Associate Degrees Awarded to More than 1,400 Students – Posted 5/27/16
County College of Morris (CCM) presented diplomas to the Class of 2016 during its 47th commencement ceremony today.
Approximately 1,400 students – many who are transferring to top four-year institutions to earn their bachelor’s degrees – were eligible to receive diplomas in one of four degrees: Associate in Arts, Associate in Fine Arts, Associate in Science and Associate in Applied Science. The five most popular programs CCM students received degrees in are Business Administration, Humanities Social Science (Liberal Arts), Nursing, Criminal Justice and Biology. The graduates completed their studies between August 2015 and May 2016. More than 400 students from the Class of 2016 took part in this year’s commencement ceremony.
Included among the top schools across the country that CCM graduates are transferring to are Columbia University, Johns Hopkins University, Pace University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Rochester Institute of Technology, Savannah College of Art and Design, Syracuse University, University of Virginia and Virginia Tech, along with New Jersey’s leading colleges and universities.
Dr. Edward J. Yaw, who will be retiring at the end of August, gave his final CCM commencement address. Holding to college tradition, he used that opportunity to highlight several outstanding graduates and the diversity of the CCM student body.
In an effort to advance world peace and human understanding, CCM also recognized the winner of its Peace Prize at the ceremony. The winner of the 2016 CCM Peace Prize is Mirella Quintana, of Dover, for her video “Unity and Laughter Through Peace.” Her faculty mentor was Susan Miller, assistant chair and assistant professor of the Business Administration Program at CCM. Quintana’s video can be viewed at https://youtu.be/_FGvepm2IH8.
The creator of the winning project each year receives a $1,000 award, provided by the CCM Foundation. Quintana also will have her name added to a permanent plaque of Peace Prize winners located in the Student Community Center.
This is the 14th year the college has awarded its Peace Prize, which is organized and administered by Professor Peter Maguire of the Department of English and Philosophy. Established in the fall of 2001, the Peace Prize competition provides students with the opportunity to apply their imagination and creativity to the design and production of a work that both commemorates the events of September 11, 2001 and makes a positive statement about the importance and pursuit of world peace.
The CCM Alex DeCroce Media Center streamed the commencement ceremony live on the college’s YouTube channel at http://tinyurl.com/gufwu8x making it available for viewing from computers, smartphones and tablets. That video can still be viewed on YouTube for those who were unable to watch it live.
Photos: Dr. Edward J. Yaw sings with the County College of Morris (CCM) Chamber Choir during the college’s 47th Commencement Ceremony, the last one he has presided over after serving as CCM’s second president for 30 years. He will be retiring at the end of August.
More than 400 graduates from the Class of 2016 at County College of Morris participated in the college’s 47th Commencement Ceremony on Friday, May 27.
Credit: Farlekas Photography