Darton State College, Albany State University to hold graduations this weekend

ALBANY — To most people, the month of December marks the Christmas season, but to educators it also represents the Fall Commencement season. Students and faculty and administrators at Albany State University and Darton State College are familiar with this annual rite.

The city will see back-to-back graduations this weekend when Darton holds its Fall Commencement Friday at 7 p.m. at the college’s Cavalier Arena and Albany State will follow with its graduation ceremony Saturday at 10 a.m. at the Albany Civic Center.

Dougherty County Commission Chair Chris Cohilas, who is also chairman of the Darton Foundation, is the keynote speaker for Darton’s Commencement while Bobby Watkins will deliver the keynote address at Albany State. Watkins is the director of the NASA Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans.

Cohilas graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in English from the University of Georgia in 1999, and went on to receive his J.D. degree from Georgia State Law School in 2002. Watkins, an Albany State University alumnus, earned his bachelor’s of science degree in mathematics in 1986.

Earlier this year, NASA named Watkins director of the Michoud facility, which is managed by Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. Watkins oversees the workforce at Michoud which is now building the Orion crew spacecraft and the core stage for the Space Launch System (SLS) — an advanced launch vehicle for a new era of exploration beyond Earth’s orbit to deep space missions, including Mars. In its largest configuration, the 384-foot-tall SLS will be the most powerful launch vehicle in history.

Darton’s commencement begins at 3 p.m. with an Allied Health Pinning Ceremony followed by a Nursing Pinning at 4:30. The commencement begins at 7 p.m.

The college expects more than 520 students to pick up degrees or certificates Friday — 245 of the graduates will take home associates in nursing degrees with another 29 earning their bachelor’s of science in Nursing. Another 191 graduates will receive Associates in Science degrees.

Albany State University will award bachelor’s, master’s and specialist degrees to an estimated 350 students at the fall 2015 commencement program. In addition to the graduating class, this fall’s activities include a commissioning for graduates of the Albany State University Military Science program.