CFAC celebrates Spring 2026 graduates
East Carolina University’s College of Fine Arts and Communication celebrated 46 graduate and 296 undergraduate students, for a total of 342 Spring 2026 graduates.
The CFAC class joined a total of 4,028 graduates from across campus.
CFAC was further represented at ECU’s 117th spring commencement the morning of Friday, May 8 by Crystal Robertson, who graduated with a Bachelor of Music in music education. Robertson sang the National Anthem and the Alma Mater. Dr. Navid Bargrizan carried the CFAC banner and led our students into Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. He was chosen based on receiving a CFAC Research and Creative Activity Award for 2025-2026 and for his great work in the classroom and representing the School of Music.
The commencement speaker was CFAC alum Kevin Williamson ’87, a writer, creator, producer and director who created the “Scream” franchise and “Dawson’s Creek,” among other hits on TV and film.
Williamson gave a nod to his work in horror films by talking to graduates about fear, and called out to School of Theatre and Dance students when he mentioned his own theatre arts degree. The students cheered.
“There you are,” Williamson said, pointing. “There are my people.”
He talked about the focus he gained in ECU’s “wonderful” theatre department, and about later leaving auditions when he was too scared and felt ready to quit. He said his dad shared the wisdom of “nothing changes if nothing changes,” after which he started to get back on track.
“Life is messy,” Williamson said. “It’s OK to be a first draft. It’s OK to be full of typos, because you can’t edit a blank page. Don’t be fearless. Be terrified, and do it anyway.”
Later on Friday, CFAC held its college-level Graduate Recognition Ceremony at Minges Coliseum. Along with our dean, directors, and distinguished faculty, we welcomed:
- ECU Faculty Brass Quintet to provide pre-ceremony music
- Dr. Jami Rhodes-Galloway, School of Music faculty, to sing the National Anthem
- Ron Barringer, voice of the Marching Pirates, to announce names of the graduates
CFAC graduates by the numbers:
- 26 — Master of Arts in Communication
- 4 — Master of Fine Arts in Art (Ceramics, Textiles)
- 2 — Master of Arts in Art Education
- 17 — Master of Music (Choral Conducting; Instrumental Conducting; Keyboard Specialist and Pedagogy; Music Education; Music Performance; Vocal Pedagogy)
- 4 — Certificate of Advanced Performance Studies
- 63 — Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art (Animation-Interactive Design; Ceramics; Film and Video Production; Graphic Design; Illustration; Metal Design; Photography; Printmaking; Textile Design)
- 5 — Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art Education
- 1 — Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Arts
- 15 — Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance
- 30 — Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre Arts (Educational Theatre; Entertainment Design and Production; Musical Theatre; Professional Actor Training; Stage Management; Theatre for Young Audiences)
- 31 — Bachelor of Music in Music (Music Performance; Music Theory-Composition; Music Therapy)
- 15 — Bachelor of Music in Music Education
- 182 — Bachelor of Science in Communication (Communication and Media; Interpersonal/Organizational Communication; Journalism; Media Studies; Public Relations)
Read more about this semester’s commencement and one of our incredible Spring 2026 grads, and read more below about another of our successful grads! You can see more from the day in a short video and CFAC Instagram Stories; watch the replay of the main ECU commencement; and watch the replay of the CFAC ceremony.
Making a musician: Joe Sipper ’26
By Steven Grandy, ECU News Services
Music performance (oboe) graduate Joe Sipper at the School of Music Awards Convocation.
A mentor encouraged Joe Sipper to attend ECU. Now with a bachelor’s degree in music performance, that decision has fostered another opportunity. He will continue his education with a full scholarship to Yale University to pursue his Master of Music.
Sipper met Joseph Robinson, a past principal oboist of the New York Philharmonic, while waiting tables. He began taking lessons from Robinson, who encouraged him to apply to ECU.
In his gap year, Sipper waited very late in the spring application cycle to begin applying to colleges but fortunately secured a spot at ECU.
“At that point in my life, I didn’t feel any fear or nervousness about returning to school. I was focused only on getting through the program and sharpening my skills,” he said.
Sipper did sharpen his skills at ECU, including winning the 2022 ECU Concerto Competition as a freshman. He said that moment set the tone for his following years, which included a guest solo role performing Mozart’s “Oboe Concerto” with the ECU Symphony Orchestra in October 2023.
“The biggest way that the ECU School of Music prepared me for the industry was the realization that the only person who wants me to have great opportunities is me. This process involved creating and nurturing undeniable assets in my playing such as tone, phrasing, dynamics and articulation,” he said. “In such a competitive industry, all of these things must be refined to a point that a perfect execution is not just likely but is inevitable.”
Before turning his tassel, Sipper said his lasting ECU memories include performances, friends and involvement with the club wrestling team. Some of the greatest memories are a result of him taking advantage of opportunities.
“The most memorable moments that I had were the personal enlightenments that I reached within my studies, ones that I would not have had if I simply went through the motions of the program,” Sipper said.