CFAC celebrates December 2025 graduates
East Carolina University’s College of Fine Arts and Communication (CFAC) celebrated nearly 200 graduating students during commencement activities on Dec. 19.
CFAC’s 197 degree and certificate recipients joined nearly 1,800 graduates campus-wide for the fall 2025 semester.
During the university’s commencement Friday morning in Minges Coliseum, CFAC was represented by School of Music student Stephen Peo, who sang “The Star-Spangled Banner” to begin the celebration, and the ECU Alma Mater, “Hail to Thy Name So Fair” to conclude it. The keynote speaker was Clayton McCullough, a 2006 School of Communication graduate, former ECU baseball player, and current manager of the Miami Marlins.
McCullough spoke on the importance of growth and improvement, telling this semester’s class, “Getting better every single day matters more than everything else.” Additional advice highlights were:
“Seek feedback. Not the kind that flatters you, but the kind that challenges you.
“Improvement happens one day at a time. You don’t get better overnight. Real growth is built slowly, steadily and intentionally.
“Enjoy the ride. Life will test you. It will humble you. It will take you in directions you can’t predict. But the pursuit, the becoming, that’s where the joy is. Don’t rush it.”
Read more about the university commencement festivities from ECU News Services.
Later Friday, CFAC graduates and their faculty, families and friends gathered at Wright Auditorium for the CFAC Graduate Recognition Ceremony. Dean Linda Kean offered remarks to the graduates, and School of Theatre and Dance assistant professor Rebecca Simon read out the graduates’ names as they walked across the stage, often to raucous applause and cheers.
“Together, you form a vibrant culture of creators and thinkers whose work enriches not only this campus, but our entire region,” Kean said. “Students, through your collective efforts, you shine as a beacon of arts, culture, and community. You demonstrate each day that creative work is not separate from society — it is essential to it. The work you do has the ability to inform and transform; to move audiences emotionally and persuade with facts and reason; to challenge assumptions and open minds.”
CFAC celebrated:
- Master of Arts in Communication: 26
- Certificate in Health Communication: 1
- Master of Arts in Art Education: 5
- Master of Fine Arts in Art: 4 (ceramics, graphic design, metal design)
- Master of Music: 4 (instrumental conducting, music composition/theory, piano performance)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art Education: 6
- Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art: 16 (sculpture, film and video production, painting, illustration, animation-interactive design, ceramics, photography, metal design, printmaking)
- Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Arts: 1
- Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance: 7
- Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre Arts: 9 (stage management, professional actor training, theatre design and production, theatre for young audiences, musical theatre)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre Arts Education: 1
- Bachelor of Music: 12 (music therapy, music performance, music theory-composition)
- Bachelor of Music in Music Education: 3
- Bachelor of Science in Communication: 102 (public relations, interpersonal/organizational communication, journalism, communication and media, media studies)
There are several ways to look back on this exciting time for CFAC students! Watch the recording of the university commencement; watch the recording of CFAC’s Graduate Recognition Ceremony; and watch the highlight reel — featuring some of our incredible graduates — on CFAC’s Instagram account.
Congratulations to ECU25 and go Pirates!!