Evergreen's 36th commencement ceremony June 15

More than 1155 students will walk across the stage and receive their diplomas at The Evergreen State College's 36th commencement ceremony June 15 - in front of an audience of more than 5000. The ceremony begins at 1 p.m. on Red Square, and is open to the public. The college will confer bachelor of arts and bachelor of science degrees, as well as joint BA/BS degrees and masters degrees in teaching, public administration and environmental studies.

Dr. Maxine Mimms, an Evergreen faculty member emeritus and long time educational pioneer will deliver the commencement address. Mimms is founder of the college's Tacoma campus and during the 1950's and 60's, she served as a role model for African American elementary students. She has also served as a national educational consultant and most recently founded the Maxine Mimms Academy, a non-profit organization in Tacoma's Hilltop neighborhood established to serve youth expelled or suspended from public schools. The program prepares students to succeed when they re-enter school. She also served as assistant to the director of the Women's Bureau in the U.S. Department of Labor in the 1970's.

The ceremony is a bookend to a year where the college received significant national attention for work in eliminating E.coli from the food chain using Phage research, national acclaim for the level of academic challenge from the National Survey of Student Engagement - as well as a year that faculty, staff and students on campus during winter break saw significant disruptions after the December windstorm. For more information about the ceremony, local hotel information and individuals needing special accommodations, go to www.evergreen.edu/graduation.

 For a live broadcast, visit www.evergreen.edu/streams/.