EAST LANSING, Mich. — Michigan State University will host commencement ceremonies Friday, Dec. 11, and Saturday, Dec. 12, and a meet-and-greet with one of the world’s best-known breast cancer advocates, who will speak at the 2 p.m. Saturday ceremony.
Both undergraduate and graduate commencements will be held at the Jack Breslin Student Events Center on the corner of Harrison Road and Kalamazoo Street.
There are a total of 1,823 undergraduate-degree candidates and 740 advanced-degree candidates. The Eli Broad College of Business has the most undergraduate-degree candidates with 331.
The advanced-degree commencement will be held 7 p.m. Dec. 11 with speaker Robert Tjian, president of Howard Hughes Medical Institute in Chevy Chase, Md. At that ceremony, MSU will present an honorary degree to Simon Levin, the George M. Moffett Professor of Biology in Princeton University's Department of Ecology and Biology.
Edward Minskoff, president of Edward J. Minskoff Equities Inc., a New York-based real estate acquisition and development company, will speak at the 10 a.m. Dec. 12 ceremony. World-renowned philanthropist Richard DeVos Sr. will receive an honorary doctorate of humanities at the ceremony.
Nancy G. Brinker, founder of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure, will speak at the 2 p.m. Dec. 12 ceremony. All speakers will receive honorary degrees. Follow the ceremony, including real-time updates as Brinker addresses MSU’s undergraduates, on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/michiganstateu #msugrad09.
MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon will preside over the ceremonies.
Commencement media packets are available from noon Thursday to noon Friday at MSU University Relations, 403 Olds Hall.
Meet-and-greet with Brinker, 12:30-1:30 p.m., Dec. 12, meeting rooms A-D, mezzanine level, Breslin Center
MSU will host a media panel with Brinker. Also on the panel will be Barbara Conley, director of MSU’s Breslin Cancer Center, who recently received a breast cancer survivorship grant from Komen Mid-Michigan, and Ashley Pearson, a student who will graduate with a degree in advertising at the 2 p.m. ceremony.
Pearson has been affected by cancer since she was 18 months old. Some women in her family have a BRCA2 gene mutation, which increases the risk of contracting breast cancer. As such, Pearson’s grandmother and three great aunts have died from breast cancer. Thanks to proactive treatment, medical education and research, Pearson’s aunt and maternal grandmother are breast cancer survivors.
Inspired by her family’s courage, Pearson’s mother, Chris, founded the Mid-Michigan Affiliate of Komen for the Cure in 2001.
Other attendees of the meet and greet include:
- Students from MSU’s Student Cancer Support Network, which is an informal support group for students affected by cancer. The network was founded by Karen Wiegand and Laura Nye, who later died from cancer while studying at MSU.
- A College of Education staff member who is a breast cancer survivor. She led a fundraiser for St. Johns High School students and will present the funds to Brinker.
- MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon.
- MSU football coach Mark Dantonio, whose family is a strong supporter of breast cancer research.
Media Parking
Media parking is available in the west side of Lot 63 off Harrison Road, immediately south of the Breslin Center. Media must obtain a parking pass from University Relations. This pass must be displayed to enter the lot.
Breslin Center Entry
Media should enter through the ticket entrance on the east side of the building. Media will be accommodated on Platform 111. An audio feed will be available.
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Michigan State University has been advancing knowledge and transforming lives through innovative teaching, research and outreach for more than 150 years. MSU is known internationally as a major public university with global reach and extraordinary impact. Its 17 degree-granting colleges attract scholars worldwide who are interested in combining education with practical problem solving.