Cowley College conducts 100th Commencement exercises

A total of 287 students participated in Cowley College’s 100th Commencement exercises Saturday inside W.S. Scott Auditorium.

Along with the conferring of degrees, Richard Reeves was named the recipient of Cowley’s Outstanding Tiger Alumni Award. Reeves is a 1959 Arkansas City High School graduate and a 1961 Arkansas City Junior College graduate. Mr. Reeves excelled at ACJC, ranking 12th out of a graduating class of 94 students. He obtained an Engineering degree from Kansas State University before forging a highly successful career as an Executive of the Boeing Company.

While Tiger Athletic Hall of Fame members Ed and Linda Hargrove served as the featured speakers at Commencement, Linda Hargrove is the second all-time winningest women’s basketball coach in Cowley history. She earned National Coach of the Year honors in 1987, was named Region VI Coach of the Year four times, and coached several All-Americans in basketball and volleyball. She is the only Cowley coach to take basketball and volleyball teams to the national tournament. She went on to serve as the general manager and head coach of the Portland Fire of the Women’s National Basketball Association and later worked as the general manager for the Washington Mystics and as an advisor for the WNBA’s Tulsa Shock. She was also the winningest coach in the history of the Wichita State University women’s basketball program until her record was broken in 2014.

Ed Hargrove won 1,142 games in 30 years as the head softball coach at Cowley. He was named the 2013 Jayhawk East Coach of the Year for his efforts. While he and his then assistant coach Jenny Hoyt was named the National Fastpitch Coaches Association NJCAA Division II National Coaching Staff of the Year.

Under his leadership, Cowley achieved 40 or more victories in 16 of his final 17 seasons and appeared in the national rankings in 16 consecutive seasons.

He is the second-winningest coach in Cowley sports history and was named the Jayhawk Conference Eastern Division Coach of the Year eight times.

Student Senate president Felipe Mentz, and Student Senate treasurer Renissa Cinnamon, also addressed the class.

The students included summer 2022 graduates through summer 2023 graduates. Students who graduated last summer and last December have received their diplomas. Saturday’s graduates will receive their diplomas in June. A total of 484 students were candidates for graduation.

A reception for graduates, family members, and friends was held immediately following the ceremonies outside W.S. Scott Auditorium.

Rama Peroo | Director of Institutional Communication
Cowley College
125 S. 2nd Street
Arkansas City, KS 67005
rama.peroo@cowley.edu