Spring 2025 Commencement Ceremonies
The Spring 2025 College of Arts and Sciences Commencement Ceremonies will be held on Friday, May 9, 2025, at 1 and 5 p.m.
| 1 p.m. Ceremony | 5 p.m. Ceremony |
| English History Interdisciplinary Studies Languages, Literatures and Cultures Philosophy and Religion Psychology Sociology | Anthropology Biology Chemistry and Fermentation Sciences Computer Science Geography and Planning Geological and Environmental Sciences Government and Justice Studies Mathematical Sciences Physics and Astronomy Veterinary Technology |
For details, visit appstate.edu/commencement.
Spring 2025 Hooding Ceremonies
Graduate students will wear their hoods to the commencement ceremony but will not be hooded during the event. Some departments hold special hooding ceremonies prior to commencement.
- Department of Government & Justice Studies: Friday, May 9, 2025, from 2 - 3:30 p.m. in the Plemmons Student Union Solarium.
- Department of History: Thursday, May 8, 2025, from 1:30 - 3 p.m. in Plemmons Student Union Room 226 (Linville Falls).
- Department of Interdisciplinary Studies (Appalachian Studies MA Program): Friday, May 9, 2025, from 10:30 - 11:15 a.m. in Living Learning Academic Center Room 205 (The Great Hall).
- Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures: Friday, May 9, 2025, from 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. in L.S. Dougherty Room 113.
- Department of Physics & Astronomy: Friday, May 9, 2025, from 2 - 3:30 p.m. in Garwood Hall Room 108.
- Department of Psychology (Clinical Psychology PsyD Program): Thursday, May 8, 2025, from 4 - 6 p.m. in the Plemmons Student Union Solarium
- Department of Psychology (Psychological Science MA): Friday, May 9, 2025, from 10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. in Plemmons Student Union Room 137ABC (Grandfather Ballroom)
- Department of Psychology (School Psychology MA/SSP): Friday, May 9, 2025, from 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. in Plemmons Student Union Room 420 (Parkway Ballroom)
- Department of Psychology (Industrial-Organizational Human Resource Management MA): Friday, May 9, 2025, from 2:30 - 4:30 p.m. in Plemmons Student Union Room 420 (Parkway Ballroom)
To view a campus map, visit maps.appstate.edu.
Commencement Macebearer
The Appalachian State University mace is carried by a senior faculty member in all academic processions. Traditionally, the macebearer precedes the chancellor of an institution, both upon entering and leaving a ceremony. The mace serves as a symbol of authority just as it did during the Middle Ages, when a macebearer accompanied an official taking office or opening court.
The App State mace symbolizes the university’s mountain heritage, the rustic location and the sophistication of an emerging, national leader in higher education. To learn more about the App State mace's design, visit appstate.edu/commencement.
Dr. Clark Maddux
Dr. Clark Maddux, professor in the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies, will serve as macebearer for the 1 p.m. ceremony.
Dr. Maddux, a veteran of the U.S. Army, taught at Michigan State University, Tennessee State University and Austin Peay State University before joining App State in 2012, as director of academic service-learning. In 2014, he accepted a faculty position in the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies.
Maddux has been awarded numerous research fellowships, including a National Endowment for the Humanities educational program grant with colleagues from App State’s communication and English departments, and he is volume editor of the “Biblia Americana” series.
The greatest joy of his professional life, he shared, has been teaching and working with the students of App State’s Watauga Residential College, a student and faculty community that fosters creativity, thoughtfulness and civic engagement through experiential, inquiry-based learning. Maddux served as director of the college from 2014 to 2021. He will be retiring from App State at the end of the spring 2026 semester.
Dr. Carol Babyak
Dr. Carol Babyak, associate professor in the Department of Chemistry and Fermentation Sciences, will serve as the macebearer for the 5 p.m. ceremony.
Dr. Babyak, an analytical chemist, joined App State’s Department of Chemistry and Fermentation Sciences in 2004. She has received grant funding from the National Science Foundation, NC Biotechnology Center and The Nature Conservancy, and, with her students, has published original research in various journals, including Chemosphere, the International Journal of Environmental Analytical Chemistry, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, Spectroscopy Letters and Forensic Chemistry.
Babyak was inducted into the College of Arts and Sciences’ Academy of Outstanding Teachers in 2008 and received the college’s Outstanding Advisor Award in 2007-08 and 2015-16 and its Inclusion Award in 2020-21. Her favorite part of the job is teaching students in the classroom and mentoring them in research, as well as following their careers as physicians, engineers, professors and chemists, she shared.