What: The University of Arizona's 128th Commencement
Where: McKale Center, southeast quadrant of the UA Campus on Fred Enke Drive. Free parking is available in any surface lot or parking garage; handicap dropoff is on Fred Enke Drive on the south side of McKale
When: Saturday, May 17. The morning ceremony will begin at 9 a.m. The afternoon ceremony will begin at 1:30 p.m.
Speakers: The morning ceremony features Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano; the afternoon ceremony features Arizona Senator Jon Kyl
Press photographers should note: Platforms will be located on the floor of McKale to facilitate video and still photographers. You may photograph from anywhere inside McKale until the ceremonies begin. Photographers shall then clear the floor aisles and use the platforms or remain in the corners.
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University of Arizona students who have completed graduation requirements as of May 2003 will receive degrees Saturday, May 17 intwo ceremonies at McKale Center during the UA's 128th Commencement. UA President Peter Likins will confer degrees upon 3,558 undergraduates; 822 masters; 221 doctoral and ten specialists degree candidates. Additionally, 91 medical degrees, 50 Pharmacy Degrees and 136 Juris Doctor degrees will be conferred.
The academic procession into McKale for the morning ceremony begins at 9 a.m. and at 1:30 p.m. for the afternoon ceremony.
Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano will address the morning ceremony when degrees will be conferred on candidates in the colleges of Architecture, Planning & Landscape Architecture, Education, Engineering and Mines, Humanities, the Eller College of Business and Public Administration and the James E. Rogers College of Law.
Arizona Senator John Kyl will speak at the afternoon ceremony when degrees will be awarded to graduates of Arizona International College, Agriculture and Life Sciences, Fine Arts; Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Public Health, Social and Behavioral Sciences, the School of Health Professions and University College.
Awards:The Alumni Achievement Award will be presented to Esther N. Capin and David C. Goodrich. A longtime resident of Nogales and Tucson, Capin earned a bachelor's in psychology and a master's in counseling from the UA. She worked as a mental health counselor at the Santa Cruz Guidance Center in Nogales for ten years. Capin served for 16 years on the Arizona Board of Regents which included two terms as president. Since 1994, she has been the chair of the advisory board of the UA Morris K. Udall Center for Public Policy Studies and is a member of the advisory boards for the Colleges of Fine Arts, Education and Social and Behavioral Sciences. She has also served on the University Medical Center Board of Directors since 1984 and two years as chair.
A leading research hydrologist with the United States Department of Agriculture, David C. Goodrich earned his doctorate degree from the UA in 1990. Goodrich has maintained strong ties to the UA in diverse roles, including that of adjunct professor of hydrology, author of collaborative research proposals, seminar lecturer and member of graduate student committees as well as being a mentor to graduate students. His efforts have brought international recognition to the USDA experimental watershed program in the binational San Pedro Basin in Sonora and Southern Arizona.
Honorary Degrees:Charles Ares will be presented for an Honorary Doctorate of Law and Donald R. Diamond for an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters.
Charles Ares, a native Arizonan and veteran of the U.S. Navy, graduated from the UA College of Law in 1952. He ranked second in his class. Upon graduation, he served as Law Clerk to United States Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas for the 1952 term. From 1953 to 1956 Ares served in the Pima County Attorney's Office then worked in private practice with Morris K. Udall and Stewart Udall. Ares began teaching law at New York University School of Law in 1961 then returned to Tucson in 1966 where he assumed the duties of dean and professor of law at the UA until 1973. He retired in 1992 and continued serving as professor emeritus until 2001. As a practicing attorney, Ares championed the causes of civil rights and civil liberties. A significant example of his litigation in constitutional law led to the invalidation of Arizona's law against interracial marriages in the 1950s.
Donald R. Diamond grew up in southern Arizona and attended the UA before he moved to the East Coast to work in his father's business. After a thriving career in the commodities business in New York, he returned to Tucson for the benefit of his young daughter's health. He established himself in Tucson as an entrepreneur and investment expert as well as a successful commercial and real estate developer. Some of his diverse ventures include the revitalization of Old Tucson Studios; his ownership and operation of the local NBC affiliate, KVOA-TV Channel 4 and bringing professional basketball to the state of Arizona. Diamond's many community service activities include membership in and support of the Tucson Airport Authority; Arizona Town Hall; the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona and the United Way of Greater Tucson. He has been generous with his time and financial commitment to the Eller College of Business and Public Administration; the Steele Memorial Children's Research Center and the newly inaugurated Student Union Memorial Building.
Student Awards:Robie Medals: Mario Ruiz and Jennifer Reece. Mario Ruiz will receive a bachelor of arts in secondary education. Throughout his undergraduate career, Ruiz has given of his time to mentor and inspire young people to pursue higher education as an attainable goal. He has worked with Project SOAR and has served as president of the Future Teachers Club. Ruiz is a representative on the Dean's Undergraduate Council and a recruiter for the UA minority recruitment program.
Jennifer Reece will graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree. Active on the UA campus throughout her undergraduate years, Reece has served as a member of Bobcats Senior Honorary; Blue Key and Optimi Honoraries; Chi Omega sorority; the Make-A-Wish Foundation and has been inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. She will begin studies at the UA College of Medicine in the fall.
Freeman Medals: Doug Hartz and Samantha ZippDoug Hartz has spent the past year serving his fellow students as student body president. He will graduate with two degrees-one from the College of Science and one from the Eller College of Business and Public Administration. His majors are molecular and cellular biology and finance. Hartz has also served as a resident assistant at Coronado Hall and has been a member of various clubs and organizations including the Optimi Student Honorary, a group that supports the UA Foundation. He has been inducted into Phi Beta Kappa and will begin his studies at the UA College of Medicine in the Fall.
Samantha Zipp will graduate with a triple major in psychology; Business Management and Entrepreneurship. Zipp has been active as co-chair of the Arizona Collegiate Leadership Conference, which 700 students from 21 institutions attended; Habitat for Humanity; the Red Cross and Tucson Big Brothers/Big Sisters. In March, she and her team won first place in a nationwide entrepreneurship competition for their business, SLC Consulting. Aimed at high school seniors, the consulting business teaches about the social, psychological and financial changes that occur between high school and college.
Nugent Awards: Sam Chang and Lauren McCabe.Sam Chang will receive a bachelor of science degree in marketing from the Eller College of Business and Public Administration. Chang has served as president of the Chain Gang Junior Honorary; as fund-raising chair of the Bobcats senior honorary and as the philanthropy chair of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity. He has served his fellow students as the executive vice-president of the student body and as one of three student representatives to lobby the Board of Regents and the state's legislature on behalf of student concerns.
Lauren McCabe will graduate with two degrees-one in media arts from the College of Fine Arts and one in journalism from the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences. McCabe has served as the promotions chair and guest relations member for Spring Fling and as president of the Arizona Ambassadors, an organization that gives campus tours to prospective students. She has also spent two years as a resident assistant in Coronado Residence Hall where she was a mentor to freshmen through their first year at the UA. McCabe has served internships with ABC News in New York; with CNBC in Washington, D.C. and has produced news and feature segments for KUAT's "Arizona Illustrated" and for KOLD-TV Channel 13's news casts.
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