Fall commencement ceremonies to celebrate 1,007 graduates

December 3, 2024

Five graduation-related ceremonies on Dec. 12 and 13 will celebrate the 1,007 Columbus State University students comprising its Fall 2024 graduating class. The festivities will include three ceremonies throughout the day on Friday, marking the university’s 128th commencement exercises.

These events, all hosted on the university’s Main Campus, include the following:

Thursday, Dec. 12

• 1:00 p.m., ROTC Commissioning Ceremony, Cunningham Conference Center [map]
• 6:00 p.m., Graduate Hooding Ceremony, Frank G. Lumpkin Jr. Center [map]

Friday, Dec. 13

• 9:00 a.m., College of the Arts and D. Abbott Turner College of Business & Technology Commencement Ceremony, Frank G. Lumpkin Jr. Center [map]
• 12:30 p.m., College of Letters & Sciences Commencement Ceremony, Frank G. Lumpkin Jr. Center [map]
• 4:00 p.m., College of Education & Health Professions Commencement Ceremony, Frank G. Lumpkin Jr. Center [map]

Each of Friday’s ceremonies will feature Scott Ressmeyer, a local business owner, the Ride for Miracles founder and an honorary Columbus State alumnus, as the university’s commencement speaker. Since 2020, Ressmeyer and his motorcycle-riding fundraising organization have logged roughly 25,000 miles throughout the United States and raised more than $600,000 on the university’s behalf. Their efforts to fund three separate pediatric nursing simulation labs in the School of Nursing are fulfilling its children’s healthcare and services mission, and its $1 million commitment to enhancing pediatric nursing education at Columbus State.

Columbus State conducts commencement exercises and related events after each fall and spring semester. For more information, visit graduation.columbusstate.edu. Since its founding as Columbus College in 1958, the university has bestowed degrees and certificates on more than 41,000 students. As alumni, they become automatic members of the CSU Alumni Association upon graduation.

EVENT LOGISTICS

All commencement events are open to the public and do not require tickets to attend. Graduates are not limited in the number of guests who can attend. Those who do attend are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the rules and regulations of the Lumpkin Center, including the university’s clear-bag and bag-check policies. Balloons are not allowed in the Lumpkin Center, and guests should refrain from bringing other items such as confetti, posters or signs, and noisemakers that would disrupt the ceremonies inside the facility.

Free parking for the ceremonies is available throughout Main Campus, with limited accessible parking located in the parking lots nearest to the Lumpkin Center. Parking attendants will direct guests to the available parking locations, and shuttles will also move through campus parking lots to assist any guests with limited mobility.

Additional information for graduates and guests attending these events is online at columbusstate.edu/graduation. The website will also provide links to the livestreams of the Dec. 12 Graduate Hooding Ceremony and each of the Dec. 13 commencement ceremonies, and a downloadable PDF of the commencement program. The recorded live streams will be archived on the site for future viewing.

COMMENCEMENT FACTS & FIGURES

Ceremony Firsts

This fall’s ceremonies will be the first for Dr. Marti Venn in her interim role as provost and chief academic officer, Dr. Bryan Banks in his interim role as dean of the Libraries and Graduate School, and Maj. Dale Cox ’19, chair and professor of military science for the university’s ROTC battalion.

Distribution of Graduates by College

This fall’s 1,007 graduates include 101 students representing the College of the Arts, 259 from the D. Abbott Turner College of Business & Technology, 324 from the College of Education & Health Professions, and 323 from the College of Letters & Sciences.

Most Popular Areas of Study

When grouping all undergraduate and graduate degrees and certificates into their respective areas of study, the top five areas of study are education (College of Education & Health Professions), business (Turner College of Business & Technology), public safety (College of Letters & Sciences), nursing (College of Education & Health Professions) and cybersecurity (Turner College of Business & Technology).

