April 28, 2005 — Commencement ceremonies at the University of Utah will be held on Friday, May 6, at 9 a.m., in the Jon M. Huntsman Center. The class of 2005, comprised of 7,414 graduates, will receive their degrees that morning. The procession of diverse students, who come from 68 countries, 50 U.S. states and 26 of Utah’s 29 counties, will begin at 8:20 a.m. Guests should plan to be in their seats prior to 8:30 a.m. Tickets are not required.

Of the 7,414 graduates, 5,475 will receive bachelor’s degrees; 1,456 are master’s; 338 are doctorates; 138 are Juris Doctors; 93 are Doctors of Medicine; and 35 are Doctors of Pharmacy. Of this year’s graduates, 4,029 are men and 3,385 are women. The number of degrees awarded exceeds the number of graduates, as some students will receive more than one degree. The U will award ten more degrees than last year.

The youngest bachelor’s degree recipient is 18; the oldest, 70. The average age of bachelor’s degree recipients is 26. The average grade point average for this group is 3.25. The average age of students receiving graduate degrees is 33. The youngest student receiving a graduate degree is 22 and the oldest is 72.

The largest number of degrees will be awarded in political science, economics, psychology, human development and family studies and sociology.

Newly inaugurated University of Utah President Michael K. Young will officiate at this year’s commencement. Featured speaker will be the Most Reverend George H. Niederauer, eighth bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City. He is the spiritual leader of more than 200,000 Catholics throughout the state of Utah. He will be presented with an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters. The student speaker will be Meg Elizabeth Nielson, who will be graduating magna cum laude in psychology from the College of Social and Behavioral Science. The vocalist will be student Brian Tanner who will be graduating magna cum laude in music from the College of Fine Arts.

Honorary degrees will also be presented to Robert F. Bennett, Edwin E. Catmull, Katherine W. Dumke, C.A. “Arnie” Ferrin and Marta Sutton Weeks. The Rosenblatt Prize, a $40,000 cash award and the most prestigious honor the University bestows on its faculty, will be announced as well.

The Distinguished Teaching Award Recipients for this year are: Mary D. Burbank, clinical instructor in the Department of Teaching and Learning; Richard J. Ingebretsen, associate professor (lecturer) of physics and adjunct instructor in internal medicine; Peter S. Shirley, associate professor in the School of Computing; and Cheryl Wright, associate professor of Family and Consumer Studies and director of the Child and Family Development Center.

The Distinguished Scholarly and Creative Research Award recipients are Cynthia J. Burrows, professor of chemistry, and Alexei L. Efros, distinguished professor of physics. The Distinguished Service Award will be presented to Barbara Brown, professor in the Department of Family and Consumer Studies.

The University will recognize the 2005 Distinguished Honors Professor, Brian Kubarycz, associate instructor in the Honors Program; the 2005 Bennion Center Public Service Professor, Laurence Henry “Hank” Liese, associate professor of social work; and Lauren Holland, professor of political science, who was the University Professor for the 2004-2005 academic year.

Twelve students who are service-learning scholars from the Lowell Bennion Community Service Center will also be recognized.

Convocations for the College of Nursing, the College of Social Work and the College of Health will be held the day before the University’s commencement-on Thursday, May 5, 2005. The College of Nursing convocation will be held at 5 p.m. in Kingsbury Hall. The College of Health’s ceremony will be held at 5 p.m. in the Jon M. Huntsman Center. The College of Social Work convocation will be held at 7:30 p.m. in Kingsbury Hall.

Individual colleges will hold convocations on Friday, May 6, at the following locations and times:

• College of Humanities: Jon M. Huntsman Center, 11:15 a.m.
  
• College of Architecture + Planning: Olpin Union Ballroom, 11:30 a.m.
  
• College of Education: Kingsbury Hall, 11:30 a.m.
  
• College of Mines and Earth Sciences: Fine Arts Auditorium, 11:30 a.m.
  
• College of Pharmacy: Skaggs Hall, 11:30 a.m.
  
• College of Fine Arts: Kingsbury Hall, 1:30 p.m.
  
• College of Social and Behavioral Science: Jon M. Huntsman Center, 1:45 p.m.
  
  
• College of Science: Kingsbury Hall, 3:30 p.m.
  
• David Eccles School of Business: Jon M. Huntsman Center, 4:15 p.m.
  
• College of College of Engineering: Jon M. Huntsman Center, 6:45 p.m.

Commencement ceremonies for the College of Law will be held Friday, May 13, at 10 a.m., in Kingsbury Hall. The School of Medicine will hold commencement ceremonies on Saturday, May 21, at 10 a.m., at Kingsbury Hall.

Campus parking lots may be used at no charge during commencement and convocation ceremonies. As campus parking is limited, graduates and their guests are encouraged to use the free U shuttle service to travel between commencement events. Shuttles run throughout campus and are scheduled every 10 minutes.