Saturday, May 10th, 2003 1:30 pm on the Campus Mall, University of Minnesota
Morris.
(In the event of rain, Commencement will be held in the Physical Education
Center Gym.)
West Central Minnesota author Kent Meyers will give the graduation address and UMM Chancellor Sam Schuman will preside during the annual Commencement ceremony, to be held at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, May 10, on the mall of the University of Minnesota, Morris. Rain site for the event will be in the gymnasium of the Physical Education Center.
Nearly 350 students will receive their bachelor of arts degrees from UMM this year. The ceremony will mark UMM's 40th Commencement.
In a concerted effort to better accommodate the families and friends of the graduates, the event will be held for the first time on a Saturday. A reception, hosted by UMM Chancellor Sam Schuman, will be held following the ceremony on Miller Field (located behind the Minority Resource Center).
The academic procession will be led by Mace Bearer Greg Thorson, associate professor of political science, and Faculty Marshal Nancy Carpenter, associate professor of chemistry.
UMM senior Tanya Taylor, Mendota Heights, will sing the "Star Spangled Banner." Chancellor Sam Schuman will provide the welcome and recognize special guests, The Honorable University of Minnesota Regent Clyde Allen, Jr., and Blaine Hill '87, president of the UMM Alumni Association.
Dr. Kent Meyers, who will give the graduation address, grew up on a small farm in southern Minnesota, and graduated in 1977 from the University of Minnesota, Morris. He teaches at Black Hills State University in Spearfish. S.D., and is the author of several books, including The Witness of Combines, a story of families, farms and rural life in the Midwest.
Graduating senior Russell "Rusty" Kath, Buffalo, who was selected as the recipient of the Curtis H. Larson Award conferred upon the graduate chosen as senior class speaker for Commencement, will speak on behalf of his fellow graduates. Curtis H. Larson was the class speaker at UMM's first Commencement in 1964. He died in an accident while serving with the Peace Corps in Ecuador following his graduation.
John Schwaller, vice chancellor for academic affairs and dean, will present the graduating class. Regent Allen will confer the degrees.
Musical selections will be provided by the UMM Concert Choir, under the direction of Dr. Kenneth Hodgson, and the UMM Concert Band, under the direction of Nathaniel Johnson, both of the UMM music faculty.
Two student Color Guards and two Student Marshals, respectively, representing the UMM Honors program, will be Lynn Weyer, Albany; Trisha Walters, Doran; Jennifer Montgomery, West St. Paul; and Ashley Laliberte, Crystal.
Ushers will be UMM students, staff and members of the UMM Retirees Association. Interpreter will be Paddy Shelden, Alexandria.
The 2003 Senior Student Exhibition in the Gallery of Humanities Fine Arts is open to visitors before and after the commencement ceremony.
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Last Modified Tuesday, February 01, 2005
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