Tarleton State University anticipates awarding 1,008 diplomas during spring commencement exercises at Memorial Stadium on May 12.

Two ceremonies are scheduled this spring to accommodate the growing number of graduates, with the first set to begin at 10:30 a.m. for the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, College of Science and Technology, and the College of Liberal and Fine Arts. A second ceremony at 7:30 p.m. will include candidates for graduation from the College of Business Administration and the College of Education.

Tarleton President F. Dominic Dottavio will preside as nine associate, 805 bachelor’s, 182 master’s and 12 doctoral degrees will be awarded to the university’s newest graduates.

Dr. Richard A. Box, chairman of The Texas A&M University System’s Board of Regents, will be in attendance to provide remarks and greetings from the A&M System. A 1961 graduate of Texas A&M University, Box later received a doctorate in dental surgery from the University of Texas Dental Branch in Houston in 1966. Dr. Box is in private practice in the Austin area.

Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degrees will be bestowed upon Mr. Joe R. Long and Dr. Teresa Lozano Long.

Mr. Long, a Tarleton alumnus, has made his mark in Texas as an attorney, banker and philanthropist. He served as an investigator with the State Securities Board and in the Texas Attorney General’s Office prior to moving into private law practice and then into banking, where he became chairman and CEO of First State Bank.

Dr. Long was the first Hispanic to graduate from the University of Texas at Austin with a doctorate in health and physical education. She worked for the Texas Education Agency and U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Migrant Education and Head Start programs.

The Longs share a passion for the arts and have spent their lives supporting cultural venues and charities with endowments, not only at Tarleton, but with the University of Texas System schools, the Long Center for the Performing Arts and the Austin Symphony, among others.

The presentation of Departmental Outstanding Graduates will precede each college’s processional. The graduates, selected by the administration and faculty in the student’s major department, are chosen for excelling in leadership as well as academics.

This spring’s honorees include: Shelby Irick of Stephenville, Agricultural and Consumer Sciences; Alexandra Trott of Pilot Point, Animal Sciences and Wildlife Management; Matthew Nowlin of Gorman, Accounting, Finance and Economics; David Keith of Dublin, Computer Information Systems; Brittany Dumas of China Spring, Management, Marketing and Administrative Systems; Tresa Graeber of Paradise, Curriculum and Instruction; Heather Davis of Hudson Oaks, Kinesiology; Hannah Morehouse of Waco, Psychology and Counseling; Amber Ward of Kingsland, Communication Studies; Alexa Hernandez of Rising Star, English and Languages; Sarah Wnek of Stephenville, Fine Arts; Kaitlyn Chaffin of Saint Jo, Biological Sciences; Mark Widmer of Benbrook, Chemistry, Geosciences and Environmental Science; Cletus Furhmann of Muenster, Engineering and Physics; Shelby Adamson of Rockwall, Mathematics; and Rachel McFerrin of Llano, Nursing.

More information about this spring’s commencement ceremony can be found online at www.tarleton.edu/graduation. Both graduation proceedings will be video-streamed live online on the Tarleton website, www.tarleton.edu. Specific link information will be posted prior to the event.