A university provost, a national magazine editor, the Texas director of nursing, corporate executives and several outstanding faculty members and administrators will be among the keynote speakers for convocation ceremonies Dec. 6 and 7 at The University of Texas at Austin.
About 3,000 graduates this fall semester will include about 2,600 undergraduates, 10 law students, 170 doctoral students and 300 students receiving their master’s degrees.
Convocation ceremonies, hosted by the various colleges and schools, are occasions when these academic units celebrate their graduates’ achievements with individualized honors and traditions. Fall graduation activities at The University of Texas at Austin do not include a university-wide commencement ceremony. The convocations provide photo opportunities for candidates’ families to capture memorable moments as students are recognized and walk across the stage. More information about convocation programs is available online.
In honor of graduating students receiving their degrees at fall convocation ceremonies, the university’s Tower will be lighted orange with “08” displayed on all sides of building windows on Dec. 6 and Dec. 7.
Parking for these activities is free in designated areas on a first come, first served basis. On Dec. 6 and Dec. 7, with the exception of spaces marked “At All Times,” all university parking garages and most surface lots are available.
The convocation activities include:
Saturday, Dec. 6
- 9 a.m. – Cockrell School of Engineering. Ceremony includes graduate and undergraduate students. Frank Erwin Center, Speaker: Dr. C. Grant Willson, 2007 National Medal of Technology and Innovation recipient and professor of chemical engineering and chemistry, The University of Texas at Austin.
- 9 a.m. – School of Nursing. Ceremony includes graduate and undergraduate students. Hogg Auditorium. Speaker: Diane Faucher Moy, state director of nursing, Texas Department of State Health Services.
- Noon – College of Communication. Ceremony includes graduate and undergraduate students. Frank Erwin Center. Speaker: Jane Chesnutt, editor in chief, Woman’s Day Magazine.
- Noon – School of Information (ceremony for graduate students). The Ransom Center Charles Prothro Theatre. Speaker: Harry S. Martin, visiting professor of law and interim director of research at The University of Texas School of Law, Jamail Center for Legal Research, Tarlton Law Library, and the
Henry N. Ess III Librarian, Emeritus and professor of law, Harvard Law School. - Noon – School of Social Work. Ceremony includes graduate and undergraduate students. Hogg Auditorium. Speaker: Karen Yvette Hawkins, a graduating senior receiving her bachelor’s degree in social work.
- 1 p.m. – Jackson School of Geosciences. Ceremony includes graduate and undergraduate students. B. Iden Payne Theatre. Speaker: Annell Bay, senior vice president, exploration, Marathon Oil Corporation.
- 3 p.m. – College of Education. Frank Erwin Center. Speaker: Cinthia Salinas, member of the curriculum studies and social studies program areas, and an affiliate faculty member in the cultural studies in education program area, The University of Texas at Austin.
- 3 p.m. – College of Fine Arts. Hogg Auditorium. Speaker: Dr. Joan Holladay, professor in the Department of Art and Art History, College of Fine Arts, The University of Texas at Austin, and recipient of the 2007-08 College of Fine Arts Distinguished Teaching Award.
- 6 p.m. – College of Liberal Arts. Ceremony includes graduate and undergraduate students. Frank Erwin Center. Speaker: Teresa A. Sullivan, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, professor of sociology, University of Michigan.
- 6:30 p.m. – School of Architecture. Ceremony includes graduate and undergraduate students. Goldsmith Hall Gallery. Speaker: Frederick Steiner, dean of the School of Architecture.
Sunday, Dec. 7
- 10 a.m. – McCombs School of Business. Frank Erwin Center. Speaker: Thomas Delano Williams, vice president, general counsel and secretary of Perot Systems Corporation.
- 2:30 p.m. – College of Natural Sciences. Ceremony includes graduate and undergraduate students. Frank Erwin Center. Speaker: Richard Crooks, chairman of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The University of Texas at Austin.
