New schedule for DSU Spring commencement

Commencement will look a little different at Dakota State University in Madison this weekend.  Instead of one morning commencement, there will be two ceremonies this Saturday.  

Commencement for graduates of The Beacom College of Computer and Cyber Sciences will be held at the DSU Fieldhouse at 9 a.m. Saturday.  The ceremony to honor graduates of DSU’s Arts & Sciences, Business and Information Systems, and Education Colleges will take place at 2:30 Saturday afternoon in the Fieldhouse. Also, a hooding ceremony for master’s and Ph.D. graduates will be held at 12:30 Saturday in the Dakota Prairie Playhouse.

With social distancing requirements because of the pandemic, the decision was made to hold multiple ceremonies this spring.

Graduates will receive a limited number of tickets for families and friends to attend the ceremony, and these individuals will be seated in socially distanced groups. The event will also be livestreamed for those who cannot attend.  

The speaker for both DSU commencement ceremonies will be alumnus Miles Beacom. He is a 1981 DSU business graduate who has gone on to be a successful business leader and philanthropist.

The Distinguished Alumni Award will be presented to Tom Orton, who graduated with a business education degree from General Beadle State College in 1969.  

Student speakers include Samson Argo, a network and security administration major from Sioux Falls, at the 9 a.m. Beacom College ceremony;  Noah Salmen, an elementary education major from Madison, will speak at the afternoon event. Retiring Provost Dr. Jim Moran will speak at the Hooding Ceremony.