MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- Diplomas were handed out at graduation ceremonies at West Virginia University, a weekend for celebration despite controversy swirling around the school.

That's because the graduates -- as well as their families, friends, teachers and deans -- knew all the work that went into earning the degrees. And nothing, including a recent scandal involving a master's degree awarded to the governor's daughter, could cast a shadow on the graduates' good work.

WVU's 139th commencement weekend honored more than 3,600 students in 17 separate ceremonies that began Friday and concluded yesterday.

Two of the more high-profile events were Friday evening's honors convocation, recognizing the university's most-accomplished seniors, and yesterday's massive Eberly College of Arts and Sciences commencement saluting 1,216 graduates in the WVU Coliseum.

"With this degree, you have been educated for lifelong learning and prepared to accomplish whatever you choose in life," Arts and Sciences Dean Mary Ellen Mazey told the graduates yesterday. "I salute your accomplishments, applaud your fortitude and determination that brought you to this day, and wish you all the very best in the future."

WVU President Mike Garrison, who has come under fire from faculty and students as a result of the scandal, did not attend the commencement yesterday, though he was on stage for Friday's honors convocation and some other ceremonies.

WVU spokeswoman Amy Neil said Mr. Garrison and others involved in the controversy -- Provost Gerald Lang and business school Dean R. Stephen Sears, both of whom are stepping down -- agreed to keep lower profiles during graduation weekend.

At the honors convocation, Mr. Garrison was not introduced and he did not speak, though Ms. Neil emphasized that this was not unusual for a university president. Mr. Garrison did take his place as the first to greet graduates as they crossed the stage.

Most of the graduates shook his hand and thanked him. But some did not.

"I think a lot of students are not showing their feelings," said biology major Chad S. Wilcox, who was named the Most Outstanding Senior for 2008 but taped a message reading "Garrison must resign" atop his mortarboard and pointedly walked past the university president on the stage.

"As far as not shaking his hand, he has repeatedly turned his back to the faculty, and I think this was the students' turn to turn their backs to him," Mr. Wilcox said. "And I think I accomplished that."

Mr. Wilcox said Mr. Garrison seemed "very respectful" of the decision to not shake his hand and the moment was not awkward.

"I didn't want to do anything disruptive," Mr. Wilcox said. "I wanted to make sure [the protest] was silent and respectful. It was a symbolic gesture."

But such displays were rare. Mr. Wilcox said he tried to persuade other graduates to display their sentiments similarly, but "it wasn't as successful as I had hoped." One other honors graduate, biology major Lauren Dembeck, used her mortarboard to say: "I earned this degree."

"I got a mix of encouragement and discouragement from faculty, students and my family," Mr. Wilcox said. "A lot of people said this wasn't the time and place. My response is, 'What is the time and place?' The students need to be heard sometime."

On Saturday, 32 graduates of WVU's executive M.B.A. program were honored in a hood presentation ceremony in the university's Mountainlair ballrooms. The program became the focus of the controversy over WVU's actions in awarding a degree to Heather Bresch, but there were no signs of tension during the 70-minute ceremony. The only surprises involved laughter when a couple of caps came loose as hoods were placed over graduates' heads.

Half of the graduates attended, as did a similar share of the 20 executive M.B.A. faculty. Officials could not say how this year's attendance compared with previous ceremonies.

Economics professor Tom S. Witt was asked to serve as acting business school dean for the ceremony, in place of Dr. Sears, who is resigning as dean June 30 in the controversy's wake. Dr. Witt said he couldn't characterize how, if at all, the attention surrounding the matter had affected the class.

"The students we saw today are excited about their degree," he said.

Mr. Garrison was not at the executive M.B.A. ceremony, a private event. But he did attend Saturday afternoon's law school commencement in the Creative Arts Center. He gave no speech, and instead remained seated on stage, several feet from the graduates, applauding at several points during the ceremony.

Emily Renzelli, a political science graduate who also received national honors, had expressed concerns with Mr. Garrison's leadership during a student forum last month. But at her graduation ceremony, her focus was elsewhere.

"As President Garrison said, tonight was about the students," Ms. Renzelli said. "It wasn't about the controversy. I think it's time for our university to heal and move on and celebrate the success that we've had the past four years."

Ms. Renzelli said she has spoken with Mr. Garrison and now supports him because she believes "the university is committed to making things right."

First Published: May 19, 2008, 4:00 a.m.