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Watch as giant tent is raised for 51st Annual Eckerd College Commencement

By Tom Scherberger
Published May 15, 2014
Categories: Academics

The 51st Annual Eckerd College Commencement will take place Sunday, May 18 at 8 a.m. on campus at South Beach Field under the largest tent of its kind in Florida.

Nearly 600 students will graduate, including nearly 440 residential students and more than 140 students in the Program for Experienced Learners.

The commencement speaker will be Melissa Harris-Perry, political scientist and host of the MSNBC weekend program Melissa Harris-Perry. She is the author of Sister Citizen: Shame, Stereotypes and Black Women in America and recently was named a Presidential Chair at Wake Forest University, her alma mater. She is the aunt of graduating Eckerd senior Christina Smith. Dr. Harris-Perry also will receive an honorary degree from Eckerd.

Graduates and their friends and family are encouraged to use the hashtag #Eckerd14 to share their photos on social media.

Doughnuts and coffee, beginning at 7 a.m., will be served adjacent to the field. Complimentary water will also be available for guests throughout the ceremony.

Eckerd Commencement By the Numbers 

586 Total number of graduates

437 Number of residential graduates

149 Number of Program for Experience Learners graduates

41 Number of states represented

10 Number of countries represented

34,000 Square feet of commencement tent

3,600 Number of Krispy Kreme Donuts ordered for commencement

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