Antioch, Pittsburg residents earn degree from Western Governors University
SALT LAKE CITY (Grassroots Newswire) August 26, 2015 The following local students have earned degrees from Western Governors University (WGU). The university held its 29th semi-annual commencement ceremony in Salt Lake City on August 15 and celebrated the graduation of more than 8,500 graduates. In addition to recognizing students who graduated in the past six months, the nations first competency-based university marked another major milestone 50,000 graduates in just 15 years.
*Carla Boyer-Satterfield of Antioch has received her Master of Science in Nursing – Leadership and Management
*Yiffta Pahoma Elsea of Antioch has received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing
*Michael Fronda of Pittsburg has received his Master of Science in Nursing – Leadership and Management
WGU was founded in 1997 by 19 U.S. governors with a mission to expand access to high-quality higher education, and in 2000, the university awarded its first degree. The nonprofit university focuses on providing flexible, affordable degree programs that meet the needs of busy working adults, particularly those who have started, but not completed, a bachelors or masters degree. Of WGUs 50,000 graduates, nearly 20,000 are first-generation college students.
At its August 15 commencement, the university awarded 5,292 undergraduate and 3,220 graduate degrees in business, information technology, K-12 teacher education, and healthcare professions, including nursing.
Graduates reside in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, as well as Armed Forces personnel stationed overseas. President and CEO of Intermountain Healthcare, Dr. Charles W. Sorenson, delivered the commencement address. Students who were not able to attend the ceremony in person were able to watch the event via live video stream on the WGU website.
About WGU
Established in 1997 by a bipartisan group of U.S. governors with a mission to expand access to high-quality, affordable higher education, WGU is the pioneer and leader in competency-based education.
The nonprofit, online university has been recognized by the White House as what works in post-secondary education, was named one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies, and has been featured on NPR, NBC Nightly News, CNN, and in The New York Times.
WGU is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. In 2014, the National Council on Teacher Quality ranked WGU’s secondary teacher education program as number one among a nationwide list of 2,400 programs. WGU has earned the support of a number of leading corporations and foundations, including AT&T, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Lilly Endowment, HCA, Hewlett-Packard, Lumina Foundation, Microsoft, Oracle, SunGard Higher Education, and Zions Bank.
More information is available at www.wgu.edu or by calling 866.225.5948.