Media Advisory: Summer commencement ceremonies scheduled for Saturday

August 4, 2008

WHAT: Summer 2008 commencement ceremonies

WHO: About 1,210 University of Florida students are expected to participate in three ceremonies, based on regalia orders as of last week. They represent about 42 percent of the 2,913 students who are receiving bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees.

WHEN AND WHERE: 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday in the O’Connell Center.

Students from the following colleges will participate in the morning ceremony: Agricultural and Life Sciences; Warrington College of Business Administration; Design, Construction and Planning; Engineering; Fine Arts; and Health and Human Performance.

Students in the following colleges will participate in the afternoon ceremony: Education; Journalism and Communications; Liberal Arts and Sciences; Nursing; Public Health and Health Professions; and graduate students in the Colleges of Dentistry, Medicine and Veterinary Medicine.

A separate ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. in the HPNP Auditorium for the College of Pharmacy graduates.

BACKGROUND: Outstanding student leader awards will be presented at the morning ceremony to Aria Ruth Woodley, Robert F. Fischetti and Jose R. Lobo. Honorable mentions for student leader awards will go to Albert R. Matheny IV and Arthur Portnoy. Lynn B. Bailey, a professor in Agricultural and Life Sciences, will be presented the Teacher/Scholar of the Year award for 2007-2008 at the 10 a.m. ceremony. A posthumous honorary doctor of fine arts degree will be presented to Evelyn Kelly on behalf of her father, the musician Bo Diddley.

At the 2 p.m. ceremony, Lindsey R. Johns will receive the outstanding student leader award, and Lauren Granado will receive the outstanding four-year scholar award. Honorable mentions for outstanding student leader awards will go to Melissa P. Karr, Silvana Rolong and Jason D. Silver, and an honorable mention for outstanding two-year scholar award will go to Joshua Fredrickson.

MORE INFORMATION: Contact Donna Stricker, director of presidential events and commencement, at 352-392-1311, or visit the Web site at http://www.registrar.ufl.edu/commencement/schedulesum.html.