Second-annual Commencement will be ‘more intimate’ event
The second-annual December Commencement will offer a more intimate, student-centered gathering for students graduating this semester, officials say.
Tim Vitale, assistant director of public relations and marketing at USU and a member of the commencement council, said this year’s commencement offers a variety of activities for the approximately 550 graduate and undergraduate students celebrating their graduation.
There will be no practice for the ceremony; students will gather at the Fieldhouse at 9:30 a.m. and the processional will begin at 10 a.m., Vitale said.
“It’s fun to walk, it’s part of the tradition,” Vitale said, “but we do live in Utah and we are just hoping for good weather. It worked out well last year, but if there are any problems with the weather, we will put out announcements about where to meet.”
The ceremony itself begins at 10:30 a.m. on Dec. 17 in the Spectrum, Vitale said. Guests do not have to buy advance tickets, Vitale said, and the seating will be done on a first-come, first-served basis, with the doors opening at 9:30 a.m.
There will be two speakers for this year’s ceremony, Sonia Manuel-Dupont and a valedictory address; the second speaker has not yet been finalized, Vitale said, but will be chosen on Tuesday.
“We felt that since it’s such a smaller gathering in the fall, that instead of choosing a speaker that nobody knows, it would be better to get people that students are familiar with,” Vitale said. “It went well a year ago, so we decided to continue the tradition.”
Manuel-Dupont, a professor with appointments in three departments, “is a great speaker, she’s really exciting and the students love her,” Vitale said. He said the other speaker will be chosen from the seven valedictorians of the colleges: Camille Walker, Bryan Cook, Brooke Sorenson, Brandon Boldt, Steven Stoddard, Alan Luce and Maria Horrocks.
In addition to the speakers, Vitale said a special ceremony to officially induct Stan Albrecht as the president of USU will take place after the official ceremony was canceled earlier this semester
Vitale said the graduation will then take place with the names of all the students being called. He said they will have the opportunity to shake hands with their dean, the president of the university and the provost.
Students can choose to participate in other activities that are being offered, Vitale said. He said there is a dinner being offered Dec. 16 from 6-8 p.m. in the TSC Ballroom with tickets at $13.50 for adults and $6.50 for children under age 12. Tickets can be purchased in the TSC Ticket Office.
Immediately following the commencement ceremony, USU will offer a university celebration in the student center where students and their friends and families can mingle with professors and the deans, Vitale said. He said it is a great opportunity for everyone to be able to socialize. Tickets are required but are free at the TSC Ticket Office.
“We are able to do a lot of things that just aren’t possible during the spring ceremony because the fall ceremony is just so much smaller that we can create a more intimate atmosphere for people,” Vitale said. “I really think this year’s ceremony will go very well.”
For more information on the December Commencement, go to www.usu.edu/commencement/index.html.
-dilewis@cc.usu.edu