More than 4,500 students received degrees Saturday during Miami University’s 187th Spring Commencement ceremony at Yager Stadium, where rainy weather led many graduates to wear plastic ponchos over their caps and gowns while spectators filled the bleachers with umbrellas. The university conferred a total of 4,519 degrees during the ceremony, including 3,718 bachelor’s degrees, 493 master’s degrees, 217 certificates, 59 associate degrees, and 32 doctorates. Delivering the keynote address was John Harbaugh, a 1984 Miami graduate and current head coach of the New York Giants. Harbaugh, who played defensive back for Miami’s football team and earned a degree in political science, told graduates they are a “unique generation” who have done well despite going through "storms" like covid, and personal difficulties, yet they persevered and are ready for the next leg of their race. Harbaugh previously led the Baltimore Ravens to a Super Bowl XLVII championship and was inducted into Miami’s Cradle of Coaches Association in 2014. He wore his Super Bowl ring during the ceremony, and joked about his recent firing from the Ravens, bringing chuckles from the crowd. Miami officials said degree candidates represented 43 states and Washington, D.C., with about 65 percent of graduates coming from Ohio. Illinois accounted for the second-largest group at 8.5 percent. Among undergraduate degrees awarded, Finance led the way with 341 graduates, followed by Marketing with 289, Psychology with 213, Biology with 200, and Kinesiology with 156. Nursing, Accountancy, Computer Science, Strategic Communications, Emerging Technology in Business and Design, and Primary Education PK-5 also ranked among the university’s top degree programs. The university also recognized academic honors during the ceremony. About 14.3 percent of bachelor’s degree recipients graduated cum laude, while 9.4 percent earned magna cum laude honors and 7.4 percent graduated summa cum laude. In addition to Harbaugh, honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters degrees were awarded to attorney and Miami alumnus Sue Henry and internet entrepreneur Dwight Merriman, co-founder of MongoDB and DoubleClick.
(Editor's Note: AI-Assisted Copy)
(Photo Courtesy: Miami University)
