COWLEY COLLEGE TO HOLD 103RD COMMENCEMENT ON MAY 9th

This year, Cowley College will confer 428 degrees and certificates during its 103rd Commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 9th, with nearly 300 graduates expected to take part in the ceremony.

Exercises will begin at 10 a.m. inside W.S. Scott Auditorium. Individuals requiring special seating at commencement should plan to arrive by 9:40 a.m.

The featured speaker for this year’s ceremony is Meg Smith, Director of Media and Digital Journalism at Cowley College.

An Iowa native, Smith has lived and worked across the country—from California to Virginia—and even spent several years overseas in Okinawa, Japan. She began her career at Cowley in 2007 as the director of journalism and has since played a key role in shaping the college’s evolving media programs.

Smith’s dedication to her students and her craft has earned her numerous accolades. In 2022, she was recognized by the Wichita Business Journal as part of its Women Who Lead in Higher Education. Most recently, she received the prestigious Bill and Judy Docking Faculty Achievement Award for excellence in teaching, an institutional honor at Cowley College awarded every two years to a faculty member who demonstrates exceptional service, innovation and commitment to student success.

Members of Cowley’s Student Senate will also address the class, including Makenzie Tanner, a liberal arts major from Derby, Kansas, who served as Student Senate president during the 2025–2026 academic year, and Cooper Leonard, a psychology major from Ponca City, Oklahoma, who served as vice president of the Student Senate.

Students listed in the official Commencement program are candidates for Associate of Arts, Associate of Applied Science, Associate of General Studies, Associate of Science degrees or college certificates.

Hunter Ferguson | Integrated Communications Specialist
Cowley College
125 S. 2nd Street
Arkansas City, KS 67005
hunter.ferguson@cowley.edu