Apr. 25, 2006 — Commencement ceremonies at the University of Utah will be held on Friday, May 5, at 9 a.m., in the Jon M. Huntsman Center. The class of 2006, comprised of 7,332 graduates, will receive degrees that morning. The procession of diverse students, who come from 66 countries, 50 U.S. states and 25 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 7,332 graduates, 5,279 will receive bachelor”s degrees; 1,711 are master’s; 416 are doctorates; 134 are Juris Doctors; 103 are Doctors of Medicine; and 44 are Doctors of Pharmacy. Of this year’s graduates, 3,994 are men and 3,338 are women. The number of degrees awarded exceeds the number of graduates, as some students will receive more than one degree.

The youngest bachelor’s degree recipient is 16; the oldest, 71. The average age of bachelor’s degree recipients is 26. The average grade point average for this group is 3.24. The average age of students receiving graduate degrees is 32. The youngest student receiving a graduate degree is 21 and the oldest is 64.

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

University of Utah President Michael K. Young will officiate at this year’s commencement. Featured speaker will be United States Secretary of Health and Human Services Michael O. Leavitt, former administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and former governor of the state of Utah. He will be presented with an honorary Doctorate of Laws. The student speaker will be Teresa Tuan, age 16, who is graduating in chemistry and who has recently been accepted at the U’s Medical School. The vocalist will be Lyndsey Dawson, who is graduating in music from the College of Fine Arts.

Honorary degrees will also be presented to Pierre Lassonde, John M. Matsen, Marcia Poulsen Price, Eunice Kennedy Shriver and Homer R. Warner. 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: Lynn Burgess Jorde, associate chair and professor, Department of Human Genetics; Suzanne S. Stensaas, professor, Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy; and Barry Weller, professor, Department of English.

The Distinguished Scholarly and Creative Research Award recipients are Donald Revell, professor, Department of English; and Ken R. Smith, professor, Family and Consumer Studies. The Distinguished Service Award will be presented to Linda F. Smith, professor in the S. J. Quinney College of Law.

The University will recognize the 2006 Distinguished Honors Professor, Ronald G. Coleman, associate professor in the Department of History; the 2006 Bennion Center Public Service Professor, Maged Senbel, assistant professor in the College of Architecture + Planning; and Benjamin Bromley, associate professor in the department of Physics, the University Professor for the 2005-2006 academic year. Rose Creek Elementary School’s Cyndy Mikesell will be recognized as the Outstanding School Teacher.

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

Convocations for the Colleges of Health, Nursing and Social Work will be held the day before the University’s commencement, on Thursday, May 4, 2006. The College of Health convocation will be held at 5 p.m. in the Jon M. Huntsman Center. The College of Nursing’s ceremony will be held at 5 p.m. in Kingsbury Hall. 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 5, at the following locations and times:

• College of Social & Behavioral Science: Jon M. Huntsman Center, 11:15 a.m.


• College of Architecture + Planning: Olpin Union Ballroom, 11:30 a.m.


• College Mines and Earth Sciences: Fine Arts Auditorium, 11:30 a.m.


• College of Pharmacy: Skaggs Hall, 11:30 a.m.


• College of Science: Kingsbury Hall, 11:30 a.m.


• College of Education: Kingsbury Hall, 1:30 p.m.


• College of Humanities: Jon M. Huntsman Center, 1:45 p.m.


• College of Fine Arts: Kingsbury Hall, 3:30 p.m.


• David Eccles School of Business: Jon M. Huntsman Center, 4:15 p.m.


• College of Engineering: Jon M. Huntsman Center, 6:45 p.m.

Commencement ceremonies for the College of Law will be held Friday, May 12, at 10 a.m., in the Olpin Union Building. The School of Medicine will hold commencement ceremonies on Saturday, May 20, at 10 a.m., in 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. TRAX will provide a free fare zone on campus that day.

Media interested in making arrangements for a feed to the University’s commencement exercises through KUED-Channel 7, the University’s public television station, should contact U.S. Satellite directly at 801-263-0519. KUED-Channel 7 will rebroadcast the May 5 commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 6, at 5:30 p.m.