SEMO set to hold fall graduation ceremony Dec. 16

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (KBSI) – More than 850 students will walk across the stage as Southeast Missouri State University celebrates fall graduation in two ceremonies on Saturday, December 16 at the Show Me Center.

Dr. Michelle Kilburn will be the 10 a.m. commencement speaker. Dr. Larry Bohannon will be the 2 p.m. speaker.  Dr. Kilburn is a professor with the Department of Criminal Justice, Social Work, and Sociology. Dr. Bohannon is a professor in the Department of Elementary, Early, and Special Eduation.

Kilburn has had many roles such as working part-time as the administrative assistant for the MBA program while earning her undergraduate degree, serving as the first director of Southeast Online after completing her doctorate and the graduate coordinator and the interim chairperson for her department, according to Southeast.

Kilburn incorporates students in her research endeavors such as serving as the primary investigator for a statewide study of client perceptions of Missouri Probation and Parole initiatives and co-editor of the book, Invisible Victims and the Pursuit of Justice: Analyzing Frequently Victimized Yet Rarely Discussed Populations. Her most recent work, grounded in volunteering at the maximum-security Southeast Correctional Center in Charleston, Missouri, was selected for the Special Edition of “What Else Works” in the Journal of Advancing Corrections.

Dr. Bohannon has taught in the areas of literacy, field supervision, educational psychology, and autism at both the graduate and undergraduate levels, according to Southeast. He has been published multiple times and serves as the president of the Missouri Unit of Association of Teacher Educators (MUATE).

Additionally, he is a member of Missouri State Teachers Association, Association of Teacher Educators, Kappa Delta Pi, Phi Kappa Phi, International Literacy Association and the Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education. He is also a 20-year founding board member for the Sikeston Depot Museum and Cultural Center and served several years on the Sikeston Library Board, according to Southeast.

Those who can not attend the ceremony in person can watch it on a live stream here.

Commencement details

10 a.m. Ceremony – Speaker: Dr. Michelle Kilburn

• Harrison College of Business & Computing
• College of Humanities and Social Sciences
• Holland College of Arts & Media

2 p.m. Ceremony – Speaker: Dr. R. Larry Bohannon

• College of Education, Health, & Human Studies
• College of Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics

Commencement by the numbers

• 856 Graduates
  • 580 undergraduates
  • 267 master’s graduates
  • 9 specialist candidates
• 16 students graduating from the Jane Stephens Honors Program
• 56 graduating summa cum laude (3.9 to 4.0 cumulative grade point average)
• 61 graduating magna cum laude (3.75 to 3.89 cumulative grade point average)
• 109 graduating cum laude (3.5 to 3.74 cumulative grade point average)
• 119 students graduating with a cumulative 4.0 grade point average
  • 24 undergraduates
  • 95 master’s and specialist