciences, Business, Education and Allied Professions, and Health and Human Sciences. Receptions will be held in the Ramsey auxiliary gymnasium for the Graduate School, College of Fine and Performing Arts, and Kimmel School of Construction Management and Technology.

Spectators should enter the Ramsey Center through one of four upper concourse doors. Those with physical disabilities should use the northeastern upper entrance, adjacent to the stands of E.J. Whitmire Stadium.

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Last modified: Monday, July 21, 2008