LSU Holds Virtual Graduation Celebration, Confers 4,347 Degrees

05/15/2020
BATON ROUGE – On Friday, May 15, LSU honored more than 4,000 spring graduates with a virtual graduation celebration, and during the ceremony, 4,347 degrees were conferred. The virtual graduation watch party took place on the LSU Facebook page, and following the ceremony, all the graduates names were displayed on the scoreboards in Tiger Stadium.

LSU’s virtual graduation featured a “Year in Review” video; Grammy winner and Louisiana-native Lauren Daigle singing the National Anthem; messages from Interim President Tom Galligan, Executive Vice President & Provost Stacia Haynie; and Board of Supervisors Chair Mary Werner, who also conferred degrees; messages from the deans of the senior colleges and LSU alumni; LSU Spirit Squad dancing to “Hey Fightin’ Tigers”; and world-renowned opera star and LSU alumna Lisette Oropesa singing the LSU Alma Mater.

Galligan congratulated the graduates on achieving the goal they all set for themselves when they first joined the LSU community a few years ago.

“Your calmness, your optimism, your resiliency in a time of crisis is commendable, and it is a testament to your true strength of character,” Galligan said. “While this certainly was not the way any of us had expected your final semester to unfold, this experience, and more importantly, the way you handled it, will serve you well as you now venture out into the world to make your mark.”

Just before noon, Galligan also was live on the LSU Instagram page to once again congratulate the graduates and to bring a little bit of campus to them by joining in listening to the Memorial Tower chime at noon and play the LSU Alma Mater.

LSU’s May 2020 graduating class represents 60 Louisiana parishes, 49 U.S. states and 88 foreign countries. Women made up 57.33 percent of the class, and men made up 42.67 percent. The oldest graduates are 59, and the youngest is 19.

“You are a unique class, and you forever will be that unique class that graduated in this extraordinary time,” Werner said. “We will always remember the contributions you’ve made to our university, and we want you to come back and visit us many, many times.”

The 4,347 total graduates are made up of 3,353 students who received bachelor’s degrees; 708 who received master’s degrees; 57 who received education specialist or graduate certificates; 107 who received a Ph.D.; 12 who received a Doctor of Musical Arts degree; and 88 who received Doctor of Veterinary Medicine; and 22 who received a post-bachelorette certificate. Also, 27 LSU employees were among those who received degrees this spring.

“Class of 2020 will forever designate you as a graduate who is fierce and resilient, and who persists despite floods or pandemics,” Haynie said. “While I won’t be able to deliver your diploma to you in-person, or to shake your hand, or to cheer with your family, just know that my excitement over your achievement could not be greater, even if it’s virtual.”

More than 500 students graduated with honors including 198 students who received the University Medal for graduating with the highest undergraduate grade-point average in the class.

LSU honored 44 graduating students with the LSU Distinguished Communicator Award. These students earned this honor by meeting high standards set by faculty in various colleges and by the LSU Communication across the Curriculum program. The students earned high grade-point averages in communication-intensive courses – based on written, spoken, visual and technological communication – and have built digital portfolios displayed as public websites that include their communication projects from courses, internships, leadership roles and public service.

This semester, a total of 154 students graduated from the LSU Roger Hadfield Ogden Honors College. Among these, 74 students earned College Honors and 11 students earned Upper Division Honors Distinction. These students participated in a specific honors program and successfully completed and defended an undergraduate thesis.

The LSU Athletics Department, the Tiger Athletic Foundation and the Cox Communications Academic Center for Student-Athletes honored 51 members of the LSU Class of 2020 during a virtual The Tribute event.

All spring graduates will have the opportunity to walk during a future LSU commencement. As usual, spring graduates’ names are listed on the LSU commencement website by hometown for newspapers to pull graduates’ names from their areas

For more information, visit https://lsu.edu/celebration/. 

Media Note:
Lists of graduates and honor graduates are being posted on LSU’s commencement website, www.lsu.edu/commencement. The lists include graduates who have authorized the release of their names. In addition, videos from LSU’s virtual celebration are available on the university’s YouTube page, www.youtube.com/lsu. 

 

 

 

Contact Ernie Ballard
LSU Media Relations
225-578-5685
eballa1@lsu.edu