Corporate and industry leaders, a United States circuit judge, outstanding educators, the commander of the Texas Air National Guard, a filming industry executive, a former governor of Colorado, a University of Texas System executive and a distinguished mezzo-soprano who played a key role in the university’s history of ethnic diversity will be among the speakers for convocations at The University of Texas at Austin on May 18 and 19.
Convocations hosted by the various colleges, schools and departments are the ceremonies in which undergraduates and graduate students are recognized individually.
Graduating students will join together May 19 on the Main Mall south of the Tower for the 129th Spring Commencement ceremony, which celebrates the graduation of about 8,000 students this spring. The ceremony will begin with a carillon prelude at 7 p.m. and traditionally ends with a fireworks display and the singing of “The Eyes of Texas.” Former Secretary of Defense and former Texas AandM University president Robert M. Gates will deliver the keynote address during the ceremony. He is currently chancellor of the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va.
The University of Texas at Austin is now a tobacco-free campus. Use of tobacco products is prohibited in university buildings and on university grounds within the state of Texas, including parking areas, sidewalks, walkways, attached parking structures and university-owned buildings.
The convocation speakers for other ceremonies May 18 and 19 hosted by the various colleges, schools, departments and other groups are listed below. General commencement information, including convocations schedules, is available online.
Friday, May 18
8 a.m. McCombs School of Business (ceremony for undergraduate students), Frank Erwin Center. Speaker: John L. Adams, retired vice chairman of Trinity Industries Inc. and member of the board of directors of Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc.
8:30 a.m. College of Pharmacy, Bass Concert Hall, Texas Performing Arts. Speaker: Dr. Kenneth I. Shine, executive vice chancellor for health affairs, The University of Texas System Office of Health Affairs.
9 a.m. Department of Government (ceremony for undergraduate students), Gregory Gymnasium. Speaker: The Honorable Edward C. Prado, U.S. Circuit judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
11:30 a.m. College of Liberal Arts joint convocation, Frank Erwin Center. The College of Liberal Arts Joint Convocation is intended for those majors not represented by a department ceremony. Speaker: Charles R. Kaye, co-president of Warburg Pincus.
Noon College of Education, Gregory Gymnasium. Speaker: Vaughn Gross, educator, University of Texas at Austin alumna, and chair of the College of Education Foundation Advisory Council.
Noon School of Nursing (ceremony includes graduate and undergraduate students), Bass Concert Hall, Texas Performing Arts. Speaker: Dr. Kenneth I. Shine, executive vice chancellor for health affairs, The University of Texas System Office of Health Affairs.
3 p.m. Joint ROTC Commissioning Ceremony, Bates Recital Hall, Texas Performing Arts. Speaker: Brig. Gen. Kenneth W. Wisian, commander of the Texas Air National Guard and assistant adjutant general-air for Texas. Wisian is the principal adviser to the adjutant general for all Air National Guard issues.
3 p.m. Master in Professional Accounting Recognition Ceremony, Gregory Gymnasium. Speaker: Rosa Flores, television journalist, photographer and author.
3 p.m. College of Fine Arts, Bass Concert Hall, Texas Performing Arts. Speaker: Barbara Smith Conrad, distinguished mezzo-soprano and visiting professor, will speak and perform.
3:30 p.m. College of Communication, Frank Erwin Center. Speaker: Michael Barker, co-president of Sony Pictures Classics.
6 p.m. Department of History, College of Liberal Arts (ceremony includes graduate and undergraduate students), Bass Concert Hall, Texas Performing Arts. Speaker: Rob Thomas, renowned screenwriter, television producer and author. He is a 1987 alumnus of The University of Texas at Austin.
6 p.m. Master of Business Administration, McCombs School of Business, recognition ceremony, Gregory Gymnasium. Speaker: Robert Zlotnik, president and chief executive officer of StarTex Power.
7 p.m. Cockrell School of Engineering (ceremony includes graduate and undergraduate students), Frank Erwin Center. Speaker: Bob Metcalfe, professor of innovation at the Cockrell School of Engineering and Fellow of the Clint W. Murchison Sr. Chair of Free Enterprise.
