OCCC Graduates Getting Ready

OCCC Graduates Getting Ready
Oklahoma City – As most students are cramming for finals and checking their summer schedules, about 1,200 OCCC students are trying on their gowns and mortarboards as they prepare walk across the stage during Oklahoma City Community College’s commencement. The 35th spring graduation ceremony will be held at the Cox Convention Center at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, May 9.
 
“This is an exciting time for everyone at OCCC as we honor the success of our students,” said Dr. Paul Sechrist, President.  “The completion of a college degree is a significant milestone worthy of a grand celebration.”
The Chairman of the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education has accepted the invitation to deliver the keynote speech at the commencement ceremony. Chairman Bill W. Burgess, Jr. was appointed to the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education in 1993 and reappointed in 2002 by Governor Henry for another nine-year term. He is one of the youngest State Regents to be appointed in the state’s history.
 
Burgess is chairman emeritus of the board of Techrizon, LLC, chairman of the board of Vortex, Inc., and is the senior partner of Burgess & Hightower Law Firm.
Burgess also served as chairman of the Citizens’ Commission on the Future of Oklahoma Higher Education and the 1998 “Two for Technology” campaign for passage of State Questions 680 and 681 regarding higher education technology transfer. He was chosen as one of the Oklahoma Department of Commerce’s Oklahoma Stars for the “I Believe in Oklahoma” campaign. He also served on the Steering Committee for the Oklahoma EDGE (Economic Development Generating Excellence) project.
Burgess is a graduate of Leadership Oklahoma. He graduated from Cameron University and received his jurist doctorate from the University of Oklahoma School of Law.
Business and nursing students are once again the largest groups of OCCC graduates this year. Oklahoma City Community College offers associate degrees and certificates in more than 60 programs preparing students to successfully transfer to four-year colleges or directly enter the workforce in their chosen careers.  OCCC is one of the largest colleges in the state of Oklahoma, with an annual headcount of over 20,000 students.