Gov. Sonny Perdue, a graduate of the University of Georgia, will be back at his alma mater May 14 as the speaker for the university’s undergraduate commencement.
Perdue, who received a degree in veterinary medicine in 1971, will speak at a 9:30 a.m. ceremony in Sanford Stadium. In case of bad weather, the ceremony will be moved to Stegeman Coliseum and split into two sessions, at 9:30 and 11:30 a.m. A decision to move will be made by 6:30 a.m. and will be announced on Athens radio stations and posted on UGA Today (www.uga.edu/news).
Commencement for students receiving graduate degrees will be at 2:30 p.m. in Stegeman Coliseum. Teresa A. Sullivan, executive vice chancellor for academic affairs for the University of Texas System, will speak at that ceremony.
Complete details about both undergraduate and graduate ceremonies are available at www.reg.uga.edu/or.nsf/html/commencement.
The registrar’s office estimates that about 4,600 seniors will be eligible to receive bachelor’s degrees and about 1,300 students will be eligible to receive master’s, doctoral and specialist degrees. Final numbers won’t be known until the conclusion of final exams on May 10.
Perdue is in the third year of his term as Georgia’s 81st governor. Prior to being elected in 2002 he served in the Georgia Senate for 11 years, holding the positions of majority leader and president pro tempore.
Sullivan, the speaker for graduate commencement, was vice president and graduate dean at the University of Texas prior to assuming her current position in 2002.
