Nearly 1,520 degrees to be conferred on Dec. 18 and 19

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Thursday, December 10, 2015
Written by: Office of Strategic Communication

The University of Iowa will honor December 2015 graduates during a series of commencement ceremonies and other events, Friday and Saturday, Dec. 18 and 19.

Fall degree applicants include, among undergraduates, 738 from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (74 of whom are students receiving their elementary or secondary education program completion certificate through the College of Education), 199 from the Tippie College of Business, and 84 from the College of Engineering. Among professional and graduate students, they include 264 from the Graduate College, 6 from the College of Law, 124 from the College of Nursing, 19 from the University College, and 80 MBA recipients from the Henry B. Tippie College of Business.

Live video stream of ceremonies:

Events include:

College of Education teacher education convocation 

Friday, Dec. 18, 4 p.m., Iowa Memorial Union Main Lounge

Nicholas Colangelo, College of Education dean, will welcome graduates and guests.

Speakers will include Renita Schmidt, associate professor at the college, and graduate Tasha Johnson. Fred Mims, a former UI student–athlete who established the UI Athletics Department's Office of Student Services and was a member of the senior staff for more than 30 years, will provide the keynote address.

Henry B. Tippie College of Business MBA graduation celebration

Friday, Dec. 18, 4:30 p.m., Coralville Marriott Hotel and Convention Center

Featured speaker will be Margaret (Peg) Strassman, MBA '12, founder and CEO of StrategicHealthSolutions, LLC. UI Provost Barry Butler will confer the degrees.

Graduate College commencement

Friday, Dec. 18, 7 p.m., Carver-Hawkeye Arena

UI President J. Bruce Harreld will offer an introduction and confer the degrees, and John Keller, associate provost for graduate and professional education and dean of the Graduate College, will give the closing remarks.

Undergraduate commencement ceremony

Saturday, Dec. 19, 9 a.m., Carver-Hawkeye Arena

This includes students from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Tippie College of Business, University College, and the Bachelor of Science degree candidates in the Carver College of Medicine.

Lon Moeller, associate provost for undergraduate education and dean of the University College will lead the ceremonies. Sarah Fisher Gardial, dean of the Henry B. Tippie College of Business and Raúl Curto, executive associate dean of College of Liberal Arts & Sciences will recommend degrees for conferral to UI President J. Bruce Harreld. Graduate Drew Boysen, a marketing and advertising major from Coralville, Iowa, will be the student speaker.

College of Nursing commencement

Saturday, Dec. 19, 10 a.m., Iowa Memorial Union Main Lounge

College of Nursing Dean Rita Frantz will lead the ceremonies, and Daniel Reed, UI vice president for research and economic development, will confer degrees. Graduates Jessica Underwood and Carrie Dorn will speak.

College of Engineering commencement

Saturday, Dec. 19, noon, Macbride Hall Auditorium

College of Engineering dean Alec Scranton will lead the event; UI Provost Barry Butler will confer the degrees. James H. J. Buchholz, associate professor of mechanical and industrial engineering, associate faculty research engineer at IIHR–Hydroscience & Engineering, and 2014 recipient of the College of Engineering Excellence in Teaching Award, will provide the keynote address.

Video coverage

Family and friends unable to attend the December ceremonies have several options for watching graduates participate.

The Graduate College, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, College of Nursing, College of Engineering, and the College of Education teacher education convocation ceremonies will be streamed live on the web at now.uiowa.edu. They’ll also be posted on the university’s YouTube channel the week of Dec. 21. 

Ceremonies at Carver-Hawkeye Arena will be broadcast live for area audiences via UITV (channel info here). Ceremonies will be rebroadcast on UITV within 24 hours.

Social media

Social media users can join the celebration online by using the hashtag #UIGrad15 with UI-graduation-related posts. Top posts will be shared via Iowa Now following commencement weekend.

More information

Find complete info for graduates and guests on the Office of the Registrar website. Commencement events are open to the public, but traffic near facilities—particularly Carver-Hawkeye Arena—may be heavy. Doors open an hour prior to start time, and guests should use the south and west entrances to enter the arena.

Carver-Hawkeye Arena guests with disabilities or limited mobility can park in Lot 46 adjacent to the arena, provided they have state-issued disabled parking permits. Guests with limited mobility can access the Feller Club Room with up to two companions or view the ceremony from the upper concourse level.

Video—live streaming, UITV, and YouTube

Video of all commencement ceremonies will be recorded and streamed live online to Iowa Now.

For friends and relatives of international students, video of the undergraduate commencement ceremony with commentary in Chinese, Korean, and Spanish will be available later in the month and can be viewed at the International Programs website.  

Video of the Graduate College, teacher education, undergraduate, and College of Engineering convocations will also be broadcast live on UITV (Mediacom channel 118.5 in the Iowa City area) for local viewers to watch.  

Archived video of all recorded events will be posted online at Iowa Now and the UI YouTube website within 24 hours of the events and rebroadcast on UITV during campus programming blocks the week of Dec. 21.  

Photo/video guidelines for the IMU

No flashes or lights may be used inside the IMU, and no cords or cables may lie on the floor. Please bring your batteries and be prepared to shoot from the shoulder. Photographers may shoot from the back of the room. Please be in position before the start of the processional.

Carver-Hawkeye Arena commencements

Doors open one hour prior to each ceremony. Photographers and news media are permitted on the arena floor until 15 minutes before ceremonies begin, at which point they must return to the designated media area. Media and visitors on the arena concourse are asked to keep noise to a minimum while the ceremony is in progress. Interviews should be conducted outside the arena. Clean audio is available through the arena system.