UNC Asheville graduates more than 400 students at Kimmel Arena
UNC Asheville sent more than 400 graduates into Buncombe County’s talent pool Saturday, with 86% from in-state and top majors in psychology, art and environmental science.
More than 400 UNC Asheville graduates crossed the stage at Kimmel Arena on Saturday, sending a fresh class into Buncombe County’s talent pipeline at a time when local employers, public agencies and nonprofits are competing for workers.
The spring 2026 ceremonies at the Sherrill Center were split by college, with the College of Natural and Human Sciences at 10 a.m. and the College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences at 2 p.m. The university said the class was 86% in-state and 14% out-of-state, a mix that matters for Asheville’s long-term retention prospects because it suggests most graduates already have ties to North Carolina.
UNC Asheville said the youngest graduate was 17 and the oldest was 60, a spread that showed how the institution serves traditional students, adult learners and everyone in between. The class also included 10 international candidates from Japan, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Serbia and Turkey, adding another layer to the city’s education economy and its broader cultural ties.
The most popular majors were psychology, art and environmental science, followed by computer science and new media. Those fields point to a workforce that can feed Asheville-area health care, behavioral health, creative industries, environmental work and technology jobs, along with the county’s government and nonprofit sectors. The class finished with an average cumulative GPA of 3.44, a sign of academic strength as graduates prepare to enter the region or move elsewhere.
UNC Asheville also highlighted Patrick Foo, a professor of neuroscience, as this year’s recipient of the Board of Governors Excellence in Teaching award. That recognition underscores the role faculty play in producing the graduates local employers hope to keep.
The scale of Saturday’s ceremony also made it one of the city’s most visible spring events, drawing families into Asheville and giving the university another reminder of its place in the local economy. UNC Asheville said its 2025 spring commencement honored over 390 graduates, with 89% in-state students, 11% out-of-state students, six international candidates and an average GPA of 3.40, making this year’s class slightly larger and a little more geographically mixed.
For Buncombe County, the bigger question is whether Asheville can keep enough of these graduates after the applause fades. With more than 400 new degree holders, UNC Asheville again delivered one of the region’s most important annual talent infusions, and the local payoff will depend on how many of them stay to build careers here.
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