2003 U-M Spring Commencement activities

Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm will deliver the main address and receive an honorary degree when U-M holds its Spring Commencement exercises at 9:15 a.m. April 26 in Michigan Stadium. The program will be broadcast on U-M Public Television WFUM-TV 28 in Flint, and Comcast cable TV channel 22 in the greater Ann Arbor area. Coverage of the ceremony also will be available at http://www.itd.umich.edu/umtv.

All undergraduate degrees and the University's honorary degrees will be conferred at the April 26 ceremony. Doctoral candidates and Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies master's degree candidates will be honored at an April 25 ceremony.

Honorary degrees to be conferred April 26 are Granholm, doctor of laws; Oleg Grabar, professor emeritus at the Princeton Institute for Advanced Studies, doctor of humane letters; Judith Jamison, director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, doctor of fine arts; Hillel Shuval, Lunenfeld-Kunen Professor of Environmental Sciences at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, doctor of science; Dr. John Schwarz, former Michigan state senator representing Battle Creek, doctor of laws; and Billy Taylor, jazz pianist and educator, doctor of music.

Photo by Martin Vloet, U-M Photo Services

Schwarz will be the main speaker at the University Graduate Exercises April 25, and Taylor will receive his honorary degree and serve as the main speaker at commencement ceremonies for U-M-Flint May 4.

For Spring Commencement at Michigan Stadium, all family members and guests, including children over age two, need a ticket to enter. Graduates do not need tickets. Spring Commencement tickets will be distributed 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. April 21-24 in the Michigan Union Pond Room. Bachelor's degree recipients will be eligible to receive up to eight tickets, and graduate degree recipients will be eligible to receive up to four tickets. Extra tickets, if available, will be distributed to graduates and candidates on a first-come, first-served basis 8 a.m.-noon April 25 in the Pond Room. All tickets will be marked with section, row and seat numbers. Ticket packets contain consecutive seats; however, distribution will be random, not by seat location.

The ceremony also will be shown on video screens in Crisler Arena. Because seating in the arena is limited, students will receive only two general admission tickets for their guests.

Michigan Stadium gates open at 8:30 a.m. Families and guests should enter through Gates 2, 4, 8 and 9. All guests should be seated by 9:15 a.m., when the graduate procession begins.

Commencement will occur in Michigan Stadium regardless of the weather. Given the size of the event, it is not feasible to move the ceremony to an alternate location while maintaining its University-wide, inclusive focus. While umbrellas are not encouraged, they will not be barred from the stadium if it is raining. Individuals using umbrellas inside the stadium should be respectful of those seated around them.

The Ann Arbor Transportation Authority will run special shuttle buses to Michigan Stadium from many local sites. Service will begin at 8 a.m. and run approximately every 20 minutes. Shuttles will run for approximately 60 minutes following commencement.

For graduate exercises at Crisler Arena, up to 10 tickets per graduate or candidate will be distributed 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. April 22-23 at the Student Services Center, lower level of the Horace H. Rackham Building. Graduates must show identification to receive tickets. Extra tickets, if available, will be distributed to graduates and candidates on a first-come, first-served basis 8:30-4:30 p.m. April 24 in the Student Services Center.

Crisler Arena doors will open at 12:15 p.m. April 25. Families and guests will enter the arena through the concourse-level doors and should be seated by 12:50 p.m.

Commencement activities

University-wide commencement exercises, as well as departmental receptions and other activities for students and their families are listed below. Many events require tickets. For up-to-the-minute commencement information, visit http://www.umich.edu/~gradinfo or call the commencement hotline, (734) 647-6037.

Friday, April 25

Tri-Service ROTC Commissioning, 9 a.m., Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre.

University Graduate Exercises (Rackham Program), 1 p.m., Crisler Arena. A reception honoring graduates will be held at the U-M Golf Course following the ceremony. Graduates and their guests are invited to attend the reception.

School of Information graduate recognition ceremony, 4 p.m., Chemistry Building Atrium, (734) 763-2286. An informal reception with a welcome from School of Information Dean John King and individual recognition of graduates.

School of Music, 7 p.m., Power Center for the Performing Arts. Speaker: Robert Benedetti, Emmy-winning producer.

