SPRINGFIELD — Westfield State University celebrated its 185th commencement Friday and conferred more than 1,000 undergraduate and graduate degrees on the Class of 2024 in a year of firsts for the university. In the arena of the MassMutual Center in downtown Springfield, black-robed graduates waved at thousands of family and friends in the stands as they prepared to receive their diplomas. The Class of 2024 was able to celebrate its first full-fledged commencement ceremony after its high school graduation in 2020 was scrubbed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
A retired Westfield State University professor received the first newly created President’s Medal. Catherine Sharron was recognized for her work in creating the Honors Program and American Irish Studies curriculum at WSU. Shannon is recognized for her symposiums on Northern Ireland that brought Irish and British representatives together in Boston to discuss political issues that led the way for peace in Northern Ireland.
