The University of Iowa will confer an estimated 1,500 degrees at three December commencement ceremonies Friday, Dec. 14 and Saturday, Dec. 15, to honor students graduating at the end of the fall semester.
The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS) has 749 degree-seeking candidates; the Tippie College of Business has 293 degree-seeking candidates, including 180 business undergraduates and 113 MBAs; the College of Nursing has 32 degree-seeking candidates; University College has 29 degree-seeking candidates; the Carver College of Medicine has nine Bachelor of Science degree-seeking candidates and four medical doctor candidates; and the College of Law has seven degree-seeking candidates.
Ceremonies and speakers are as follows:
—Friday, Dec. 14, the Graduate College ceremony will take place at 7 p.m. at Carver-Hawkeye Arena with President Sally Mason and Graduate College Dean John Keller conferring 327 degrees, including 159 nondoctoral degrees and 168 doctoral candidates. The guest speaker will be John Engelhardt, a 2011 Graduate College Outstanding Faculty Mentor Award winner; professor of anatomy and cell biology in the Carver College of Medicine, and faculty member in the Molecular and Cellular Biology Interdisciplinary Graduate Program. Iowa Regent Bob Downer will make closing remarks.
—Saturday, Dec. 15, a combined undergraduate ceremony will be held at 9 a.m. also at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, for the degree-seeking undergraduates from CLAS, the Tippie College of Business, the College of Nursing, the Carver College of Medicine, and the University College. Emily Hoerner, of Dubuque, will be the student commencement speaker. She is graduating with a double major in journalism and mass communication and political science and is graduating with high distinction and honors in journalism and mass communication. Mason will confer degrees.
—Saturday, Dec. 15, at noon, a ceremony will be held for the 52 degree-seeking candidates for the College of Engineering, at Macbride Hall Auditorium. Soura Dasgupta, professor of electrical and computer engineering and the past year's recipient of the Engineering Teaching Excellence Award, will be the faculty commencement speaker. Katherine Dostal, a graduating senior from Cedar Falls in biomedical engineering, will be the student commencement speaker. Dostal was selected for the honor from among five finalists from each of the departments in the College of Engineering. UI Executive Vice President and Provost P. Barry Butler will confer the degrees.
The College of Education will host a teacher education convocation at 4 p.m. Friday, Dec. 14, in the Iowa Memorial Union Main Lounge. This convocation will recognize an estimated 85 of the 109 CLAS degree-seeking candidates who have also completed the certification requirements for teacher licensure. The event is by invitation only and ticket reservations are required. RSVP to Sue Cline at 319-335-5260 or sue-cline@uiowa.edu no later than Wednesday, Dec. 12. Faculty speaker is teaching assistant Kate Kedley, student speaker is Traci Azbell, of Ankeny, who is receiving her Bachelor of Arts in English with a minor in Spanish and her teacher licensure in secondary education, and the keynote speaker is UI Chief Diversity Officer Georgina Dodge.
The Tippie School of Management (MBA program) will also host a graduation celebration for its 113 graduates at 4:30 p.m. at the Coralville Marriott Hotel and Conference Center Friday, Dec. 14. Tippie College of Business Dean Sarah Gardial will be the keynote speaker.
Information for guests
The Carver-Hawkeye ceremonies are open to the public, no tickets are needed for admission, and there is no reserved seating. People should allow plenty of time to arrive at the arena as traffic for this event will be heavy. Doors open one hour before the starting time. Guests should use south and west entrances. Search lanes will be set up at these entrances where UI Public Safety officials will search any purses or bags brought into the building. Everyone will be asked to open their coats or graduation gown for visual inspection. No backpacks, large bags, or packages are allowed at Carver-Hawkeye Arena during this event. No air horns or alcohol are permitted.
Each degree candidate is recognized on stage. The undergraduate ceremony will conclude around 11 a.m. Allow for traffic congestion afterward if planning lunch reservations.
Information for guests with disabilities or limited mobility
Guests with physical disabilities who have a Disabilities Parking Permit (plate, placard, or sticker) will be permitted to park in lot 46, adjacent to Carver-Hawkeye Arena. UI Public Safety officers will be restricting entrance to this lot to only those guests with these state-issued permits. From lot 46 guests should enter the West doors. Seating for guests is accessible from the upper concourse level, which is the ground level you will enter on. Guests with disabilities or limited mobility can find seating in the Feller Club Room for themselves and up to four companions. No food or beverage will be permitted in this room. This room is equipped with large television screens and commencement ceremonies can be watched live on the UITV channels from here.
Guests with disabilities are also welcome to view the ceremony from the upper concourse level. Wheelchair and scooter spaces can be found in sections K—N on the upper concourse. The ceremony can be viewed from here or on large screens that can be found in these sections. A sign language interpreter will be on-stage to interpret the ceremony.
UITV broadcast, rebroadcast, and DVDs of ceremony for purchase
Guests unable to attend the ceremony but wishing to watch their graduate participate have several options to view commencement ceremonies. Ceremonies taking place at Carver-Hawkeye Arena will be broadcast live on the UITV channel 17 for local viewers to watch. All ceremonies will be rebroadcast on UITV within 24 hours. In addition, each ceremony will be posted online and will be accessible via the UI YouTube website within 24 hours. Instructions for ordering a DVD copy of any previous commencement ceremony, can also be found on the UITV website.
For more information on video from winter 2012 commencement, visit www.uiowa.edu/~uitv/Commencement.htm.
For more information on UI commencement, visit www.registrar.uiowa.edu/Student/Commencement/ tabid/61/Default.aspx.