Business School, 7 p.m., Crisler Arena. Speaker: Allan Gilmour, vice chairman and chief financial officer of Ford Motor Company. The Business School will host several events on Commencement day:

• Executive MBA recognition ceremony, 1-2:30 p.m., Hale Auditorium. A recognition ceremony for the inaugural class of the Executive MBA Program. Speaker: Prof. Robert Quinn, member of the original faculty EMBA Design Committee;

• Reception for Business School graduating students, 3:30-5 p.m., Kresge Portico. Dean Robert Dolan will host the event for all graduating students and their families and friends;

• Beta Gamma Sigma induction ceremony, 5-7 p.m., Hale Auditorium.

La Celebracion Latina, 7:30 p.m., Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre.

School of Public Health, 7:30 p.m., Rackham Auditorium, (734) 764-1552. Tickets required. Speaker: Dr. Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, president and chief executive officer, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. An open house will be held 2-4 p.m. at the School of Public Health, Copper Café and Faculty Lounge.

Division of Kinesiology, 8 p.m., Michigan Theater, (734) 647-2689. Speakers: Richard Rogel, co-chair of the Campaign for Michigan and former president of the Alumni Association, and Robyn Katz, president, Kinesiology Student Government.

Saturday, April 26

University-wide Spring Commencement, 9:15 a.m., Michigan Stadium. Speaker: Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm. Afterward, a reception hosted by the Division of Student Affairs for graduates and their families and friends will be held on the first floor of the Michigan Union, (734) 763-5900.

School of Art and Design, noon, Art and Architecture Building.

School of Nursing, 12:30 p.m., Crisler Arena. Reception follows.

School of Natural Resources and Environment, 1 p.m., Rackham Auditorium, (734) 615-4332. Speaker: David Sandalow, vice president of the World Wildlife Fund and former U.S. assistant secretary of state for oceans, environment and science. A reception will follow in the Michigan League Ballroom.

Department of Political Science, 1 p.m., Michigan Union Ballroom, (734) 764-6313. Speaker: Department of Political Science chair Daniel Levine.

School of Social Work, 1 p.m., Power Center for the Performing Arts, (734) 764-3309 or 647-2541. Speaker: Maryann Mahaffey, president, Detroit City Council.

Residential College, 2 p.m., Chemistry Building Auditorium.

Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, 4 p.m., Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre, (734) 764-8593. Speaker: U-M Law School alumnus Rep. Harold Ford Jr. (D-Tenn.).

School of Education, 4 p.m., Michigan Theater. Speaker: Virginia Richardson, chair of the Educational Studies Program.

A. Alfred Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, 6 p.m., Power Center for the Performing Arts.

College of Engineering, 6 p.m., Crisler Arena. Speaker: Jerry Levin, U-M alumnus, chairman and CEO of American Household Inc., and co-chair of the CoE's Anniversary Campaign Committee.

Black Celebratory, 7:30 p.m., Michigan Theater.

Sunday, April 27

U-M-Dearborn College of Engineering and Computer Sciences, and School of Management, 10:30 a.m., Field House, (313) 593-5330. Speaker: Timothy O'Brien, vice president of corporate relations for Ford Motor Co.

U-M-Dearborn College of Arts, Sciences, and Letters, and School of Education, 2:30 p.m., Field House, (313) 593-5330. Speaker: Shirley Stancato, president and CEO of New Detroit.

Saturday, May 3

Law School Senior Day, 2 p.m., Law Quadrangle, (734) 615-4501. Speaker: Kenneth Lee Salazar, U-M alumnus and attorney general, state of Colorado.

Sunday, May 4

U-M-Flint Commencement, 2:30 p.m., IMA Sports Arena, (810) 762-3060. Speaker: Jazz legend Billy Taylor.

Saturday, May 10

School of Dentistry, 11 a.m., Power Center for the Performing Arts. Speaker: Dr. Charles Bertolami, the dean of the School of Dentistry at the University of California (San Francisco).

Friday, May 30

Medical School, 4 p.m., Crisler Arena. Speaker: Dr. Edmund Pellegrino, professor emeritus of medicine and medical ethics at the Center for Clinical Bioethics at the Georgetown University Medical Center. A ticketed reception for graduates, their families and guests will be held 1:30-3 p.m. at Crisler Arena.

Saturday, May 31

College of Pharmacy, 1:45 p.m., Power Center for the Performing Arts.

Fall Term 2003, Sunday Dec. 14

Winter Term 2004, April 30-May 2

Fall Term 2004, Sunday Dec. 19

Winter Tem 2005, April 29-May 1

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