WKU News

Western Kentucky University will celebrate more than 3,300 graduates and recognize top scholars during 2026 Commencement on May 7 at Houchens Industries-L.T. Smith Stadium.

WKU will confer 3,346 degrees and certificates to spring and summer 2026 graduates -- 98 associate, 1,988 bachelor’s, 563 master’s, 50 doctoral, 11 specialist degrees, 516 undergraduate certificates and 120 graduate certificates.

Commencement will begin at 6:30 p.m. with Topper Walk along the Avenue of Champions from the Charles Hardcastle Kentucky Building to the stadium. The ceremony will begin once all students have been seated on Feix Field. During the ceremony, each college will acknowledge its graduates, and President Timothy C. Caboni will present the graduates to the Board of Regents for the conferral of degrees. 

The ceremony will include remarks from President Caboni; recognition of honor graduates and award winners – Chaise Bethmann, an economics major from Thompson’s Station, Tenn., as the Ogden Foundation Scholar (top undergraduate award) and Zoe Brown, a mathematics graduate student from London, as the John D. Minton Award recipient (top graduate award); and the commissioning of WKU ROTC cadets.

The ceremony will be broadcast by WKU PBS and will be streamed on WKU’s YouTube and Facebook pages.

The Commencement celebration will conclude with The Big Red Bash on the South Lawn, featuring music, food vendors and fireworks.

Commencement information is available online at https://www.wku.edu/commencement/  

More: Event parking information; directions & parking; parking map

College Recognition Ceremonies

On May 8 at Diddle Arena, WKU’s five academic colleges will host recognition ceremonies to celebrate the accomplishments of their graduates who will walk the line and shake hands with President Caboni.

The ceremony schedule is: Gordon Ford College of Business, 8 a.m.; Potter College of Arts & Letters, 10:30 a.m.; Ogden College of Science and Engineering, 1 p.m.; College of Education and Behavioral Sciences, 3:30 p.m.; and College of Health and Human Services, 6:30 p.m.

The College Recognition Ceremonies will also be broadcast by WKU PBS and will be streamed on WKU’s YouTube and Facebook pages.

WKU is expecting heavy traffic throughout the day. To accommodate traffic flow for graduates and guests, WKU Parking & Transportation is providing parking recommendations for the ceremonies, including shuttle service to Diddle Arena, at https://www.wku.edu/commencement/directions.php as well as live updates at https://www.wku.edu/eventparking.

More: Event parking information; directions & parking; parking map

Regional campus celebrations

WKU Regional Campuses will acknowledge their graduates during pre-Commencement events in Owensboro, Elizabethtown, Glasgow and Somerset before their members of the Class of 2026 come to Bowling Green to participate in Topper Walk, Commencement and College Recognition Ceremonies.

WKU in Owensboro: Graduate Celebration, 5 p.m. April 28 at Owensboro Community & Technical College, Humanities Building--Blandford Hall, 4800 New Hartford Road, Owensboro.

WKU in Elizabethtown-Fort Knox: Celebrating You! Graduate Recognition, 5:30 p.m. ET April 29 at ECTC Campus, Regional Postsecondary Center, Room 212, 600 College Street Road, Elizabethtown.

WKU in Glasgow: Graduand, 5 p.m. April 30 at TJ Pavilion Community Room, 310 N L Rogers Wells Blvd., Glasgow.

WKU in Somerset: Graduate Celebration, 5:30 p.m. ET May 4 at Somerset Community College, Hal Rogers Student Commons Community Room, 808 Monticello St., Somerset.

Gatton Academy graduation

The Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science will recognize 82 students from 36 counties in the Class of 2026, its 19th graduating class. The ceremony will begin at 2 p.m. May 9 at Van Meter Hall.

Contact: WKU Communications & Marketing, (270) 745-4295

-WKU-

Western Kentucky University prides itself on positioning its students, faculty and staff for long term success. As a student-centered, applied research university, WKU helps students expand on classroom learning by integrating education with real-world applications in the communities we serve. Our hilltop campus is located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, which was recently named by Reader’s Digest as one of the nicest towns in America, just an hour’s drive from Nashville, Tennessee.