EUGENE, Ore. — Lane Community College will celebrate its 57th Annual Commencement on Saturday, June 11, beginning at 10 a.m. at Bristow Square in the heart of main campus, 4000 E. 30th Ave, Eugene. The event will be accessible via Lane Video Streaming and captioned.
The keynote speaker will be State Sen. James Manning, Jr., who will also be recognized with the 2022 Distinguished Alumni award along with his late wife, Lawanda Manning, for their community service and advocacy for community colleges. Manning has a long history of public service and community involvement and has represented District 7 which includes Eugene in the legislature since 2016. His legislative priorities include quality education, living wage jobs, and safer neighborhoods and communities for all Oregonians. As a U.S. Army veteran, he also advocates strongly for the health and quality of life for veterans.
“We are honored to welcome Sen. Manning as our keynote speaker to share words of inspiration with our graduates as they begin this next chapter of their careers and education,” said LCC President Margaret Hamilton. “This is our first commencement ceremony in two years and our graduates have overcome many challenges to reach their goal. We encourage the community to join us in celebrating their accomplishments.”
Additional speakers include LCC President Dr. Margaret Hamilton, Provost Dr. Paul Jarrell, Board of Education Chair Lisa Fragala, Student Government Association President Donel Memey Kwaleso and Physical Therapist Assistant Program Coordinator, Christina Howard.
Following two years of virtual events due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this will be the first in-person ceremony since 2019. It will also be the final commencement ceremony as president for Dr. Margaret Hamilton, who retires June 30 following five years as the chief executive officer of Lane and more than three decades in higher education. Dr. Stephanie Bulger will become LCC’s eighth president July 1.
This year, roughly 55 percent of Lane’s graduating class completed transfer degrees and 45 percent earned career-technical degrees or certificates. About 56 percent are first-generation college students and 42 percent of the graduates will have more than one award conferred.
LCC Commencement By the Numbers:
- 55: Percentage of graduates completing transfer degrees
- 45: Percentage of graduates completing career-technical degrees or certificates
- 56: Percentage of first-generation college students
- 18: Percentage of graduates who received Oregon Promise grants
- 24: Percentage of graduates who self-identified as BIPOC
- 49: Percentage of graduates who received Pell grants
- 54: Number of international student graduates
Lane Community College educates over 25,000 students annually at six locations across Lane County and online. Students and alumni from all 50 states and 79 countries create more than an $850 million dollar impact on the local economy, helping to support more than 13,000 local jobs. Lane provides affordable, quality, professional technical and college transfer programs; business development and employee training; academic, language and life skills development; and lifelong personal development and enrichment courses.