N.C. Central University Provost Kwesi Aggrey today issued a statement regarding Preston Mitchum, the NCCU law graduate who admitted that he copied a speech from a YouTube video for his remarks at last week's commencement.

"We are deeply saddened and disappointed that our student engaged in plagiarism," Aggrey's statement said. "At North Carolina Central University, we completely disavow this behavior by any of our students in any capacity.  To our knowledge, this is the first time someone has replicated remarks for one of our Commencement exercises.  We hope this incident will serve as a teaching moment for our students."

Mitchum said Monday he meant to credit Binghamton University graduate Anthony Corvino for his original speech last year. Read the story from today's N&O.

If you're not sure what sort of silly hat your kid was wearing Sunday at UNC-Chapel Hill's commencement, we've got you covered.

Navigate your way over to this super-fantastic, interactive panoramic photo of the graduation ceremony, zoom in and find your child in all his or her silly glory.

Have fun.

Graduating students at Duke University's commencement exercises in May will be wearing green for the special occasion. The caps and gowns may appear black in color, but the apparel is made from material produced from recycled plastic bottles.

From the weekend: Two more local universities hosted graduation ceremonies Sunday.

At UNC-Chapel Hill, author John Grisham gave a witty address for 5,630 graduates. The story's here and a photo gallery is here.

 And at Meredith College in Raleigh, 460 new graduates turned their tassels Sunday. The speaker there was Gretchen Holt Witt, a 1989 Meredith graduate and founder of an organization that raises money for pediatric cancer initiatives.

You can read about Meredith's commencement here, and click here for an extended photo gallery.

 Sunday's ceremonies came a day after three others in the Triangle. 

On Saturday, Shaw University, Peace College and Saint Augustine's College all held their commencements as well.

 And what faces all these new graduates, many of whom are now joining - or at least trying to join - the workforce?

In Sunday's News & Observer, reporter Sue Stock addresses that issue and suggests that maybe, sorta, things are looking up. Kinda. A little.

Got the flu? Swine flu? Flu-like symptoms? A cough?

Don't come to UNC Chapel Hill's graduation ceremony on Sunday.

That's the message out of Chapel Hill this week, where the university is asking folks to do their part in avoiding the spread of the H1N1 virus by staying home if they have "flu-like symptoms."

The university will do its part by asking the folks handing out diplomas at various departmental ceremonies this weekend not to shake hands with graduates.

Here's the info.

On a related note - UNC officials are casting a wary eye to the weather reports for this weekend. Rain could disrupt the outdoor commencement set for Kenan Stadium. In the case of rain, the plan is to shift over to the Dean E. Smith Center, and students are being instructed this week to prepare for that by grabbing tickets for an indoor event - just in case. (Kenan Stadium is much larger than the Smith Center and can comfortably accommodate all visitors. If the event shifts indoors, capacity becomes an issue).

This forecast (as I write this on Wednesday around noon) projected a 30 percent chance of rain and isolated thunderstorms. 

Last year's commencement ceremony is surely fresh in the minds of campus planners; the university kept the ceremony outdoors, and rain eventually showed up and forced officials to shorten the ceremony.

In case you missed it....Bill Cowher, the N.C. State alum who won a Super Bowl as coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, was the featured speaker earlier this week at NCSU's mid-year commencement.

Here's the video: