AUSTIN, Texas — International flags representing the diverse student population of The University of Texas at Austin will be flowing on the South Mall in front of the UT Tower as families and friends honor the Class of 1998 during 115th Spring Commencement ceremonies this weekend.
During recent years, the University’s Commencement program has become a spectacular celebration that includes music, fireworks and other entertainment. UT’s 14 colleges and schools conduct individual convocations with speakers and traditions unique to each area. These convocations this year are scheduled Friday through Sunday at locations on or near campus.
Saturday evening’s Commencement ceremonies, which begin at 7 p.m. with a carillon prelude, will feature the University Wind Ensemble, the Chamber Singers and Concert Chorale. The Commencement speaker will be Kay Bailey Hutchison, a distinguished UT graduate and a U.S. senator.
Detailed information about Commencement can be found on the “We’re Texas Commencement 98” website, www.utexas.edu/commencement/98/. In the event of rain, a decision will be made late Saturday afternoon on whether to move the ceremony to the Frank C. Erwin Jr. Special Events Center. The Office of Public Affairs Commencement Hotline, (512) 232-9999, will include the latest information about the event.Listed below is a list of Commencement activities. Convocations of colleges and schools that include both graduate and undergraduate students in their ceremonies are indicated with an asterisk (*).
FRIDAY, MAY 22
1:30 p.m. – Graduate School of Business Recognition Ceremony, Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass Concert Hall, Performing Arts Center. James Skaggs, chairman, president and chief executive officer of TRACOR Inc., the nation’s 16th-largest defense electronics company, will speak.
4 p.m. – ROTC Commissioning Ceremony, Bates Recital Hall, Performing Arts Center. The speaker will be U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Lawson W. Magruder III.
SATURDAY, MAY 23
8 a.m. – Graduate School (master’s degree candidates), Bass Concert Hall. No speaker .
9 a.m. – 6 p.m. – (University-wide event) The Great TEXAS EX-it Open House, Lila B. Etter Alumni Center.
9 a.m. – College of Business Administration, Erwin Center. The speaker will be Willie I. Kocurek, retired local businessman and currently a community activist and attorney.
* 10 a.m. – College of Engineering, Gregory Gymnasium. Jeffrey M. Heller, president and chief operating officer of Electronic Data Systems Inc., will speak.
10:30 a.m. – Graduate School (doctoral degree candidates), Bass Concert Hall. No speaker.
11 a.m. – Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, Bates Recital Hall. Paul E. Begala, counselor to the President of the United States, will be the speaker.
Noon – College of Liberal Arts, Erwin Center. No speaker
1 p.m. – Graduate School of Library and Information Science, University Teaching Center 2.112A. Laura Bush, wife of Texas Gov. George W. Bush.
1:30 p.m. – College of Fine Arts, Bass Concert Hall. The speaker will be David L. Deming, dean of the College of Fine Arts and the next president of the Cleveland Institute of Art.
2 p.m. – College of Education, Gregory Gymnasium. Bernard Rapoport, chief executive officer of American Income Life Insurance in Waco and former chair of the UT System Board of Regents, will be the speaker.
*2 p.m. – School of Nursing, LBJ Auditorium, Sid Richardson Hall #3. The speaker will be William Archer III, M.D., commissioner of health for the Texas Department of Health.
*3 p.m. – College of Pharmacy, Marriott at the Capitol. James T. Doluisio, Ph.D., dean of the College of Pharmacy, will speak.
*3:30 p.m. – School of Architecture, Texas Union Ballroom 3.202. No speaker .
*4 p.m. – School of Social Work, Bass Concert Hall. Three students will serve as speakers for the ceremony. They are: Sharon Denis Gamble, graduating with a bachelor of social work from UT Austin; Glenn Arlyn Zimmerman, graduating with a masters of science in social work from the UT Austin/UT El Paso Cooperative Program; and Stacey Lynn Freedenthal, graduating with a master of social work from UT Austin.
7 p.m. – 115th Spring Commencement, The University of Texas at Austin, South Terrace of the Main Building, begins with a Carillon Prelude.
7:20 p.m. – Commencement Concert
8 p.m. – Grand Procession
- Grand procession of degree candidates
- Remarks by Larry R. Faulkner, president, UT Austin.
- Address by U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison.
- Certification of degree candidates and conferring of degrees
- The Eyes of Texas and recessional music by the UT Austin Chamber Singers, Concert Chorale, Longhorn Band and the Wind Ensemble.
Noon – College of Natural Sciences, Erwin Center. The speaker will be Dr. Thomas Barrow, president of the T-Bar-X, Ltd. oil and gas exploration company and chairman of Tobin International.
3:30 p.m. – School of Law, Erwin Center. The speaker will be Robert S. Strauss, former ambassador to Russia.
