WKU News

WKU’s five academic colleges -- Gordon Ford College of Business, Potter College of Arts & Letters, Ogden College of Science & Engineering, College of Education and Behavioral Sciences and College of Health and Human Services -- recognized their spring and summer 2026 graduating classes during ceremonies on Friday at Diddle Arena.

The ceremonies included remarks from college deans, commissioning of Hilltopper Army ROTC cadets as second lieutenants in the U.S. Army to serve in the active Army, National Guard or Army Reserve, individual recognition of graduates and recognition of 52 Scholars of the College. (The Scholar of the College is the baccalaureate degree student in each academic college with the highest cumulative overall grade-point average and a minimum of 60 semester hours earned in residence.) 

At its 199th Commencement on Thursday evening, WKU conferred 3,395 degrees and certificates to spring and summer 2026 graduates -- 98 associate, 2,011 bachelor’s, 578 master’s, 50 doctoral, 12 specialist degrees, 523 undergraduate certificates and 123 graduate certificates.

During the College Recognition Ceremonies for Gordon Ford College of Business, Potter College of Arts & Letters, the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences and the College of Health and Human Services, graduates who proudly portrayed WKU’s beloved mascot, Big Red, were recognized and led graduates in a final Red Towel wave for the 2026 class photo.

Gordon Ford College of Business

Scholars of the College: Connor Armstrong of Franklin, Tenn., an Accounting major; Chaise Bethmann of Thompson’s Station, Tenn., an Economics major and a student in the Mahurin Honors College; Luke Brandt of Bowling Green, a Finance major; Conner Burklow of Bowling Green, a Management major with a concentration in Business Administration; Austin Chelf of Campbellsville, an Economics major; Andrew Christensen of Georgetown, a Business Economics major; Morgan Dean of Bowling Green, an Accounting major; Brooke Gilbreth of Bowling Green, a Management major; Ethan Langford of Bowling Green, a Mathematical Economics with a concentration in Actuarial Science; Tanner Redmon of Goodlettsville, Tenn., a Finance major and a student in the Mahurin Honors College; Jamie Smith of Scottsville, an Accounting major; and Catherine Updegraff of Rineyville, a Management major.

Ogden Foundation Scholar: Chaise Bethmann, Bachelor of Arts in Economics. Bethmann was recognized during the Commencement Ceremony on Thursday, May 7. Read more about the Ogden Foundation Scholar at: https://www.wku.edu/news/articles/index.php?view=article&articleid=13087. Read more about the Commencement Ceremony at: https://www.wku.edu/news/articles/index.php?view=article&articleid=13096.

Outstanding Graduate Student: Cody Moore, Master of Science in Cybersecurity Data Analytics 

ROTC Commissioning: Cadet Samuel Costello

Big Red: Madeline Marcus and McKinley Yelton

Potter College of Arts & Letters

Scholars of the College: Dalton Childress of Bowling Green, a Music major; Kinslei Crouch of Hendersonville, Tenn., an Advertising major and a student in the Mahurin Honors College; Rae Fournier of Bowling Green, an International Affairs major; Clara Gross of Bowling Green, a Visual Journalism and Photography major; Clayton Hockman of Glendale, a Criminology major; Cole McIntire of Union, a Broadcasting major; Jessica Monroe of Elizabethtown, an English major with a concentration in Professional Writing; Cam Raines of Bowling Green, a Professional Legal Studies major; Samantha Tinsley of Crayne, a Visual Arts major; Carly Turner of Cave City, a Criminology major, a student in the Mahurin Honors College and also a Scholar of the College for the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences with a major in Psychology; and Zachary Vandermolen of Glasgow, a Chinese major and a student in the Mahurin Honors College. 

Outstanding Graduate Student: Heather Neidlinger, Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing

ROTC Commissioning: Cadet Jack Fairman, Cadet Clayton Hockman and Cadet Austin Stinson

Big Red: Ty Killen

Ogden College of Science & Engineering

Scholars of the College: Brayden Gross of Somerset, a Biochemistry major and a student in the Mahurin Honors College; Gabriel Jerdon of Versailles, a Civil Engineering major; Sophie Jerome of Mount Washington, a Psychological Sciences major and a student in the Mahurin Honors College; Charlie Loewy of Louisville, an Environmental Science major, a Mahurin Honors College student and also a Scholar of the College for Potter College of Arts & Letters with a major in Philosophy; Luke Marcum of Clay City, a Meteorology major and a student in the Mahurin Honors College; Kelly L. Miller of Lexington, a Computer Science major and a student in the Mahurin Honors College; Camille Ratcliff of Bloomington Ill., a Psychological Science major and a student in the Mahurin Honors College; Julya K. Shirley of Edmonton, a Biology major; Hannah Stewart of Bowling Green, a Psychological Sciences major and a student in the Mahurin Honors College; and Charles Uland of Bowling Green, a Computer Science and Chemistry major. 

