May 11, 2015

SVSU Board Awards Degrees to 1,100 Graduates

The Saginaw Valley State University Board of Control passed a resolution during its regular meeting Friday, May 8 to grant degrees to more than 1,100 students set to graduate this weekend.

The graduating class consists of 1,112 students who have applied to graduate, including 978 who have indicated that they intend to don regalia and march in their respective ceremonies. In all, 455 students plan to participate in the 7:30 p.m. Friday ceremony. The 11 a.m. Saturday ceremony will feature an expected 523 graduates.  

The Commencement speaker for both ceremonies will be Harold “Hal” R. Wilde, who served as president of North Central College in Naperville, Illinois from 1991 to 2012. As a doctoral student at Harvard, Wilde studied the operations of the Detroit Police Department. During that time, he met a bright-eyed police cadet named Don Bachand, SVSU’s current president.

In other action, the Board:
•    elected officers for the 2015-16 year. Scott Carmona of Bay City will serve as chair; Jenee Velasquez of Midland will serve as vice chair. David Gamez of Saginaw will serve as secretary and the treasurer will be John Kunitzer of Saginaw.
•    passed a resolution thanking Joey Rexford, president, and elected representatives of the Student Association for their service during the 2014-15 academic year.
•    passed a resolution congratulating Jarrod Eaton, president-elect, and representatives of the Student Association for being elected to serve during the 2015-16 academic year.
•    passed a resolution commending faculty, staff, administrators and community members who contributed to SVSU receiving the Community Engagement classification from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
•    reappointed the Saginaw-based public accounting firm Andrews Hooper Pavlik to serve as SVSU’s auditors.
•    granted emeritus status to Basil Clark, professor of English, who is retiring from the university after 40 years of service.
•    renewed contracts with six public school academies. Contracts with Grattan Academy, Northwest Academy, and White Pine Academy were extended through June 30, 2017. SVSU  renewed contracts with Pontiac Academy for Excellence and Saginaw Preparatory Academy through June 30, 2018. Merritt Academy’s contract with SVSU was extended through June 30, 2020.
•    confirmed board members for previously authorized charter schools.