Mike Alden

The College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources and the School of Natural Resources will award approximately 280 students their diplomas as part of the December commencements. This is the final year that SNR will host an independent ceremony prior to merging with CAFNR’s.

Marc Linit

The SNR graduation ceremony will take place on Friday, Dec. 15, at 6:30 p.m. in Jesse Auditorium. Approximately 90 students will be graduating. Mike Alden, former University of Missouri director of athletics and current associate teaching professor of educational, school and counseling psychology in the College of Education, will be the speaker. During his 17-year tenure at the helm of Mizzou Athletics, Alden was behind the hire of both Gary Pinkel and Mike Anderson, who led the football team to the first No. 1 ranking since 1960 and the basketball team to three straight NCAA Tournament appearances and an Elite Eight run, respectively. Alden was also present for the transition from the Big 12 Conference to the Southeastern Conference (SEC).

Roughly 190 students will receive their diplomas at the CAFNR graduation ceremony, which will take place Saturday, Dec. 16, at 4 p.m. in the Hearnes Center. Marc Linit, senior associate dean for research and extension and senior associate director of the Agricultural Experiment Station, will serve as the commencement speaker. Linit, a forest insect ecologist, joined the CAFNR faculty in 1980. Linit has also served as the director of the Division of Plant Sciences and, from Jan. 1 to July 31, 2017, was the interim vice chancellor and dean of CAFNR.