Athens, Ga. – The University of Georgia will confer degrees on about 4,600 students at spring commencement ceremonies May 10.
An estimated 3,500 undergraduates will be eligible to receive bachelor’s degrees at the undergraduate ceremony at 9:30 a.m. in Sanford Stadium. In the event of rain, the ceremony will remain in Sanford Stadium. However, there will be no processional. Students will report directly to their assigned seats on the field. Each student will be provided a poncho to wear. Family and friends who will view the ceremony from stadium seats should be prepared for rain. In case of severe weather (rain accompanied by high winds, thunder and lightning), the ceremony will be held in Stegeman Coliseum in two sessions, at 9:30 and 11:30 a.m. A decision on moving to the coliseum will be made by 6:30 a.m. and will be posted on the UGA Web site (http://www.uga.edu).
Exercises for graduate students will be at 2:30 p.m. in Stegeman Coliseum. An estimated 1,099 candidates for master’s, doctoral and specialist in education degrees are expected to be eligible to participate.
Complete details about both undergraduate and graduate ceremonies are available at http://www.reg.uga.edu/or.nsf/html/commencement.
U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas will be the speaker for the undergraduate ceremony. A native of Pinpoint, Ga., Thomas was appointed to the nation’s highest court in 1991 by President George H.W. Bush. He previously served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and was chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
The student speaker for the undergraduate ceremony will be Deep Shah, one of two UGA recipients of the Rhodes Scholarship this year. Shah, who will graduate with degrees in biology and international affairs, is a UGA Foundation Fellow and last year received the Harry Truman Scholarship.
Thirty-five seniors who have maintained perfect 4.0 grade point averages will be recognized as First Honor Graduates.
The undergraduate ceremony will be broadcast live on University Cable Channel 15 and streamed live on the UGA Web site. The ceremony also will be broadcast live in the theater of the Tate Student Center and in Mahler Auditorium in the Georgia Center for Continuing Education Conference Center and Hotel.
Construction on an addition to the Tate Center has limited parking there. People attending the undergraduate ceremony are advised to arrive early and find parking in other nearby lots. They should enter Sanford Stadium through gates 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7. For those who need wheelchair access, the entrance to the stadium will be through gate 6.
The speaker for the graduate ceremony will be Michael Bunch, senior vice president of Measurement Inc., a firm that develops tests and assessment programs for state education departments and other educational organizations. Bunch, who received his bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees from UGA, has worked with Measurement Inc. for 23 years and is a nationally recognized expert in educational testing and assessment.
