Rogue Valley Colleges to Celebrate More Than 1,300 Graduates Saturday
RCC and SOU will hold major commencement ceremonies Saturday in Grants Pass and Ashland.
UPDATED: 7:14pm, 6/12/26
ROGUE VALLEY, Ore. — Two Rogue Valley colleges will celebrate major commencement milestones Saturday as Rogue Community College recognizes its largest graduating class since 2018 and Southern Oregon University holds its 100th commencement ceremony since reopening at its current Ashland location.
Together, the ceremonies will recognize more than 1,300 students across Southern Oregon.
Rogue Community College will celebrate 749 students during its 55th Commencement at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 13, at the Marjorie Holzgang Concert Bowl on the RCC Redwood Campus in Grants Pass.
Southern Oregon University will celebrate nearly 600 new graduates during its 2026 Commencement (watch live, commencement program) at Raider Stadium in Ashland. The SOU ceremony begins with an 8:45 a.m. processional and is expected to last about two hours.
At RCC, this year’s class is the college’s largest since 2018, when 752 students graduated. About 400 RCC graduates are expected to participate in Saturday’s ceremony.
RCC said the Class of 2026 earned 678 associate degrees and 257 certificates, with some students completing more than one credential. Another 23 students completed their GED® and will be recognized during the ceremony.
“Every graduate has a unique story, but they all share the courage to invest in themselves and their future,” RCC President Randy Weber, Ed.D., said in the college’s announcement. “At Rogue Community College, opportunity starts here. Whether students are preparing for a career, transferring to a university, earning a GED or gaining new skills to advance in the workforce, we are committed to providing access, support and pathways that help them achieve their goals.”
Weber said seeing so many students reach graduation is “a powerful reminder of the impact education has on individuals, families and communities.”
RCC’s Class of 2026 includes students from a wide range of educational paths across Southern Oregon. The college said 31 graduates earned a perfect 4.0 grade-point average. The average age of this year’s college graduates is 30, reflecting the working adults, career changers and traditional students who make up the college community.
The RCC ceremony will include remarks from Weber and student speakers Riah Lin Van Buskirk and Patricia Piña Hernandez. Van Buskirk earned both an Associate of Arts Oregon Transfer degree and an Associate of General Studies degree. Piña Hernandez will represent RCC’s GED® graduates.
Image provide by SOU.
In Ashland, Southern Oregon University’s Class of 2026 includes nearly 600 graduates who have earned a combined total of more than 900 degrees.
SOU said Saturday’s ceremony marks the university’s 100th commencement since it reopened at its current location in 1926 following a lengthy hiatus.
The ceremony will include a color guard from the Oregon National Guard and an Eagle Staff from the SOU Native American Student Union. Graduating senior Acacia Cook will sing the national anthem.
SOU Executive Vice President and Provost Casey Shillam will serve as master of ceremonies. President Rick Bailey will offer brief remarks, and Jocelyn Gallegos Vargas will serve as the student commencement speaker.
Gallegos Vargas, a first-generation Latina student, is graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Spanish Language and Culture. She served as president of the Latino Student Union, worked at Rogue Credit Union’s campus branch and participated in the Global Innovation Scholars Program.
After graduation, Gallegos Vargas plans to continue working with Rogue Credit Union as a community outreach and financial education coordinator.
At SOU, gates to Raider Stadium will open at 7 a.m. No tickets are required, but parking and seating are limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis.
At RCC, free parking and shuttle service will be available from the Josephine County Fairgrounds beginning at 8:45 a.m. Shuttles are expected to depart about every 10 minutes until the ceremony begins and will continue returning guests to the fairgrounds after the ceremony until about 1 p.m.
Limited parking also will be available on RCC’s Redwood Campus. Guests seeking parking closest to the Concert Bowl should enter campus from Redwood Highway using Demaray Drive.
Additional commencement information is available through Rogue Community College and Southern Oregon University.
Cover image: Families and friends gather at Rogue Community College’s Redwood Campus in Grants Pass during a previous commencement ceremony. RCC and Southern Oregon University will both hold commencement ceremonies Saturday, celebrating more than 1,300 students across the Rogue Valley. Photo courtesy Rogue Community College.
