Newswise — WHAT: More than 2600 University of Maryland students - joined by family and friends - will be recognized during the University of Maryland's winter commencement ceremony on Saturday, December 19. Among the thousands graduating, 1552 have applied for bachelor's degrees, 739 for master's degrees and 373 for doctoral degrees.
There are an additional 1207 August graduates who will be recognized - 553 with bachelor's degrees, 468 with master's degrees and 186 with doctoral degrees.
WHO: The commencement speaker will be James F. Pitts, the corporate vice president and president of Electronic Systems at Northrop Grumman Corp. He works with the Department of Defense and other federal agencies to develop equipment and systems for airspace management, navigation and communications as well as precision weapons. The Baltimore native has a a bachelor's degree in engineering science and a master's degree in electrical engineering from Johns Hopkins University.
He currently serves on the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Board of Visitors and is chairman of the Maryland Business Roundtable for Education. In 2002, Mr. Pitts received the Engineer of the Year Award from UMBC's College of Engineering. He and his wife, Kay, have three children and reside in Pasadena, MD. Full Bio.
The student speaker will be Talia Lewis. She came to Maryland with plans to one day become a pediatric oncologist. She leaves with a greater - and much more ambitious - goal: tackling health-care inequities on a global scale as a family doctor. A Philip Merrill Presidential Scholar and University Honors student - she earned a reputation as passionate, driven voice for people who can't advocate for themselves.
"The overarching theme of my experience at Maryland is that it really turned me on to social justice issues & and has given me a lot of different ways of channeling my direction," she says. Lewis plans to attend a medical school with a strong emphasis on international health and/or social justice.
WHEN: The main commencement ceremony will be held on Saturday, December 19, 2009 at 7 p.m. Schools and colleges will host individual ceremonies on Sunday, December 20 at various times and locations. Get more information online at the University of Maryland Commencement Website.
Guests are urged to be seated approximately one half-hour prior to the designated time for the ceremonies if they wish to observe the student and faculty processional.
WHERE: Comcast Center, University of Maryland, College Park. Comcast Center is located on Paint Branch Drive, near the intersection of Paint Branch and Route 193 (University Blvd.). Shuttle bus service will provide free transportation around campus throughout the day on Saturday evening, December 20 and Sunday, December 21.
MEDIA: The University of Maryland will provide a free, live, real-time digital feed of the commencement ceremony to the Verizon AVOC switch in Washington, D.C. hosted by Crawford Communications. Contact Tiffany Warnock, 703-750-0010; Cell: 703-342-9919; [email protected] to arrange a feed ($$).
The ceremonies will also be broadcast on UMTV, the university's cable TV station: Channel 72 in Prince George's County and Channel 40 in Montgomery County. UMTV will also stream the event live on the Internet (Real Player required).
A mult box will be available to media. Media check-in will be located on the floor of the arena, in the rear of the graduates' seating area. Only media with proper credentials will be allowed on the floor. Reserved press seating is available. Dial-up connections will be available in the Comcast press room.
TV crews should enter through the loading dock in the back of Comcast (floor level near media check in). Parking is free in all lots and in parking garages near the Comcast Center.
RSS