Dennis Reagan, president and CEO of The Muny and a UMSL alumnus, and former Sen. Jean Carnahan will be the featured speakers at the two summer commencement ceremonies Aug. 4 at UMSL. Carnahan will also receive an honorary degree.
Nearly 300 University of Missouri–St. Louis students will experience a summer highlight Saturday (Aug. 4) when they receive their college diplomas. Two commencement ceremonies will be held in the Mark Twain Athletic & Fitness Center on North Campus at UMSL.
Graduates from the College of Arts and Sciences, College of Education, College of Fine Arts and Communication, School of Social Work, Bachelor of General Studies, Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies and Master’s in Public Policy Administration program will receive their diplomas at the 10 a.m. ceremony. Dennis Reagan, president and chief executive officer of The Muny and UMSL alumnus, BSBA 1974, will speak to the graduates.
Reagan’s first job at The Muny was picking up trash the morning after a performance. More than 40 years later, he runs the show – all of them. Since 1991 Reagan has headed up the nonprofit formally known as The Municipal Theatre Association of St. Louis. During the summers, he oversees a staff of more than 500 people who produce seven shows at an 11,000-seat outdoor theater in St. Louis’ Forest Park.
Graduates from the College of Business Administration, College of Nursing and UMSL/WUSTL Joint Undergraduate Engineering Program will receive their diplomas at the 2 p.m. ceremony. Former Sen. Jean Carnahan will be the featured speaker. She will also receive an honorary degree.
In 2000, Carnahan became the first Missouri woman to serve in the U.S. Senate when she took the place of her husband, Mel Carnahan, in Washington following his death three weeks before Election Day. She was the first in her family to earn a college education, working summers and during the school year to attend The George Washington University in Washington, D.C., where she earned a degree in business and public administration. Since leaving the Senate, Carnahan has resided in St. Louis where she is a writer, speaker, political activist and co-founder of the political blog FiredUpMissouri.com.
