Six graduation-related events on May 8 and 9 will celebrate the 1,055 Columbus State University students comprising its Spring 2025 graduating class. The festivities will include three college-specific ceremonies throughout the day on Friday, marking the university’s 129th commencement exercises.

These events, all hosted on the university’s Main Campus, include the following: 

Thursday, May 8

• 10:30 a.m., School of Nursing Pinning Ceremony, Frank G. Lumpkin Jr. Center [map]

• 1:00 p.m., ROTC Commissioning Ceremony, University Hall Auditorium [map]

• 6:00 p.m., Graduate Hooding Ceremony, Frank G. Lumpkin Jr. Center [map]

• 9:00 a.m., College of the Arts and D. Abbott Turner College of Business & Technology Commencement Ceremony, Frank G. Lumpkin Jr. Center [map]

• 12:30 p.m., College of Letters & Sciences Commencement Ceremony, Frank G. Lumpkin Jr. Center [map]

• 4:00 p.m., College of Education & Health Professions Commencement Ceremony, Frank G. Lumpkin Jr. Center [map]

Each of Friday's ceremonies will feature a different speaker, including Steve Têtte, a three-time Columbus State art education graduate and internationally recognized artist, at 9 a.m.; Calvin Smyre, Georgia’s longest-serving state legislator, at 12:30 p.m.; and Dr. Ellen Roberts, a retired Columbus State educator and administrator, at 4 p.m. 

Additionally, Smyre and arts patron Ann Strub will receive honorary degrees—Strub at the 9 a.m. ceremony and Smyre at the 12:30 p.m. ceremony.

Columbus State conducts commencement exercises and related events at the end of each fall and spring semester. Since its founding as Columbus College in 1958, the university has bestowed degrees and certificates on more than 42,000 students. As alumni, they become automatic members of the CSU Alumni Association upon graduation.

The graduation website provides additional information for graduates and guests attending these events. The website will also provide links to the live streams of the May 8 Graduate Hooding Ceremony and each of the May 9 commencement ceremonies and a downloadable PDF of the commencement program. The recorded live streams will be archived on the site for future viewing.