Athens, Ga. – About 2,200 University of Georgia students will be eligible to receive degrees at UGA’s 2010 fall semester commencement ceremonies Dec. 17 in Stegeman Coliseum.
Approximately 1,700 seniors will be eligible to participate in the ceremony for undergraduates at 9:30 a.m. A. D. “Pete” Correll, chairman emeritus of Georgia-Pacific Corp will be the speaker. Correll also is chairman and co-founder of Atlanta Equity Investors, a private equity firm with $109 million in committed capital. He has had a 40-year career as a successful executive in the forest products, paper and consumer products industries. Correll is an emeritus trustee of the University of Georgia Foundation. He served on the steering committee for phase one of the UGA Performing and Visual Arts Complex, which was dedicated on East Campus in 1996. He received the Terry College of Business Distinguished Alumni Award in 1994 and served on the college’s board of overseers from 2003 to 2007.
An estimated 548 candidates for master’s, doctoral and specialist in education degrees are eligible to participate in the graduate ceremony at 2:30 p.m. James C. Cobb, B. Phinizy Spalding Distinguished Professor in the History of the American South, will be the speaker. Cobb is recognized as one of the foremost scholars of Southern history and culture. He has written widely on the interaction between economy, society and culture in the American South and was among the first to write broadly about the South in a global context. Most of his more than 40 articles and 12 books concern the impact of changing economic conditions in the South. A native of Hart County, Cobb received his A.B. (1969), M.A. (1972) and Ph.D. (1975) from UGA and taught at the University of Maryland, University of Northern Iowa, University of Mississippi, University of Alabama and the University of Tennessee before joining the UGA faculty in 1998.
The student speaker for the undergraduate ceremony will be Aron White, who came to the university from Columbia, Mo. on a full football scholarship and is graduating with a degree in management with an African-American studies minor. White has volunteered at Camp Sunshine, a program which provides children with cancer the opportunity to enjoy normal activities, and Camp Kudzu which helps children with type 1 diabetes live life to the fullest. He also has served at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, with the Boys and Girls Clubs and has spent time in local elementary schools reading to students. A two-time letterman, White was the most valuable offensive player of the 2009 Independence Bowl.
During the undergraduate ceremony, five students will be recognized as First Honor Graduates for having maintained a perfect 4.0 cumulative grade point averagein all work attempted at the University of Georgia as well as all college-level transfer work attempted prior to or following enrollment at the university. They are Lisa Marie Caprioglio ofHighlands Ranch, Colo., Alie Morgan Church of Grayson, Emily Ann McGee of Winder, John Christopher Morris of Lawrenceville, and Tiffany Ann Wagner of Buford.
Because Dec. 17 is a Friday, a routine UGA workday, some of the usual parking patterns on South Campus near the coliseum will be adjusted. The South Parking Deck (zone S-11) and Carlton Street Deck (zone S-15) will be open at no charge for visitors and guests attending commencement. The Hoke Smith lot (S-12) and the Coverdell lot (S-16) will be reserved for handicapped guests with proper handicapped placards. The McPhaul Center lot (S-10) will be reserved for members of the commencement platform party. For more information on parking, see http://www.parking.uga.edu/maps/GraduationFall10.pdf.
As announced previously, tickets will be required for attendance at the undergraduate ceremony.
The undergraduate commencement ceremony will be broadcast live on UGA’s cable television station, channel 15 on the Charter cable system and University Cablevision, in Masters Hall at the Georgia Center for Continuing Education Conference Center and Hotel. Both ceremonies will be streamed in a webcast accessible via a link on UGA’s website, www.uga.edu.
For more information on commencement, see http://www.reg.uga.edu/graduation.
