Purdue Global commencement set for Saturday

Nearly 1,200 graduates will take part in Purdue Global commencement ceremonies Saturday (Oct. 22). An in-person ceremony is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. ET at Elliott Hall of Music on the Purdue West Lafayette campus, followed by a virtual ceremony at 7 p.m.

The graduates reside in 47 states — including 241 Indiana residents — plus Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, as well as the Bahamas, Canada, Mexico and Pakistan. Some 187 graduates are affiliated with the military. Thirty-three systemwide University employees are among those earning a Purdue Global degree or certificate via the Purdue Global education benefit.

Chancellor Frank Dooley will address the 1,177 graduates — 719 registered to attend in-person and 458 virtually.

“It’s always a great reminder to me of why we do what we do,” Dooley says of commencement. “You see people coming across the stage and see their smiles and hear their stories.”

Kelvin Gumbs, a Navy veteran and Purdue Global alum, will provide the keynote address. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in professional studies from Purdue Global in 2021 as well as an Associate of Applied Science degree in small group management in 2020.

Saturday will mark Purdue Global’s 15th commencement since its formation in 2018 and the second in West Lafayette.

Purdue Global will host a Black and Gold Celebration for all graduates from 5-6:30 p.m. today (Oct. 21) at the Purdue Memorial Union ballrooms. Afterward, Purdue for Life Foundation will celebrate the latest Purdue Global active-duty and veteran graduates with a Military Appreciation Dinner.

More information, including how to watch graduation online, can be found at the Commencement Showroom.

Some 11,000 Purdue Global students have graduated in the last year.