UF summer commencement ceremonies scheduled for Aug. 9-10

Nearly 1,300 people are expected to participate in the University of Florida’s summer commencement ceremonies, scheduled for Friday and Saturday, August 9 and 10, in the Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center.

The doctoral ceremony is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. Friday, while the bachelor’s, master’s and specialist’s ceremony is set to start at 10 a.m. Saturday.

The commencement speaker for both ceremonies will be Ted Spiker, a professor and chair of the department of journalism in UF’s College of Journalism and Communications.

Spiker, who came to the University of Florida in 2001, has served as department chair since 2014. Spiker has taught more than a dozen different courses at UF, including Sports Media & Society, Health & Science Writing, and Advanced Magazine Writing. Spiker was named the 2016-17 Teacher of the Year for the University of Florida, and he is a two-time winner of Teacher of the Year in the UF College of Journalism and Communications.

Spiker was an editor at Men’s Health magazine before coming to UF and is the author of one book and the co-author of 20-plus books focusing on health and wellness, including multiple New York Times bestsellers. He has written hundreds of stories in a variety of platforms, including The Washington Post, Time, Esquire, Fortune, Outside, Men’s Health, Women’s Health, Runner’s World, Reader’s Digest, O The Oprah Magazine, and many others. He was once named by Greatist.com as one of the 100 most influential people in health and fitness. In addition, he has published scholarly work about magazine covers and sports literary journalism.

As a moderator for ACCENT Speakers Bureau and other UF events, Spiker has interviewed celebrities such as Abby Wambach, Pitbull, Erin Andrews, Alex Rodriguez, Terry Crews, Josh Peck and more.

He is a graduate of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism (M.S.) and the University of Delaware (B.A.).

Parking restrictions will be lifted in the O'Connell Center lot and garage beginning noon on Friday, August 9, and will remain lifted through the weekend.

Free shuttles are available on Saturday, August 10, from the parking lot in front of the Reitz Union to the O'Connell Center. Shuttles run from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The Gator Lift Shuttle is ADA-compliant.

Full details on commencement, including a full schedule, are available at https://commencement.ufl.edu/. In addition, commencement information is available on the free GatorWay app. Schedules, maps, weather updates, parking information and more are available in the app’s UF Graduation Guide. 

FOR MEDIA: Members of the news media will need a credential and must wear a commencement robe (provided on site) to attend commencement. To request credentials, contact Florida Bridgewater-Alford, communications outreach strategist, at  bridgefl@ufl.edu or 352-846-3903.