John D. Minton Graduate Student Award and Outstanding Graduate Student: Zoe Brown, Master of Science in Mathematics. Brown was recognized during the Commencement Ceremony on Thursday, May 7. Read more about the Minton Award recipient at: https://www.wku.edu/news/articles/index.php?view=article&articleid=13078. Read more about the Commencement Ceremony at: https://www.wku.edu/news/articles/index.php?view=article&articleid=13096.

ROTC Commissioning: Cadet Joshua Ingram, Cadet Celia Johnston and Cadet John French

College of Education and Behavioral Sciences

Scholars of the College: Lauren Brooke Bowman of Russell Springs, an Interdisciplinary Early Childhood Education major; Danielle Eckert of Birdseye, Ind., a Psychology major, Samantha Hartoin of Troy, Ill., an Elementary Education major; Grace Knight of Cecilia, an Elementary and Special Education major; Caleb Penick of Campbellsville, a Psychology major and a student in the Mahurin Honors College; Kennedy Schaefer of Louisville, a Psychology major; Heather Talley of Bowling Green, an Interdisciplinary Studies major; and Caroline Yates of Elizabethtown, an Elementary Education major.

Outstanding Graduate Student: Keirsten Howard, Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology

ROTC Commissioning: Cadet Hayden Harrell, Cadet Samuel Humble, Cadet Thang Lian, and Cadet Robert Stewart 

Big Red: Ava Coffman, Haley Fowler and WKU Student Government Association President and Student Regent, Rush Robinson

Doctor of Education: Robin Latrice Brown-Ayers, Kristina Pearlene Gamble, Nadia Farah Khan and Michael Paul Starling (Note: Dissertation/project titles in Commencement program)

Doctor of Psychology: Zoe M. Alsup, Alyssa Nicole Bailey Harrell, Gunther Carpenter, Robert Embry, Sarah Ewen, Nick Allen Johnson, Toy Lisa Mitchell, Kristy Nine, Ethan W. Puckett, Virginia Irene Underwood and Kelsey Faith Washburn (Note: Dissertation/project titles in Commencement program)

College of Health and Human Services

Scholars of the College: Carly Butts of Mount Olive, Ill., a Hospitality Management major and a student in the Mahurin Honors College; Brianna Cottrell of Leitchfield, a Social Work major; Caroline Glass of Martin, Tenn., a Hospitality Management major and a student in the Mahurin Honors College; Makenzie Foster of Owensboro, a Nursing major; Brooke Hamilton of Owensboro, a Communication Sciences and Disorders major; Hope Mettille of Chillicothe, Ill., a Hospitality Management major; McKenna Jane Ravenscraft of Hebron, a Social Work major; Hannah Slaughter of Greenville, a Dental Hygiene major; Elizabeth Stahl of Lebanon, a Nursing major; Caden Trevor of Bowling Green, a Nursing major; and Caroline Watts of Bowling Green, a Social Work major and a student in the Mahurin Honors College.

Outstanding Graduate Student: Dylan Freeman, Master of Science in Kinesiology

ROTC Commissioning: Cadet Martin Buckminster, Cadet William Futrell and Cadet Zachary Owens

Big Red: McKenna Armstrong, Madi Kellen, Kailee Ladwig and Joselyne Trammell

Doctor of Nursing Practice: Sarah Bergamini, Toddra Shavelle Liddell, Kristen Louise Lyttle and Jenna Elizabeth McGee (Note: Dissertation/project titles in Commencement program)

Doctor of Physical Therapy: Sarah C. P. Adkins, Robert Logan Brantley, Andrew R. Buller, Sydney Kathryn Burks, A.J. Cline, William Noah Conley, Meradeth Carroll Dawson, Avery Grace Douglas, Hettie Ann Egan, Dalton Lee Festervan, Hannah Makailyn Gregory, Bethlyn Dawn Holland, Grant Alan Holland, Grant Matthew Largen,Thomas Sheldon Martin, Kyle Allen McClain, Max Kevin Modrall, Anna Orndorff, Hannah Lynn Petitt, Harrison Joseph Pfeifer, Hannah Lindsey Ragan, Paige Elizabeth Rager, Taylor Alexis Raseta, Kevin Austin Rayno, Jessica Brooke Sandfoss, Madison Jean Simpson, Lauren Ballance Smith, Rachel Elizabeth Thweatt and Kristen Laurel Youngblood (Note: Dissertation/project titles in Commencement program)

More: WKU celebrates Class of 2026; College Recognition Ceremonies Photo Album

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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.