ALBANY, N.Y. (May 16, 2007) -- The University at Albany is holding its Commencement Weekend 2007, which includes a graduate commencement ceremony on May 19, the main undergraduate degree conferral ceremony on May 20, and individual departmental and school recognition ceremonies throughout the weekend. An estimated 2,812 students are expected to participate in the 163rd commencement ceremonies including 1,806 undergraduate and 1,006 graduate degree applicants (174 doctoral, 785 masters and 35 certificates - advanced and graduate).
The undergraduate degree conferral ceremony will take place on Sunday, May 20 at 10 a.m. on the Science Library lawn, located on the uptown campus. Judith Kaye, chief judge of the State of New York, will deliver the undergraduate address. The graduate commencement will be held at the uptown campus' SEFCU Arena on Saturday, May 19 at 9 a.m. and the address will be delivered by Elizabeth Kolbert, award-winning journalist and author of Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man, Nature, and Climate Change (2006).
Three honorary degrees will also be awarded at the graduate commencement ceremony. The University at Albany will confer the Doctor of Humane Letters to alumnus Seung Park, former governor of the Bank of Korea; Capital Region philanthropist Morris Massry, who has served as vice president and director of the University at Albany Foundation, president of the Student Housing Corporation and director of the University at Albany Fund; and Louis Tomson, former first deputy secretary to the New York governor and former chairman and CEO of the New York State Thruway Authority.
At the undergraduate ceremony, Kaye will receive the Doctor of Laws honorary degree.
The undergraduates will receive degrees in 50 different majors, including psychology, business, communication, sociology, biology, accounting, political science, and history. There are 19 military veterans in the Class of 2007. UAlbany's undergraduate class hails from 43 foreign countries, as well as 16 states. About 134 undergraduates participated in the Presidential Scholars program, which recognizes and nurtures students with distinguished high school academic records. The average cumulative GPA for the undergraduate class is 3.1 and nine students are expected to graduate with a perfect 4.0.
UAlbany's Commencement Weekend also includes individual departmental and school recognition ceremonies with guest speakers. Dr. Raymond M. Burse, vice president and general counsel for General Electric Consumer and Industrial, will speak at UAlbany's Africana Studies Department ceremony at 1 p.m. May 20 in the Performing Arts Center's Recital Hall.
For more information on individual departmental recognition ceremonies and other commencement activities including the senior rite of passage known as "Torch Night," visit the Commencement Web site.
