The 69th Annual Casper College Commencement Ceremony will be held on Friday, May 15 beginning at 7 p.m. in the Casper Events Center.

Commencement speaker will be outgoing Casper College President Walter Nolte, Ph.D. When asked about the most satisfying parts of his presidency, Nolte pointed to the 10 commencement exercises he has led, and the last one he’ll lead on Friday night.

“Without a doubt, commencement day is my favorite of the year. It brings closure to all the efforts of the faculty, staff and other administrators at the college. It’s why we’re all here.”

Shortly after Nolte arrived on campus, he led efforts to develop a culture of continuous strategic planning and led efforts to secure voter support for a $35 million bond issue on the 2008 ballot. The bond issue, combined with strong support from the Casper College Foundation and the State of Wyoming, has enabled more than $100 million in improvements to the campus in recent years. Most visible are five new buildings.

Nolte has been active in legislative relations at the state level as well. He has helped secure increased funding for community colleges, as well as several changes to state statutes that enable the colleges to operate more efficiently.

As of this writing, 260 Casper College graduates plan to participate in this year’s commencement. A total of 690 students graduated from Casper College during the 2014-2015 academic year earning a total of 647 degrees and 193 certificates.

The commencement ceremony is free and open to the public and refreshments will be served following the ceremony.

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