Published: May 08, 2008 10:21 pm         

Area college graduation events start today

Mountain State University, New River Community and Technical College and Appalachian Bible College have announced graduation ceremonies and events that begin today.

New River will hold its fifth commencement ceremony at 7 p.m. today at the Tamarack Conference Center in Beckley.

More than 800 friends and family members of the graduates are expected to attend, college President Ted Spring said.

“Last year’s commencement ceremony included a capacity crowd and featured West Virginia first lady Gayle Manchin as the keynote speaker,” Spring said. “This year’s commencement speaker will be West Virginia Secretary of Education and the Arts Kay Goodwin.”

“It is always exciting to be a part of commencement, but it is a real joy to be the speaker for New River Community and Technical College,” Goodwin said. “This is an institution on the cutting edge of Gov. Manchin’s and the Legislature’s vision for higher education’s role in vitalizing our state’s economy.”

In addition to her duties as secretary of Education and the Arts, Goodwin is chairman of the PROMISE Scholarship Board of Control and the Professional Staff Development Advisory Council. She is the honorary chairman of the Governor’s Council on Literacy, co-chairman of the Center for Professional Development Board and the governor’s designated chairman of the Educational Broadcasting Authority.

“With 230 graduates from all of our four campuses, New River is graduating one of the largest classes in the college’s history,” said Harry Faulk, New River’s vice president and chief academic officer. The college maintains campuses in Beckley, Summersville, Lewisburg and Bluefield.

Mountain State University is graduating a record number of students this year, according to school officials.

The total number of students graduating from all of MSU’s campuses is 1,154, according to Megan Constantino, coordinator of media and public relations at the university.

MSU has branch campuses in Martinsburg, Pennsylvania, Florida and North Carolina.

“In our 75th year, we are extremely proud to graduate this record number of students,” she said.

The total number of students marching Saturday in Beckley is 353, Constantino added.

Graduation ceremonies for MSU begin at 6:30 p.m. today with a hooding ceremony at the Beckley-Raleigh County Convention Center.

The commencement ceremony is set for 4 p.m. Saturday, also at the convention center.

MSU will not have a keynote speaker, but will show an inspirational video celebrating 75 years of success, Constantino said.

Appalachian Bible College’s commencement ceremony is set for 10 a.m. Saturday in Anderson Hall, according to Gary Ring, the college’s director of public relations.

Ring says the keynote speaker will be Dr. Charles Ryrie.

“Ryrie is one of the most respected Bible scholars living today,” Ring said.

Ryrie’s background includes professor of Greek and Bible, and chairman of the Division of Biblical Studies and Philosophy at Westmont College; president of Philadelphia College of the Bible; and serving as chairman and professor of Systematic Theology at Dallas Theological Seminary for many years. He is currently professor emeritus at Dallas Theological Seminary and serves as visiting professor of theology at Philadelphia Biblical University.

— E-mail:

fpace@register-herald.com