More than 1,500 undergraduate and graduate students Texas Tech students, including 50 from the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, received diplomas at the university's spring commencement ceremonies on Saturday (Aug. 10) at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock.

During the event outstanding students carried banners representing their respective colleges. Chloe Wilson, a plant and soil science major from Falls City, Texas, represented CASNR. Administrators selected the banner bearers based on all-around achievement. In addition, Matthew Winterholler, an agricultural communications major from Gillette, Wyoming, was recognized as CASNR's highest-ranking graduate.

Graduation undergraduate recipients from individual departments and majors included:

• Agribusiness, 2
• Agricultural & Applied Economics, 11
• Agricultural Communications, 4
• Animal Science, 9
• Conservation Law Enforcement, 1
• Food Science, 2
• Interdisciplinary Agriculture, 5
• Natural Resources Management, 8
• Plant and Soil Science, 8

"Commencement marks the culmination of our students' dedication and commitment to their education, and provides the opportunity to celebrate with them as they enter the next phase of their lives," said Lawrence Schovanec, Texas Tech president. "We're proud to have played a role in their professional and personal development, and we look forward to their many contributions."

Tedd Mitchell, chancellor of the Texas Tech University System and president of the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, was the featured speaker at the summer commencement ceremonies. Under Mitchell's leadership, TTUHSC has welcomed record enrollment, academic performance and physical expansion. He has also overseen the development of the Texas Tech University School of Veterinary Medicine in Amarillo and the TTUHSC El Paso Woody L. Hunt School of Dental Medicine.

Mitchell's experience includes serving as president and CEO of the Cooper Clinic in Dallas, publishing more than 600 articles in USA Weekend, receiving the 2006 Clarion award and the 2008 Walter C. Alvarez Award for Excellence in Medical Communication, serving as a captain in the U.S. Army Reserves from 1988 to 1996 and being appointed by former Pres. George W. Bush to the President's Council for Physical Fitness and Sports, where he served from 2002 until 2009.

CONTACT: William Brown, Dean, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Texas Tech University at (806) 742-2808 or william.f.brown@ttu.edu

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