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Saginaw Valley State University

May 13, 2019

SVSU Board grants degrees for more than 1,000 graduates

The Saginaw Valley State University Board of Control approved granting degrees for nearly 1,100 graduates during the Board’s regular meeting Friday, May 10. SVSU will host Commencement exercises at 7:30 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. Saturday, May 11 in O’Neill Arena.

The May 2019 graduating class includes 921 students expected to complete bachelor’s degrees and 177 who will receive master’s or other advanced degrees. Consumers Energy president and CEO Patti Poppe will deliver the Commencement address at both ceremonies. Nearly 1,000 graduates are expected to don regalia and participate in their respective ceremony.

The Board also approved granting a posthumous degree to the late Joseph DuCharme. When he passed away in October 2018, he had nearly completed requirements for a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering; his family will accept the posthumous honorary degree.

In other action, the Board:

  • Passed a resolution to honor Chuan Lee, president of Ming Chuan University in Taiwan. Ming Chuan is a sister university to SVSU and has operated a Michigan campus at SVSU since 2012. Ming Chuan also became the first Asian university to be fully accredited in the United States in 2010.
  • Passed a resolution thanking President Caitlin Coulter and elected representatives of the SVSU Student Association for their service during the 2018-19 academic year.
  • Elected officers for the SVSU Board of Control to serve during the 2019-20 fiscal year. John Kunitzer will serve as chair, and Vicki Rupp will serve as vice chair. Bhushan Kulkarni was elected secretary, Dennis Durco was elected treasurer.
  • Granted emeritus status to Tom Kullgren, who retired in December 2018. Kullgren served as dean of the College of Science, Engineering and Technology for 19 years and then served 15 years as a professor of mechanical engineering.
  • Approved the appointment of Eric Punnett to the Marshall M. Fredericks Sculpture Museum Board of Directors.
  • Reappointed the accounting firm Andrews Hooper Pavlik PLC to perform the university’s financial audit for 2018-19.