Area colleges prepare for graduation Saturday

May 15—Several area colleges are preparing to welcome families, friends and other guests to honor the achievements of the class of 2024 at commencement ceremonies Saturday, May 18.

The National Weather Services predicts a warm day with a chance of showers. Large white tents are going up on athletic fields with rows of folding chairs on standby to prepare for inclement weather.

Between Oneonta's Hartwick College and SUNY Oneonta, 1,460 students are slated to walk the stages and be conferred degrees.

Hartwick's commencement ceremony is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. at Elmore Field on the Hartwick campus.

The commencement speaker is Douglas Brinkley, a U.S. presidential historian and author, who also is slated to receive an honorary degrees.

Honorary degrees also will be conferred to Harry Bradshaw Matthews, author and founding director of Hartwick's United States Colored Troops Institute for Local History and Family Research, and Linda Tarr-Whelan, an international expert on women's leadership in the economy and government and prize-winning author.

During the ceremony, the college will announce the Margaret B. Bunn Award for Outstanding Teaching. The award is presented to an outstanding faculty member as determined by alumni who have graduated within the last five years.

This year's Abraham L. Kellogg Oratorical Prize winner also will be announced. The award is given to a graduating senior who delivered the best oratorical presentation during the college's Honors Convocation, as determined by faculty.

The commencement ceremony will be webcast live on the commencement webpage, www.hartwick.edu/campus-life/commencement, beginning at 11:30 a.m. The ceremony also will be webcast on Hartwick's YouTube Channel.

Leading up to commencement, Hartwick also will celebrate the graduates on May 17 through a selection of milestone events:

* 1 p.m. Nurses Pinning, Lambros Arena, streamed live on YouTube.

* 4 p.m. Senior Art Show Reception, Foreman Art Gallery, Anderson Center for the Arts.

* 5 p.m. Senior Send-Off Reception, Stack Lounge, Dewar Union.

Over at SUNY Oneonta, preparations are underway for three 90-minute commencement ceremonies at 9 a.m. for the School of Sciences, 1 p.m. for the School of Liberal Arts and Business and 4:30 p.m. for the School of Education, Human Ecology and Sports Studies — all at Dewar Arena at the Alumni Field House.

The commencement speaker is Dr. Gladstone Hutchinson, an economics professor and class of 1983 alum.

The public can watch a live stream of the ceremony in the Hodgdon Instructional Resource Center or at home. A live webcast also will be be streamed during each ceremony and archived on SUNY Oneonta's YouTube channel after commencement.

SUNY Delhi

SUNY Delhi's commencement will recognize about 800 graduates receiving master's, bachelor's and associate degrees and certificates.

The ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. at the campus track field. In case of rain, the event will be moved to the Clark Field House.

This year's keynote address will be delivered by Steve Burns, an Emmy-nominated actor best known for his role as Steve in Nickelodeon's "Blue's Clues" and the feature film "Blue's Big City Adventure."

Burns also is a critically acclaimed musician. He wrote and performed the theme song for the sitcom "Young Sheldon," on which he is a recurring guest star.

Currently, Burns lives in Delhi, where he continues his decades-long career as a voiceover artist when he's not writing and directing for the show "Blue's Clues and You."

SUNY Cobleskill is slated to confer associate and bachelor's degrees upon more than 430 graduates, starting at 11 a.m. adjacent to the Neal Robbins Field House.

The college also will award an honorary SUNY doctorate of science to keynote speaker Dr. Temple Grandin.

A visionary in the fields of animal science and autism advocacy, Grandin is renowned for her innovative work in improving livestock treatment through the design of humane handling facilities, including SUNY Cobleskill's.

Her unique perspective, shaped by her own experiences with autism and shared through countless articles, books, and lectures, has fostered greater inclusivity and understanding.

The ceremony will be live streamed for supporters who cannot attend in-person. A link to the livestream will be posted on the college's commencement webpage,, www.cobleskill.edu/academics/commencement, Saturday morning.