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William J. Boyd, fire chief of the Bellingham Fire Department, addressed graduates and their families at the summer commencement ceremony at Western Washington University on Saturday, Aug. 20, in Carver Gymnasium.

About 394 undergraduates and 88 master’s candidates received degrees this quarter.

The ceremony included the first presentation of the Western Washington University President’s Award, the university’s highest community honor, to Jack and Jo Ann Bowman of Lummi Island. The award is presented to those who have given distinguished service to the university and the region.

Boyd, the ceremony’s main speaker, has worked as a firefighter for 28 years and is chief of the Bellingham Fire Department. The immediate past president of the Western Alumni Association, Boyd earned a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Western in 1982 and graduated from the National Fire Academy Executive Fire Officer Program in 2004

As part of a regional incident management team, Boyd serves as an incident commander at large-scale emergencies throughout the state. Boyd also consults and lectures for the Department of Homeland Security on integrating new and social media into emergency communications plans.

In his speech, Boyd urged graduates to be heroes, to be courageous and to make a difference in the lives of others.

Recipients of the President’s Award, Jack and Jo Ann Bowman, met as students at Western in the 1950s and later lived all over the U.S. and Europe with Jack Bowman’s rising career in the pharmaceutical industry. Forty years later, when Bowman retired as head of Johnson & Johnson’s worldwide pharmaceutical and diagnostic divisions, the couple moved to Lummi Island. They have supported nonprofit organizations such as the Whatcom Community Foundation, the Lummi Island Heritage Trust, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Whatcom County, St. Joseph Hospital, Whatcom Hospice and the Whatcom Museum of History and Art. They also are highly engaged in the life of Western: the couple established the Daniel L. Bowman Presidential Discretionary Endowment at Western and sponsored President Shepard’s 100 Community Conversations. They support the Bowman Family Distinguished Scholars in Leadership, the Karen W. Morse Institute for Leadership and the Bowman Distinguished Professorship in Leadership.

Summer commencement’s student speaker was graduating senior Michael Brenaman, who received a Bachelor of Arts in Human Services. Brenaman served in the Army for nine years and worked at companies such as T-Mobile and Northwest Computer and as a service officer for Disabled American Veterans. After receiving his associate’s degree from Whatcom Community College, he began his education at Western in 2009. At Western, Brenaman established the Veteran’s Safe Zone program, which he had created with other veterans at Whatcom Community College. The program includes safe-zone symbols that faculty and staff can display outside their offices to encourage veterans to come in and talk.

In his speech, Brenaman stressed the importance of education as well as integrating veterans into college life and participating in civil engagement.

For more information, contact the Registrar’s Office at (360) 650-3701.