Spring 2023 Commencement Scheduled

May 1, 2023

Mars Hill University will hold its spring commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 6, 2023, at 9:30 a.m. in Moore Auditorium. About 160 students are expected to graduate, receiving either bachelor’s or master’s degrees. The university also will present a diploma to the family of J’son Pitts, a student who died in a car crash in 2021 during his sophomore year and who would have been part of the class of 2023.

Keynote speaker will be Doug Buchanan, a 1988 graduate of Mars Hill and chair of the university’s board of trustees. Student speakers will be Allie Jones, a nursing major from Leicester, North Carolina, representing the traditional undergraduate students, and Maggie Crisp, a psychology major from Weaverville, North Carolina, representing the Adult and Graduate Studies students. Piper Alexander, a social work major from Andrews, North Carolina, will deliver the invocation.

Nine graduating nursing students also will be recognized at a pinning and lamp lighting ceremony on Friday, May 5, 2023, at 2 p.m. in Broyhill Chapel. Graduating nurses receive a pin which signifies their transition from the student role to the medical practice role. The tradition is said to have originated in the 1860s with Florence Nightingale.

The university will provide livestreams of both the pinning ceremony and commencement through its YouTube channel at youtube.com/@MarsHillU.

The graduation ceremony follows the university’s no-bags policy. Small bags are acceptable and will be subject to search. All faculty, staff, students, and guests will be screened before entry into the auditorium.

Mars Hill University holds two graduation ceremonies each year: one in May for graduates who complete their degrees in the spring semester, and one in December for graduates who complete degree requirements over the summer or fall terms.