Two Commencement Ceremonies Planned Dec. 11
December 8, 2025
Commencement Information
Walters State Community College will confer 420 certificates and degrees during two commencement ceremonies scheduled for Dec. 11. This marks the college’s 69th commencement. The health programs commencement begins at 5 p.m., with the general commencement beginning at 7 p.m. A nursing pinning ceremony will begin at 3:30 p.m.
All ceremonies will be held in the “Z” Buda Assembly Hall and Gymnasium, located inside the Dr. Jack E. Campbell College on the Morristown Campus.
Chef Joe Cairns, head of the Maples Institute for Culinary Arts, will deliver the commencement speech. Cairns joined the college in 2008, having previously served as an adjunct faculty member. Cairns is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America and holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from King College. He is also a Certified Culinary Chef. He was named educator of the year by the Tennessee Hospitality Association in 2015. In 2025, Cairns received Walters State’s Distinguished Faculty Member Award.
He has served as chef at award-winning restaurants in New Orleans, Paris, San Francisco and Knoxville.
The fall graduating class will receive 92 associate of applied science degrees and 149 technical and academic certificates. Students earning these degrees plan to enter the workforce immediately after graduation. The most popular majors in the associate of applied science degree this semester are nursing, culinary arts and law enforcement. The most popular career choices for those receiving certificates are law enforcement, and basic and advanced emergency medical technician.
Those earning the associate of science, the associate of arts, and the associate of science in teaching plan to continue their education at a four-year institution. The most popular major in these programs is general studies, which provides a solid foundation for the first two years of most majors. Psychology and business are other popular majors.
Both ceremonies will be livestreamed and can be viewed at https://bit.ly/4q1apuQ. Videos of the ceremonies will be on the college’s YouTube page on Dec. 12.