Highlights of Commencement
(NOTE: Go to http://www.usu.edu/ to listen to Gordon Gee’s commencement address and to access other imformation about Utah State University’s commencement activities.)
E. Gordon Gee challenged 2,638 Utah State University graduates Saturday to convert the knowledge they learned at college into the wisdom that tranforms the world. “Let your whole life bring forth what you have learned ~ what is your core ~ until humans on earth can truly say that they know and understand one another,” Gee told the graduates at Utah State’s 110th annual commencement ceremony. “The gifts you have been given flow through you to help others.” Gee, a native of Vernal, Utah, is chancellor of Vandebilt University and former president of Brown University, Ohio State, University of Colorado and West Virginia University. He was Judicial Fellow and senior staff assistant to U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren Burger, as well as holding many other nationally prominent positions in the fields of education, law and public policy. Utah State drastically changed this year’s commencement activities, making them more student friendly and more student focused, with each graduate walking across the stage to be honored at the main ceremony in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. President Kermit L. Hall moderated the ceremony and told graduates to reflect on the words of the great musician Duke Ellington as they begin life’s next journeys. “Freedom from hate. Freedom from self-pity. Freedom from fear. And freedom from pride,” Hall said. These were the words Ellington used to describe true freedom, and Hall echoed those thoughts as he asked graduates to join freedom’s fight. In one of the significant changes to this year’s ceremony, student Lara Briana Anderson addressed her classmates, the first time in memory that Utah State had a student commencment speaker. Anderson is valedictorian for the College of Science and is graduating with bachelor’s degrees in math and physics. On Friday, Hall awarded 54 doctoral degrees and 826 master’s degrees at the hooding ceremony for the School of Graduate Studies.
Commencement 2003 Statistics
Class size 2003: 3,518
Degrees:Associate’s: 98Bachelor’s: 2,638Certificates: 5Master’s: 826Doctorate: 54
Geographic Origin:Countries: 33States: 48
Ethnicity:American Indian/Alaskan Native: 38Asian: 38African American: 25Caucasian: 3,180Hispanic: 47Mexican American: 3Puerto Rican: 1Other: 58
Gender:Male: 1697Female: 1820
Age Range:15 to 63 years old
Commencement 2003 Ceremony Notes
Commencement Speaker:E. Gordon Gee, prominent educator/public policy leader
Honorary Degree Recipients:E. Gordon GeeGregory C. CarrLarzette Hale-WilsonJohn W. Williams
Professors of the Year:Tamara S. Vitale – AgricultureEdwin Stafford – BusinessFreeman King – EducationMichael J. Johnson – EngineeringVern Budge – Humanities, Arts and Social SciencesFred Provenza – Natural ResourcesDavid Peak – Science
D. Wynne Thorne Award: Steven D. Aust
E. G. Peterson Extension Award: Dee Von Bailey
Eldon J. Gardner Teaching Award: Edwin Stafford
University Graduate Mentor Award: Steven D. Aust
Student Citizenship Winners:Celestial Starr BybeeJeffrey T. Leek
Valedictorians and Escorts (in parentheses)
Corinna W. VonNiederhausern – Agriculture (Stanley Allen)Heather Allen – Business (Rosemary Fullerton)Teresa Garrett – Education (Deborah Hobbs)Michal Hradisky – Engineering (P. Thomas Blotter)Rafael A. Davtian – HASS (Peter McNamara)Christopher Fausett – Natural Resources (Cliff Craig)Lara Briana Anderson – Science (Jim Wheeler)