Purdue sets Spring 2025 Commencement schedule, names honorary doctorate recipients in engineering and business

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue University will award two alumni with honorary doctorates during the spring commencement ceremonies taking place at Elliott Hall of Music on May 15-18.

Ron Klemencic, chair and CEO of Magnusson Klemencic Associates (MKA), will receive an honorary Doctor of Engineering from the College of Engineering during Friday morning’s Division II ceremony. Marshall Larsen, retired chair, president and CEO of Goodrich Corp., will receive an honorary Doctor of Business from the Mitch Daniels School of Business during Sunday evening’s Division X ceremony.

For the first time, Purdue’s main campus will confer more than 10,000 degrees in a single commencement. The Class of 2025 includes 7,997 undergraduates, 2,167 graduate students, 220 students from professional programs and 85 students from Purdue Polytechnic Institute’s statewide programs who are eligible to participate in the ceremonies.

Purdue President Mung Chiang will preside over the Friday through Sunday ceremonies and deliver the keynote address. Each ceremony will feature a student responder.

Honorary doctorates

Klemencic is a globally recognized innovator and leading expert in high-rise structural engineering, sought after for his creativity, big-picture approach and ability to consistently produce cost-effective and inventive designs.

In addition to serving as chair and CEO of MKA, he is a director of the Charles Pankow Foundation, the National Council of Structural Engineers Associations Foundation and the MKA Foundation, where he champions the research and development of new technologies that further the structural engineering profession.

Klemencic has played a key role in numerous innovations throughout his career, including performance-based seismic design, the development and successful application of the SpeedCore structural system, and advancements to both performance-based wind and structural fire design.

He is a distinguished member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and serves on its Industry Leaders Council. He is also a recipient of the organization’s OPAL award for design and Dennis L. Tewksbury Award for outstanding service to the Structural Engineering Institute. He is an honorary member of the American Institute of Architects and was awarded the Fazlur R. Khan Lifetime Achievement Medal by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. 

Klemencic earned a Master of Science in structural engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1986 and a Bachelor of Science in civil engineering from Purdue University in 1985.

Larsen began his 35-year career at Goodrich as an operations analyst in 1977 and quickly advanced through various leadership roles. In 1995 he was named executive vice president of Goodrich as well as president and chief operating officer of Goodrich Aerospace. In 2003, Larsen was tapped for the top leadership position as chair, president and CEO — a role that he held until 2012, when Goodrich was acquired by United Technologies Corp., now Raytheon.

Larsen is regarded for his ability to create long-term value for companies in a global and corporately responsible marketplace. In 2013, Harvard Business Review named Larsen one of the top 100 best-performing CEOs in the world.

He currently serves on the board of directors for Air Lease Corp. and has held prominent board member positions throughout his career, serving as chair of the U.S. Aerospace Industries Association and on the board of directors for the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Becton Dickinson and Co., Lowe’s Cos. Inc. and Raytheon, among many others.

Larsen earned a Bachelor of Science in engineering from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, in 1970 and served six years in the military, graduating from both the Army Airborne and Army Ranger schools. He earned a Master of Science in industrial administration from Purdue University in 1977.

Larsen and his wife, Susan, established the Marshall and Susan Larsen Leaders Academy in the Mitch Daniels School of Business in 2018. The academy helps undergraduate students develop leadership skills through cocurricular experiences, coaching and mentoring.

Commencement division dates and times

Division I: Thursday, May 15, 2:30 p.m. — PhD ceremony

• Note: Professional doctoral degrees (audiology, nursing, pharmacy and veterinary medicine) will be conferred during their college’s scheduled ceremonies.

Division II: Friday, May 16, 9:30 a.m. —

• College of Agriculture
  • Agricultural Economics, including agribusiness and farm management
  • Agronomy, including applied meteorology and climate and crop science
  • Animal Sciences

• College of Engineering
  • Agricultural and Biological Engineering
  • Civil and Construction Engineering
  • Engineering Administration
  • Engineering Education, including interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary education
  • Environmental and Ecological Engineering
  • Materials Engineering

• College of Pharmacy, including Doctor of Pharmacy
• Joint and special programs

Division III: Friday, May 16, 2:30 p.m. —

• College of Engineering
  • Chemical Engineering
  • Industrial Engineering
  • Mechanical Engineering, including energy engineering and motorsports engineering
  • Nuclear Engineering

Division IV: Friday, May 16, 7 p.m. —

• College of Engineering
  • Aeronautics and Astronautics
  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Electrical and Computer Engineering

Division V: Saturday, May 17, 9:30 a.m. —

• College of Veterinary Medicine, including Doctor of Veterinary Medicine
• Polytechnic Institute
  • Aviation and Transportation Technology
  • Computer and Information Technology, including cybersecurity
  • Construction Management Technology, including interior architecture
  • Engineering Technology
  • Technology Leadership and Innovation, including organizational leadership, human resource development and technical communication

