Athens, Ga. – Approximately 2,176 University of Georgia students will be eligible to receive degrees at the 2013 fall semester Commencement ceremonies on Dec. 13 in Stegeman Coliseum.
An estimated 1,667 students will be eligible to participate in the ceremony for undergraduates at 9:30 a.m. Amy Glennon, a UGA alumna and first female publisher of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, will be the speaker.
Glennon held various roles in her 20 years at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution before being named the newspaper’s top executive. She served as features editor, director of innovations, Gwinnett general manager, senior director of product and project management and vice president of circulation. In March 2012, she moved to the role of publisher, becoming the first woman to hold the title in the newspaper’s 145-year history.
A 1990 graduate of the Grady College, Glennon spent three years on staff at the Red & Black student newspaper and is currently an emeritus member of the publication’s board of directors. She also is a member of the Georgia chapter of the International Women’s Forum.
Rebekah Ellen Pearson of Columbus will be the student speaker during the undergraduate exercises. She will receive dual bachelor’s degrees in international affairs and communications studies.
During the undergraduate ceremony, seven students will be recognized as First Honor Graduates for maintaining a 4.0 cumulative grade point average in all work attempted at UGA as well as all college-level transfer work prior to or following enrollment at the university. They are: Katherine Lynn Farrington of Duluth, majoring in early childhood education; Janette Elizabeth Gee of Jefferson, majoring in psychology; Hillary Virginia Keller of Cumming, double-majoring in sociology and psychology; Travis Michael Miller of Kennesaw, majoring in international affairs; Bradley Reed Parke of Thomasville, majoring in genetics; Sara Alexis Patton of Suwanee, majoring in human development and family science, and Kassie Leigh Smith of Cumming, majoring in mathematics education.
An estimated 509 candidates for master’s, doctoral and specialist in education degrees will be eligible to participate in the graduate ceremony at 2:30 p.m. E. Culpepper “Cully” Clark, who served as dean of the UGA Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication from 2006 to June of this year, will address the graduates and guests.
Before his role as dean in the Grady College, Clark oversaw the University of Alabama’s College of Communication and Information Sciences for 10 years. He joined the UA faculty in 1971, held administrative posts in the University of Alabama System both in Tuscaloosa and Birmingham since 1979 and also was executive assistant to UA’s president from 1990 to 1996.
Widely published in both history and communication, Clark’s books include “The Schoolhouse Door: Segregation’s Last Stand at the University of Alabama” (Oxford University Press), which is listed among the notable books of 1993 by the New York Times Book Review, and a biography of Francis Warrington Dawson, founder and editor of the Charleston News and Courier, and Henry Grady’s chief rival as architect of the New South.
A native of Grady County, Clark received his doctorate in history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Emory University.
Because Commencement falls on 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.
Tickets will be required for attendance at the undergraduate ceremony, with six being provided to each graduating student. Both ceremonies will be broadcast live on channel 15 of the university and Charter cable systems and streamed live at http://www.ctl.uga.edu.
For more information on UGA graduation requirements and Commencement ceremonies, see http://www.commencement.uga.edu.