News

Aug 14, 2010 – About 600 students graduated Saturday in Portland State University’s annual summer commencement ceremony in the South Park Blocks, steps away from the busy Portland Farmers Market.

Graduates celebrated with professors, families and friends in a laid-back atmosphere where shorts were as acceptable as caps and gowns. The University awarded 500 bachelor’s degrees and 100 master’s and doctoral degrees. This group, combined with the spring commencement, makes up the largest graduating class ever at PSU, with more than 5,100 graduates.

The outdoor summer ceremony, a tradition at PSU, was smaller, shorter, and less formal than the spring commencement, when thousands of students received degrees in the Rose Garden Arena. Wearing regalia was optional for most students, and many people brought their own lawn chairs and blankets to watch the ceremony. 

Karin Hobson, who received a bachelor’s degree in communication studies, wore a sundress and mortarboard, but no black gown. She finished her last class on Thursday and planned to celebrate with her family and friends after the ceremony.  

“I like the smaller ceremony,” she said. “It just seemed nicer and more personal, and you can wear whatever you want.” 

PSU President Wim Wiewel congratulated the graduates and asked them to join him in thanking everybody who supported them during their education at PSU, including everyone in Oregon for their public support.

“Seeing these graduates here today, you know this money is well spent, and I wish the entire Legislature were here to see this,” he said to applause. 

Student speaker Ellen Warring, who received a bachelor’s degree in advertising management, told her fellow graduates that her years at PSU were the best of her life. 

“Throughout my years at PSU,” she said, “I have been treated like a person not a number, been given countless opportunities to test my limits, and have succeeded in making myself and my parents proud.” 

In line with PSU’s mission of sustainability, all 4,000 programs were printed on 100 percent post-consumer waste, caps and gowns were made of all biodegradable materials, and the flowers on stage were seasonal and locally grown.

Marissa Estes, who one more term to finish her bachelor’s degree in psychology, said she decided to participate in the summer ceremony instead of waiting until next spring, because “by then the excitement would have worn off.” 

Summer commencement is “more casual, less anxiety and outside. I think that’s really cool,” she said.