Athens, Ga. – The University of Georgia will confer degrees on approximately 5,200 undergraduate and graduate students at the spring Commencement ceremonies Friday, May 13.
About 1,200 candidates for master’s, doctoral and specialist in education degrees will be eligible to participate in the ceremony for graduate students at 10 a.m. in Stegeman Coliseum. Friday evening, an estimated 4,000 students will be eligible to receive bachelor degrees at the undergraduate ceremony, which will be held at 7 p.m. in Sanford Stadium.
United States Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus will be the commencement speaker for the undergraduate ceremony. As the 75th secretary, Mabus leads America’s Navy and Marine Corps, overseeing almost 900,000 individuals and an annual budget in excess of $150 billion. In his position, Mabus is responsible for all affairs of the Department of the Navy, including recruiting, organizing, supplying, equipping, training and mobilizing. He is accountable for the formulation and implementation of policies and programs consistent with the national security objectives established by the president and the secretary of defense. Additionally, he is responsible for the construction, outfitting and repair of naval ships, equipment and facilities.
The student speaker for the undergraduate ceremony will be Jonathan Arogeti of Atlanta, who is graduating magna cum laude with a double major in history and Spanish. Arogeti is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, the Dean William Tate Honor Society, the Blue Key Honor Society, and he received the Bernard Ramsey Honors Scholarship, one of the university’s premier academic awards. Among his accomplishments, Arogeti has worked with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in Washington, D.C.; served as a teaching assistant in the UGA Honors Program; and volunteered with such campus groups as the University Judiciary, Dawgs for Israel, and Tau Epsilon Phi Fraternity, in which he served as the group’s president. He has traveled on mission trips to Spain, Cuba and Israel.
Fourteen seniors who maintained perfect 4.0 grade point averages during their academic career will be recognized as First Honor Graduates. A huge firework show will conclude the undergraduate Commencement ceremony.
The speaker for the graduate student ceremony will be Karen A. Holbrook, senior vice president for Research, Innovation and Global Affairs and professor of molecular medicine at the University of South Florida. Holbrook was UGA’s senior vice president for academic affairs and provost from 1998 to 2002. Following her role at UGA, she served as president of Ohio State University for five years. She has served on the boards of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Association of American Medical Colleges, the American Council of Education, the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges, and the Association of American Universities, among others.
If weather conditions are deemed severe, the undergraduate ceremony will take place on Saturday, May 14 at 9:30 am in Sanford Stadium. Gates will open at 7:30 a.m., and students should be in place and ready for the processional no later than 8:45 a.m. Severe weather is defined as rain accompanied by high winds, thunder and lightning. If rain is falling but conditions are not considered severe, candidates will be provided a poncho to wear during the ceremony. There will not be a student processional, and candidates should proceed directly to their school’s or college’s designated seating section on the field. The decision for implementing either the Rain Plan (onFriday evening, but no processional) or Severe Weather Plan (ceremony on Saturday, May 14, at 9:30 a.m. in Sanford Stadium) will be placed on the university’s home page, http://www.uga.edu. Major local media outlets will be provided the information as well. Guests are encouraged to watch the weather forecast, check the UGA home page and plan accordingly.
Regardless of the weather, students are required to enter Sanford Stadium through gate 10, and guests are encouraged to enter through gate 6. Only gate 6 and the Will Call Window Lobby, both located on East Campus Road, are wheelchair accessible.
Both ceremonies will be televised on Channel 15 (educational access) and will be streamed on the Internet viaa link on the UGA home page.Visitors to campus may view the ceremony in the Mahler Auditorium in the Georgia Center for Continuing Education Conference Center and Hotel and in the movie theatre in the Tate Student Center.
Complete details about both the undergraduate and graduate ceremonies are available at http://www.reg.uga.edu/or.nsf/html/graduation.
There are a number of related Commencement activities being hosted by UGA’s colleges and schools:
The UGA Alumni Association
* Friday, May 13, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
* Distribution of water and juice to graduates and their families waiting in line to take photographs at the UGA Arch
College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
* Friday, May 13, at 1 p.m.
* Hugh Hodgson Concert Hall – Performing Arts Center
* Tickets required
* For additional information, see http://students.caes.uga.edu
Odum School of Ecology
* Friday, May 13, at 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
* Catered luncheon for graduating students their families in the lobby of the Ecology building
* For more information, contact mlboyd@uga.edu, 706/542-0800
College of Education
* Wednesday, May 11, at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.
* Hugh Hodgson Concert Hall -Performing Arts Center
* RSVP/Tickets required
* For additional information, see http://www.coe.uga.edu/news/2011/01/18/coe-2011-spring-convocation.
College of Environment & Design
* Friday, May 13, 4 p.m.
* The Georgian Ballroom, Holiday Inn Downtown
* Reception immediately following in the Founders Memorial Garden
* RSVP required
* For more information, contact Audra Lofton at alofton@uga.edu.
College of Family and Consumer Sciences
* Friday, May 13, at 3 p.m.
* Classic Center, 300 N. Thomas St., Downtown Athens
* For additional information, see http://www.fcs.uga.edu/ss/graduation.html.
Franklin College of Arts and Sciences
* Graduation celebration
* Friday, May 13, at 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.
* Tate Student Center
* RSVP required
* For more information, see www.franklin.uga.edu.
Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication
* Thursday, May 12, at 2 p.m. *Graduates must check in between 12:45 and 1:30 p.m.*
* Classic Center Theatre, 300 N. Thomas St., Downtown Athens
* For additional information, see http://www.grady.uga.edu/resources.php?page=grady_pages.inc.php|GP_ID=64.
School of Law
* Saturday, May 21 at 10 a.m.
* North Campus Quadrangle in front of the law school (rain location: Stegeman Coliseum)
* For more information, see http://www.law.uga.edu/news/10528.
School of Public and International Affairs
* Friday, May 13, at 2:30 p.m.
* Ramsey Center – Volleyball Arena
* RSVP required
* For additional information, call 706/542-0096
College of Public Health
* Wednesday, May 11, at 3 p.m.
* Tate Center Grand Hall Ballroom
* Student RSVP required
* For additional information, see
http://www.publichealth.uga.edu/events/college-public-health-graduation-celebration.
School of Social Work
* Friday, May 13, at 2 p.m.
* Stegeman Coliseum
* For both graduate and undergraduate students
* For more information, see http://ssw.uga.edu:8091/plone/news/class-of-2011-graduation-information.
Terry College of Business
* Saturday, May 14, at 2 p.m.
* Stegeman Coliseum
* Grand reception immediately following at the Georgia Center for Continuing Education
* For additional information, see http://www.terry.uga.edu/students/convocation.
Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources
* Friday, May 13, 3 p.m.
* Forestry Resources 2, Room 100 (Building 1140)
* The ceremony will be followed by a catered reception in the lobby of Building 4
* For more information, contact Emily Saunders, esaunders@warnell.uga.edu or 706/542-1465.