Saturday, May 19
8 a.m. College of Natural Sciences (All majors except the School of Biological Sciences and the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry). Frank Erwin Center. Speaker: George Miller, a student from the graduating class.
9 a.m. Department of Economics, College of Liberal Arts (ceremony includes graduate and undergraduate students), Gregory Gymnasium. Speaker: Duff Stewart, president and chief executive officer of GSDandM.
9 a.m. Graduate School (master’s), in Bass Concert Hall, Texas Performing Arts. Speaker: Judith H. Langlois, vice provost and ad interim dean of Graduate Studies, and the Charles and Sarah Seay Regents Professor in Developmental Psychology.
9 a.m. Plan II Honors Program, College of Liberal Arts, Hogg Auditorium. (Note: Tickets are required.) Speaker: Aurora Lora (Plan II, 2000), founder and administrator of the Harriet Tubman Leadership Academy for Young Women, a public all-girls middle and high school in Portland, Ore.
10 a.m. Center for Mexican American Studies (ceremony includes graduate and undergraduate students), College of Liberal Arts, Student Activities Center Auditorium. Speaker: Michael Martinez, a partner at Edge Resources LLC and alumnus of The University of Texas at Austin.
11 a.m. Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, LBJ Auditorium. Speaker: Bill Owens, former governor of Colorado and a graduate of the LBJ School of Public Affairs.
Noon School of Biological Sciences and Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, College of Natural Sciences, Frank Erwin Center. Speaker: Melanie Molina, a student from the graduating class.
Noon Master of Science in Technology Commercialization, McCombs School of Business, amphitheater of the ATandT Executive Education and Conference Center. Speaker: Trey Mebane, director of business development, National Oilwell Varco (NOV).
Noon Graduate School (doctoral), Bass Concert Hall, Texas Performing Arts. Speakers: Bill Powers, president of The University of Texas at Austin, and Judith H. Langlois, vice provost and ad interim dean of Graduate Studies and the Charles and Sarah Seay Regents Professor in Developmental Psychology.
12:30 p.m. Department of English, College of Liberal Arts (ceremony includes graduate and undergraduate students), Gregory Gymnasium. Speaker: James Loehlin, Shakespeare at Winedale Regents Professor and Distinguished Teaching Professor. He is a Plan II graduate of The University of Texas at Austin and was a student in the Winedale program under founding Director James B. Ayres.
3 p.m. School of Architecture (ceremony includes graduate and undergraduate students), Hogg Auditorium. Speaker: Rick Archer, principal of Overland Partners and an alumnus of The University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture. Tickets are required.
3 p.m. Jackson School of Geosciences (ceremony includes graduate and undergraduate students), Bates Recital Hall, Texas Performing Arts. Speaker: Marcia McNutt, director of the U.S. Geological Survey.
3 p.m. School of Social Work, (ceremony includes graduate and undergraduate students), Bass Concert Hall, Texas Performing Arts. Speakers: Two students from the graduating class were chosen by their peers to speak at the ceremony. They are William Thames Bailey III, a graduate student, and Shante’ M. Johnson, an undergraduate.
3:30 p.m. School of Law, Frank Erwin Center. Speaker: Joseph D. Jamail Jr., founder and owner of the Jamail and Kolius law firm in Houston and a member of the board of trustees for the University of Texas Law School Foundation.
3:30 p.m. Department of Psychology (ceremony includes graduate and undergraduate students), Gregory Gymnasium. Speaker: Arthur B. Markman, Annabel Irion Worsham Centennial Professor in Liberal Arts and Professor in Psychology. Title: “Openness and the Power of Serendipity.”
4 p.m. School of Information, amphitheater of the ATandT Executive Education and Conference Center. Speaker: Mike Millard, director of research at Austin Ventures and member of the School of Information Advisory Council.
What to read next:
- Tower shines orange this weekend: The Tower will be lighted May 19 and May 20 in celebration of the 129th spring commencement and the Class of 2012
- Look out, world!: With commencement festivities fast approaching, take a by-the-numbers infographic tour of the remarkable students in the Class of 2012
- The Class of 2012: To celebrate the achievements of this year’s graduates, we highlight just some of the remarkable students who’ve doggedly pursued their academic goals
- Convocation speakers at The University of Texas at Austin represent diverse walks of life and roles in society
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