Bullock to receive posthumous degree at spring commencement

A&M-Commerce will present a posthumous degree to Malorie Bullock, the student who died in a 2010 motorcycle accident, at the spring commencement ceremony on May 12.

The idea came from Dr. Raymond Green and Dr. Eric Gruver, who preside over the Honors College, which Bullock was a member of at the time of her death. She would have been graduating this semester, and the two thought it was appropriate to honor Bullock in some way.

"Malorie was obviously and excellent student," Green said. "Everyone knows that she would have graduated and would have done so in spectacular fashion."

Green also said the occasion would present a kind of "closure" to a university still feeling the effects of Bullock's tragic death.

"I thought it was a great idea, as it would mean a lot to both her family and also her classmates," he said. "I believe this will continue the healing process for her classmates and, I hope, for her family."

The Honors College had only been around for three years at the time of Bullock's death. Green said the significance of the event in the institution's short history is enough to warrant some way of remembering her time at A&M-Commerce and her influence.

"We were still 'new' at the time of her passing," Green said. "It could have been an event that damaged us or brought us together. It did the latter and so it means a lot to come back together and think of Malorie in a celebratory way."

Along with other family members, Bullock's parents, Rick and Melissa, will be in attendance and receive the degree on behalf of their daughter. It will be presented at the 8:30 a.m. ceremony, since Bullock was a biological sciences major.