Spring 2026 Commencement Ceremonies
The Spring 2026 College of Arts and Sciences Commencement Ceremonies will be held on Saturday, May 9, at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m.
| 1 p.m. Ceremony | 5 p.m. Ceremony |
English | Anthropology |
For details, visit appstate.edu/commencement.
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.
Fall 2025 Macebearer
Joseph Bathanti served as the Macebearer for the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) Fall 2025 Commencement Ceremony.
North Carolina’s poet laureate from 2012–14, Bathanti is the inaugural McFarlane Family Distinguished Professor of Interdisciplinary Education at App State, and he also serves as a professor in the Department of English and as writer-in-residence in App State’s Watauga Residential College.
Bathanti has authored more than 20 books and was inducted into the North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame in 2024. In 2016, he received the North Carolina Award in Literature, the state’s highest civilian honor, in recognition of his lifelong contributions to literature. Among his additional honors are the CAS Donald W. Sink Family Outstanding Scholar Award (2021), Provost's Award for Excellence in Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity (2021) and University of North Carolina Board of Governors Appalachian State University Excellence in Teaching Award (2022).
He retired from App State at the end of the fall 2025 semester.