Sen. Thad Cochran will speak at the commencement ceremony for nearly 1,300 Mississippi State Graduates on Dec. 13.
The ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. in the Humphrey Coliseum and will be broadcast over the Internet through the MSU Web site.
“We are expecting a large group of family and friends to attend,” Sharon Nobles, interim assistant registrar, said. “Anyone can come. Those coming are not required to have tickets, and there is no limit on how many people graduates can bring.”
Nobles also said that graduates can pick up their regalia at the Hunter Henry Center next Friday from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. It will also be open on Saturday briefly before the ceremony.
Saturday morning, graduates need to be at The Hump no later than 9:30 a.m. Signs inside will direct students to their seats.
Cochran has spoken at commencement ceremonies at MSU before and has spoken at every major university in the state.
“I feel very honored to be invited to commencement exercises,” Cochran said.
Even though Cochran is an University of Mississippi alumni, he has many ties to MSU.
“I have spent a lot of time at Mississippi State. My grandfather graduated from MSU, as well as a lot of my friends and members of my staff,” Cochran said.
Wednesday Cochran went to Washington D.C. for a bill that President Bush was signing on forestry management.
“It provides authorities for management of public and private forests,” Cochran said. “It will provide research opportunities for universities, and Mississippi State will be one of the universities that will benefit.”
Cochran has been in the U.S. Senate since 1978 and serves on the Appropriations Committee, the Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee and the Rules and Administration committee.
“In the Appropriations Committee we deal with research of all kinds,” he said. “There is a wide range of scientific research that Mississippi State involved in which helps the state’s economy,” he added.
Professional videos of the ceremony will be available. While pictures will not be available on the floor, designated photograph areas will be set up around the Coliseum.