Commencement May 10: Three Exercises, Honorary Degrees, Ph.D. Bestowed

Monday, May 05, 2008

The University of North Carolina Wilmington will hold its 75th commencement exercises on Saturday, May 10 in Trask Coliseum.

For the first time in history, UNC Wilmington will hold three ceremonies. Students of the Sciences, Arts and Humanities in the College of Arts and Sciences will walk in a 9:30 a.m. ceremony, while the Social Sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences ceremony will be held at 1 p.m. Professional schools (Cameron School of Business, School of Nursing and Watson School of Education) will walk beginning at 5 p.m. An estimated 1,642 undergraduate and 244 graduate students are projected to receive degrees.

UNCW will honor outstanding philanthropists Irwin "Ike" Belk and Barbro and Bernard Osher with honorary Doctor of Humanities degrees. Erin Meagher Fougeres, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) administrator of the Marine Mammal Stranding Program for the Southeastern United States, will receive a Ph.D. in Marine Biology.

Compared to the May 2007 UNC Wilmington commencement, it is projected that the number of graduating students who have studied abroad in another country has increased by 13 percent, reflecting UNCW's commitment to producing global citizens. The number of students projected to receive graduate degrees has increased 13 percent, while the number receiving undergraduate degrees has increased by 10 percent.

Tickets are required for commencement exercises. Parking will be limited. The K extension lot and the Greene Track area near the intersection of Hamilton and Hurst Drives will be reserved for the general public. Additional handicapped parking will be available in K lot near

Wagoner Drive
.

Commencement exercises will be broadcast live in their entirety by UNCW Television over the Learning Network on Time Warner Cable channel 5 and Charter Cable channel 12. The broadcast will also be simulcast online at http://publicservicemedia.uncw.edu.

For more information on graduation, including times and locations for departmental receptions, please go to www.uncw.edu/commencement.

Media Contact:

Joy Davis, Marketing and Communications, 910.962.3616 or davisjc@uncw.edu