masontisa2Valley City (VCSU-CSi) Valley City State University President Tisa Mason will lead her first VCSU commencement—and the university’s 123rd commencement exercises—at 10 a.m., Saturday, May 16, 2015, in W.E. Osmon Fieldhouse.

President Mason will give remarks, as will two student speakers—graduate student Duane Arnold and undergraduate student Jacob Olson. Eric Murphy, faculty adviser to the North Dakota State Board of Higher Education (SBHE), will also speak.

Tisa Mason, Ed.D., began her work as VCSU president on Dec. 15, 2014. President Mason came to Valley City from Hays, Kan., where she served as vice president for student affairs at Fort Hays State University. She previously served as dean of student life at the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater in Whitewater, Wis., and as executive director of the Sigma Kappa Sorority and Foundation in Indianapolis, Ind. Her academic credentials include a doctorate in higher education from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va.; a master’s degree from Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Ill., and a bachelor’s degree in sociology/anthropology from Transylvania University in Lexington, Ky.

Eric Murphy, Ph.D., associate professor at the University of North Dakota, will represent the SBHE at VCSU’s commencement. He is also editor-in-chief of “Lipids,” a journal of the American Oil Chemists’ Society. Murphy holds a bachelor’s degree from Hastings College and a doctorate from Ohio State University. He has 25 years of experience in research and laboratory science; his work has appeared in more than 100 publications.

Duane Arnold will present the graduate student address. A student in the library and information technologies concentration of VCSU’s Master of Education program, Arnold is a resource strategist at Robert Asp Elementary in Moorhead, Minn. He holds a bachelor’s degree in education from Trinity Bible College.

Jacob Olson will present the undergraduate student address. A human services major with a human resources minor, Olson is a member of a VCSU family—his father, Alan (who serves on the faculty); his uncle, Steven; and his brother, Isaac, are all graduates of the university, and his sister, Clarissa, will matriculate at VCSU in the fall. Jacob has participated in VCSU theatre all four years and sang in Concert Choir two years.

VCSU could see its largest graduating class in university history as 304 graduates—47 students in its Master of Education degree program along with 257 undergraduate students—are eligible to participate in the 2015 commencement exercises.

The public is invited to attend the ceremony and a reception immediately following in the VCSU Student Center. The commencement ceremony will be live streamed online at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-CvTTkIXZ0.