Academic Honors

Honors status is bestowed on baccalaureate degree-earners based on their final grade point average. Among this fall’s graduates, 31 will graduate summa cum laude with GPAs ranging between 3.8 and 4.0; 37 as magna cum laude with GPAs between 3.6 and 3.79; and 58 as cum laude with GPAs ranging between 3.4 and 3.59. Baccalaureate honors graduates will be denoted by wearing gold, silver or bronze medallions, depending on their level of academic honor, as part of their regalia. In addition, six associate degree graduates will graduate with high honors for having GPAs ranging between 3.8 and 4.0, and two with honors for having GPAs between 3.5 and 3.79.

Athletics

This fall’s graduates include 14 student-athletes representing Columbus State’s 13 NCAA Division II sports teams. During the ceremony, they will be indicated by wearing student-athlete stoles as part of their regalia.

First-Generation College Student Representation

As many as 59% of this fall’s graduating class identify as first-generation college students.

Graduates’ Age Range

This fall’s graduates range in age from 19 to 71.

The university’s “most senior” graduate is Don Sinnard, who will turn 72 days after graduation. A Kansas native who moved to Columbus in 1980, Sinnard will receive a bachelor of business administration degree in management information systems. An experienced restauranteur, he resumed the business degree he first began in 1970 at Kansas State University. He plans to continue his studies in Columbus State’s online MBA program.

Geographic Representation

More than 89% of the fall class hails from Georgia—representing 103 of Georgia’s 159 counties. After Muscogee County, the top five Georgia counties with the greatest number of graduates are, in order of total graduates, Harris, Fulton, Coweta, Dekalb, and (tied) Cherokee and Gwinnett counties. The remainder represents 18 other states and U.S. territories (with Alabama topping that list based on the total graduates hailing from those states).

Honors College

 This fall’s graduates include six students who completed the Honors College curriculum. They will be indicated by wearing shoulder cords with the Honors College seal as part of their regalia during the ceremony.

International Student Representation

Two percent of this fall’s graduation class hails from outside the United States.

Marshals:

Faculty marshals serving during their respective Dec. 13 commencement ceremony will include:

• Armando Fernandez, lecturer, Cybersecurity Nexus Program, D. Abbott Turner College of Business & Technology (9 a.m., College of the Arts and Turner College of Business & Technology ceremony)
• Dr. Ellen Martin, professor, Department of Kinesiology & Health Sciences (4 p.m. College of Education & Health Professions ceremony)
• Dr. Clifton Ruehl, professor and assistant chair, Department of Biology (12:30 p.m., College of Letters & Sciences) 

Military-Connected Graduates

This fall’s graduating class includes 34 active-duty servicemen and servicewomen and 109 military veterans.

The fall class includes two ROTC “Cougar Battalion” cadets commissioning as second lieutenants. They will be commissioned separately on Dec. 12 and participate in their college’s respective ceremony on Dec. 13.

Scholarship Beneficiaries

More than 16% of this fall’s class of graduates benefited from institutional scholarships.

Servant Leadership Program

This fall’s graduates include four students who participated in the William B. Turner Center for Servant Leadership program. They will be indicated by wearing blue and white cords as part of their regalia during the ceremony.

Teaching Contract Guarantee

As many as 10 of this fall’s graduates stand to benefit professionally from Columbus State’s partnership with the Muscogee County School District and its “CSU Teaching Contract Guarantee.” The guarantee ensures a Muscogee County School District teaching contract for any Columbus State teacher education graduate who passes the student teaching component of their degree, and who meets Georgia Professional Standards Commission induction certification requirements. Nearly half of the school system’s teachers, counselors and administrators are Columbus State alumni, with many holding two and three CSU degrees.

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Note: data reflects the students eligible for graduation at the time of publication, pending final grades; it also includes Summer 2024 degree-completers who have the option to participate in fall commencement exercises.

Media contact: Michael Tullier, APR, Executive Director of Strategic Communication + Marketing, 706.507.8729, mtullier@columbusstate.edu