“I am very proud of our students and excited for them as they celebrate this milestone,” said Southeast President Dr. Carlos Vargas. “Their talent and perseverance have served them as they pursued their degree. We know that same ‘Will to Do’ will benefit them as they begin their professional careers. The entire SEMO community is eager to celebrate their success along with their families and friends at the ceremonies this weekend.” 

Family and friends who cannot attend the ceremonies in person can view a live stream of all ceremonies. The stream will be available at semo.edu/commencement. 

Commencement by the Numbers

• 1,391 Graduates
  • 1,063 undergraduates
  • 304 master’s graduates
  • 24 specialist candidates

• 92,548 all-time Southeast graduates 

• 449 students graduating with honors
  • 138 graduating summa cum laude (3.9 to 4.0 cumulative grade point average)
  • 112 graduating magna cum laude (3.75 to 3.89 cumulative grade point average)
  • 199 graduating cum laude (3.5 to 3.74 cumulative grade point average) 

• 159 students graduating with a cumulative 4.0 grade point average
  • 50 undergraduates
  • 109 master’s and specialist 

• 33 Honors Scholars

Ceremony Details

10 a.m.
Colleges

• Harrison College of Business and Computing
• College of Humanities and Social Sciences
• Holland College of Arts and Media

Speaker

• Shane Mizicko, Professor of Music, Department of Music, Southeast Missouri State University 

2 p.m.
Colleges

• College of Education, Health and Human Studies
• College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics

Speaker

• Michael Taylor, Professor of Biology, Department of Biology, Southeast Missouri State University 

Speakers Biographies

Dr. Shane Mizicko is professor and director of percussion at Southeast Missouri State University. Mizicko is also the equipment manager for the Department of Music, overseeing and maintaining an inventory of more than 1,250 musical instruments.

Before joining the faculty at Southeast, he was the director of percussion at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago. He holds the degrees of Doctor of Music from Northwestern University, Master of Music from Indiana University, and Bachelor of Music from Kent State University.

Under Mizicko’s leadership, his ensembles have become very popular. The percussion ensemble’s Family Holiday Concert has become a family tradition welcoming thousands of people to the University’s River Campus since 2008. The steel drum band has performed hundreds of performances since 2011. Dr. Mizicko also leads various community outreach programs, including an afterschool drumming ensemble for middle school and junior high school students as well as a monthly ‘Drum Circle’ with Cape Girardeau Parks and Recreation.

Mizicko has performed with the Chicago Chamber Musicians. Since moving to Cape Girardeau, he has performed regularly with the Paducah Symphony Orchestra, the Jackson Tennessee Symphony, the Cape Girardeau Municipal Band, and has performed as a pit musician for more than a dozen musicals at Southeast. Dr. Mizicko is currently the treasurer for the Missouri Chapter of the Percussive Arts Society and is on the Board of Directors for the Cape Girardeau Municipal Band.

Mizicko resides in Cape Girardeau with his wife, Maria, a band director at Jackson R2 School District, and their two children, Logan and Sydney. His hobbies include working outside and travelling with family.

Dr. Michael Taylor was born in St. Louis, Missouri, but grew up in south Florida. His mother was a teacher, his father a biologist. His parents instilled a love of nature from his earliest memories. It seems natural that he loves to teach biology to Southeast students.

Taylor graduated with a Bachelor of Science in biology from Central Missouri State University (now University of Central Missouri) in 1986 and graduated with a Doctor of Philosophy in zoology from Louisiana State University in 2004. He spent nearly two years at the University of Notre Dame as a post-doctoral researcher.  

Taylor joined the Department of Biology at Southeast in 2006. Soon after his arrival, he developed courses in marine biology and was integral to the development of the Marine Biology program at Southeast. He also teaches evolution, ornithology, ichthyology and biogeography. He is an avid recordist of bird songs.