UA to Celebrate Spring Commencement and 125th Anniversary
ABC reporter Bob Woodruff will be the undergraduate commencement speaker. Dean Emeritus Toni Massaro of the UA's James E. Rogers School of Law will give the graduate commencement speech.

By Rebecca Ruiz-McGill, University Communications
April 28, 2010

The UA will celebrate commencement with two ceremonies – 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 14, for graduate students and 9 a.m. Saturday, May 15, for undergraduates.

President Robert N. Shelton will confer degrees upon 4,704 undergraduate, 870 master's/specialist and 710 doctoral candidates during the two exercises, marking the 142th University of Arizona Commencement ceremony as the University celebrates its 125th anniversary. Both events will be held at McKale Memorial Center.

ABC reporter Bob Woodruff, who suffered head injuries from a roadside bomb during an attack while embedded with the U.S. 4th Infantry Division in Iraq, will be the undergraduate commencement speaker.

Dean Emeritus Toni Massaro of the UA's James E. Rogers School of Law will be the graduate commencement speaker.

More commencement speaker details can be found at UANews.org.

In addition, each college will host a separate celebration for its graduates. For more information on each college ceremony, visit the Dean of Students Office.

Graduate Ceremony Details:

During the graduate commencement at 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 14, Shelton will confer master's degrees upon 853 students.

He will confer degrees upon 156 Juris Doctors, three Scientiae Juridicae Doctors, seven Master of Laws in Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy students and seven Master of Laws in International Trade Policy from the James E. Rogers College of Law.

From the Arizona Health Sciences Center, 111 degrees will be conferred upon students from the College of Medicine. Seventy five doctors of pharmacy will be conferred upon students from the College of Pharmacy, and two will graduate with a doctoral of nursing practice degree.

At the UA, 327 will graduate with doctors of philosophy, 23 with doctors of musical arts, seven with doctors of education, six with doctors of audiology and three as educational specialists.

Graduate students from all colleges are invited to participate. Graduate student instructions can be found at the UA Commencement website.

The Friday ceremony also will include recognition of honorary degrees, except for Woodruff, who will receive his degree on Saturday. Other awards to be given then include the UA Alumni Achievement award and several graduate student awards.

Honorary Degree Awards:

Honorary degrees will be conferred during the graduate ceremony to Fred Boice, Charles Vest and Richard Williams.

Boice will receive a Doctor of Science honorary degree in recognition of his tireless promotion to advance higher education. Boice, who was nominated by all UA deans, is the head of Boice Financial Company and has been a long-standing supporter of the University's diverse activities.

Richard Williams will receive a Doctor of Humane Letters honorary degree from the UA College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. Williams is a world-renowned architect and educator who has donated time, money and talent to the UA and to redevelopment projects in Tucson and Southern Arizona.  

Charles Vest will receive a Doctor of Science honorary degree from the UA College of Optical Sciences. Vest is president of the National Academy of Engineering and president emeritus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

During the undergraduate ceremony, Bob Woodruff will be honored with a Doctor of Humane Letters from the UA College of Humanities. Lee Woodruff will be honored in absentia with a Doctor of Humane Letters from the UA College of Humanities.

The Alumni Achievement Award:

The University of Arizona Alumni Association will present the Alumni Achievement Award to Donald R. and Joan B. Diamond from the UA graduating class of 1951.

The Diamonds' many charitable endeavors include support for education, medical advancement, Jewish community life, and health and human services. The Diamonds have contributed to the Arizona Cancer Center at University Medical Center North Peter and Paula Fasseas Cancer Clinic, United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona, UA Arizona Center for Judaic Studies and the UA Steele Children's Research Center.  

Their legacy: a strong work ethic, solid commitment to the needs of the community, and extraordinary generosity. Their enlightened philanthropy has improved the lives of countless children and families.

Undergraduate Ceremony Details:

The ceremony for bachelor's degree candidates, their friends and families will begin at 9 a.m. Saturday, May 15. This ceremony will include recognition of undergraduate student awards and the presentation of all undergraduates by college.

Procession and assembly instructions for undergraduate candidates for bachelor's degrees can be found at the UA Commencement website.

Student Awards:

Six students will be honored with achievement medals during the ceremony.

Merrill P. Freeman Medals will be awarded to honors students Mary Garcia and Timothy Malan. Garcia graduates Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Health Sciences degree in physiology from the College of Medicine, with a minor in Spanish. Malan will receive a Bachelor of Science degree from the College of Science with a major in molecular and cellular biology and minors in Spanish and philosophy. He will graduate Magna Cum Laude.

Robie Gold Metals will be awarded to Alison Lucht and Donnie Zacharias. Lucht will receive a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from the Eller College of Management. She plans to graduate Summa Cum Laude and will be honored as the accounting department's Outstanding Senior. Zacharias expects to graduate Summa Cum Laude and with honors from the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences with a Bachelor of Arts degree in both history and Near Eastern studies.

Robert Logan Nugent Medals will be awarded to another pair of honors undergraduates, Alexandra Keffeler and Zachary Ronan. Keffeler expects to graduate Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in communication from the College of Social and Behavior Science with minors in marketing and Spanish. Ronan will receive a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering from the College of Engineering with minors in general business administration and pre-health thematic.

Extra info

What

142nd Commencement Ceremony and 125th Anniversary

Where

McKale Memorial Center

When

Graduate Ceremony: 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 14; Undergraduate Ceremony: 9 a.m. Saturday, May 15.

UA Commencement  

Free parking is available in any surface lot or parking garage. Handicap drop-off is on Fred Enke Drive on the south side of McKale Memorial Center. 

Watching Commencement
The UA Channel broadcasts UA Commencement ceremonies live on Cox channel 116. For a limited number of Comcast viewers who live inside Tucson city limits, the ceremonies will be on Comcast channel 76. In addition, Arizona Public Media will air both ceremonies live on its website

To order a DVD copy of the next ceremony or a past ceremony, please contact Arizona Public Media at 520-626-7420 or contactazpm@azpublicm edia.org.  

DVD copies of the ceremony are $19.95 plus $4 shipping, payable by cash, check, Visa, Mastercard, Discover or American Express. 

Share