Slippery Rock University will conduct its winter commencement ceremonies at 11 a.m. Saturday at Morrow Fieldhouse.

More than 575 Slippery Rock University students are eligible to participate in the university's winter commencement ceremony.

The school will award 457 undergraduate degrees, 111 master's degrees and eight doctoral degrees.

Rita Abent, executive director of communication and public affairs, said a majority of eligible students will participate, but there are some who have various reasons for not attending, including already being in the workforce.

“We'll have 70 to 75 percent of those students who are eligible to walk will most likely walk,” Abent said. “Our undergraduate population tends to walk at a higher rate than our graduate students.”

Abent said students graduate in the winter for a number of reasons, including early graduation, internships or other factors.

“It's really a mix of all of those things,” she said.

Abent said the winter graduation will be similar to its spring counterpart, but with all students in the same ceremony instead of four separate ones.

“This is one ceremony that encompasses all four colleges and the graduate program,” she said. “It's a much more intimate commencement experience.”

This will be the inaugural commencement for new SRU President William Behre, who will open the ceremony with welcome remarks. Behre also will deliver the commencement address.

“This will be his first institutional commencement,” Abent said. “This will be a very special class for him.”