Division VI: Saturday, May 17, 2:30 p.m. —

• College of Science
  • Computer Science, including applied CS, artificial intelligence, data science, and web programming and design
  • Psychology (formerly IUPUI School of Science)
  • Statistics
• Polytechnic Institute
  • Computer Graphics Technology, including game development and UX design
  • Polytechnic Administration, including Doctor of Technology

Division VII: Saturday, May 17, 7 p.m. —

• College of Education
• College of Science
  • Biological Sciences, including biotechnology
  • Chemistry
  • Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
  • Forensics and Investigative Sciences
  • Mathematics, including actuarial science
  • Neuroscience
  • Physics and Astronomy

Division VIII: Sunday, May 18, 9:30 a.m. —

• College of Agriculture
  • Agricultural Sciences Education and Communication, including agricultural education
  • Agriculture Administration, including natural resources and environmental science and interdisciplinary agriculture
  • Biochemistry
  • Botany and Plant Pathology
  • Entomology
  • Food Science
  • Forestry and Natural Resources
  • Horticulture and Landscape Architecture
• College of Liberal Arts

Division IX: Sunday, May 18, 2:30 p.m. —

• College of Health and Human Sciences
  • Health and Kinesiology
  • Health Sciences
  • Hospitality and Tourism Management
  • Nursing, including Doctor of Nursing Practice
  • Nutrition Science
  • Psychological Sciences
  • Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, including Doctor of Audiology

Division X: Sunday, May 18, 7 p.m. —

• College of Health and Human Sciences
  • Human Development and Family Science
  • Public Health
• Mitch Daniels School of Business

Admission tickets required

The doors to Elliott Hall of Music will open 90 minutes before each ceremony, and tickets are required for entry. Each graduation candidate may request up to four tickets. Only clear bags or small clutch bags are permitted in Elliott Hall of Music, and all bags will be checked. More information can be found at Spring Commencement FAQs. The ceremonies will be livestreamed from the Purdue News YouTube channel and linked on the Purdue commencement website before each ceremony begins.

Student responders

• Kendrick Hardaway of Poteau, Oklahoma, who is to receive a Doctor of Philosophy in environmental and ecological engineering and a Master of Science in industrial engineering from the College of Engineering, will be the student responder in the Thursday afternoon (Division I) ceremony.
• Sydney Hefty of Auburn, Indiana, who is to receive a Bachelor of Science in agribusiness from the College of Agriculture, will be the student responder in the Friday morning (Division II) ceremony.
• Luke Ford of Chicago, who is to receive a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from the College of Engineering, will be the student responder in the Friday afternoon (Division III) ceremony.
• Abigail Mizzi of Bloomingdale, Illinois, who is to receive a Bachelor of Science in aeronautical and astronautical engineering from the College of Engineering, will be the student responder in the Friday evening (Division IV) ceremony.
• Allison Boyd of Washington, Indiana, who is to receive a Bachelor of Science in aeronautical engineering technology from the Purdue Polytechnic Institute, will be the student responder in the Saturday morning (Division V) ceremony.
• Snigdha Mishra of Milpitas, California, who is to receive a Bachelor of Science in data science from the College of Science, will be the student responder in the Saturday afternoon (Division VI) ceremony.
• Alex Worthing of Ogallala, Nebraska, who is to receive a dual Bachelor of Science in planetary sciences and atmospheric science from the College of Science, will be the student responder in the Saturday evening (Division VII) ceremony.
• Shelby Sliger of Lafayette, Indiana, who is to receive a Bachelor of Science in biochemistry from the College of Agriculture, will be the student responder in the Sunday morning (Division VIII) ceremony.
• Jessica Kobrick of Lake in the Hills, Illinois, who is to receive a Bachelor of Science in psychological sciences from the College of Health and Human Sciences, will be the student responder in the Sunday afternoon (Division IX) ceremony.
• Sam Wadlington of Sugar Land, Texas, who is to receive a Bachelor of Science in integrated business and engineering from the Mitch Daniels School of Business, will be the student responder in the Sunday evening (Division X) ceremony.

About Purdue University

Purdue University is a public research university leading with excellence at scale. Ranked among top 10 public universities in the United States, Purdue discovers, disseminates and deploys knowledge with a quality and at a scale second to none. More than 107,000 students study at Purdue across multiple campuses, locations and modalities, including more than 58,000 at our main campus in West Lafayette and Indianapolis. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue’s main campus has frozen tuition 14 years in a row. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap — including its comprehensive urban expansion, the Mitch Daniels School of Business, Purdue Computes and the One Health initiative — at https://www.purdue.edu/president/strategic-initiatives.