December graduation fetes nearly 1,000 West campus grads

<p>Close to 1,000 graduates of academic programs on Arizona State University’s West campus were recognized at Fall 2008 ceremonies, Dec. 18 and 19. Graduates participated in ASU’s universitywide commencement at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe, as well as convocation ceremonies on the Fletcher Library lawn at the West campus that gave students from individual colleges and schools the opportunity to gather and celebrate their accomplishments.<br /><br />The College of Teacher Education and Leadership increased Arizona’s supply of classroom teachers by graduating 254 students, most of whom earned Arizona teacher certification along with a bachelor’s degree in early childhood, elementary, secondary, or special education. The college also offers master’s degree/teacher certification programs for adults seeking a career change to teaching as well as master’s and doctoral degrees for working educators.<br /><br />The New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences awarded 292 degrees. The college offers undergraduate degrees in 18 fields including history, psychology, women’s studies, applied computing, and life sciences. New College master’s degree programs focus on interdisciplinary studies, social justice and human rights, and communication studies. (The Communication Studies Department recently moved from the College of Human Services to New College.)<br /><br />The College of Human Services, with 150 graduates, and School of Global Management and Leadership (SGML), with 269, celebrated their final convocations. Through a recently announced reorganization, SGML programs will be replaced on the West campus by offerings from ASU’s nationally ranked W. P. Carey School of Business. Some Human Services programs are being transferred to ASU’s Downtown Phoenix campus, while undergraduate and graduate programs in social work will continue to be offered on the West campus.<br /><br />For more information about ASU’s West campus, located at 4701 W. Thunderbird Road, visit <a href="http://campus.asu.edu/west">http://campus.asu.edu/west</a>.</p&gt;