Office of University Communications 

Missouri State to confer 1,264 degrees during fall commencement

McQueary family to receive Bronze Bear Award

SPRINGFIELD — Missouri State University will confer 1,264 degrees to students this fall during commencement ceremonies Dec. 14 at Hammons Student Center. Degrees in the College of Arts and Letters, the College of Health and Human Services, the College of Humanities and Public Affairs and the College of Natural and Applied Sciences will be given at 12:30 p.m. Degrees in the College of Business Administration and College of Education will be given at 4 p.m. Each ceremony is expected to last approximately 90 minutes.

During the first ceremony, the McQueary family, represented by Fred, Ramona, David and Rick McQueary, will receive the university’s Bronze Bear Award for “extraordinary achievement and/or outstanding support” of Missouri State. The McQueary Family was approved for the award by the Missouri State Board of Governors at its October meeting. The family is the eighth recipient of the Bronze Bear Award since its inception in 1998. Springfield Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Norm Ridder will speak at the 4 p.m. ceremony.

A total of 967 baccalaureate degrees, 287 master’s degrees and 10 specialist degrees will be conferred. Beyond the standard expectations, 31 students will be recognized for their work with a more rigorous curriculum in Missouri State’s Honors College. Scholastic honors will be given to 31 students who will graduate summa cum laude (with a grade point average of 3.9-4.0 on a 4.0 scale), 48 who will graduate magna cum laude (with a GPA of 3.75-3.89) and 129 who will graduate cum laude (with a GPA of 3.4-3.74).

Including fall graduates, Missouri State will have conferred a total of 107,436 degrees (including 966 associate degrees). These include 92,146 baccalaureate degrees since 1906, 13,485 master’s degrees since 1968, 828 specialist degrees since 1977 and 11 doctorate degrees since 2005.