COD To Celebrate Largest Graduating Class Ever

From COD: College of the Desert continues to commemorate its 60th Anniversary and has much to celebrate this week, with its record-breaking Commencement Ceremony on Friday, a Public Safety Academy Graduation on Tuesday evening, and a Registered Nurse Pinning Ceremony on Friday afternoon.

For the fourth straight year, College of the Desert will break the record for the largest graduating class in its history, with 1,486 credentials – up 22 percent compared to last year. The media is welcome to cover the festivities, which begin at 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 25 (more coverage details on Page 2, including how to RSVP). At this point, nearly 600 students are expected to walk the stage during the Commencement Ceremony. College Superintendent/President Joel L. Kinnamon, Ed.D., and Desert Community College District Board of Trustees Chairwoman Becky Broughton will hand the graduating students their degrees and certificates.

Here are some statistics from the record-breaking years for comparison.
2018: 1,486 credentials
2017: 1,220 credentials
2016: 1,137 credentials
2015: 1,067 credentials

Following graduation, hundreds of the students will transfer to other colleges, including 16 campuses within the California State University system, seven University of California campuses, and other colleges as far as New York. As mentioned above, College of the Desert also will celebrate its Public Safety Academy graduation (6 p.m. Tuesday, May 22) and its Registered Nurse Pinning (2 p.m. Friday, May 25). Both will be held in the McCallum Theatre. Please reach out to me if you’re interested in covering either of these wonderful ceremonies so that I can provide help as needed.

DETAILS ON HOW TO COVER COMMENCEMENT LIVE

The media is welcome to cover Commencement. Please let us know if you’d like to join us so that we can help you navigate and set up at what’ll be a very busy scene at our football stadium, Boone Field. RSVP: Please email or contact James Meier by noon Thursday, May 24, at (760) 773-2589 if you plan to cover Commencement. On Friday, he’ll be reachable at the college’s Public Relations cell phone at (760) 848-8230. Please show up closer to 7 p.m. Friday to get yourself situated. James will help with that.

What: Nearly 600 graduating students will walk the stage at Commencement.
When: 7:30-9:30 p.m. Friday, May 25, 2017
Where: Boone Field (please see map below). Enter the campus through the main Monterey Avenue entrance and you’ll be directed by our public safety officers to a convenient parking spot near the stadium.
No parking permits are required and trams will be circulating the campus to provide transportation from the lots.

Image Via Shuttershock