April 26, 2010 — Commencement ceremonies at the University of Utah will be held on Friday, May 7, at 9 a.m. in the Jon M. Huntsman Center. The class of 2010, comprised of 7,034 graduates, will receive degrees that morning. The procession of diverse students, who come from 76 countries, 50 U.S. states and 27 of Utah’s 29 counties, will begin at 8:20 a.m. Guests should plan to be in their seats prior to 8:20 a.m. Tickets are not required.

Of the 7,034 graduates, 5,374 will receive bachelor’s degrees; 1,770 will receive master’s degrees; 509 are doctorates; 117 are juris doctors; 98 are doctors of medicine; and 48 are doctors of pharmacy. Of this year’s graduates, 3,852 are men and 3,182 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 18; the oldest, 74. The average age of bachelor’s degree recipients is 26. The average grade point average for this group is 3.18. The average age of students receiving graduate degrees is 30. The youngest student receiving a graduate degree is 20 and the oldest is 71.

The largest number of undergraduate degrees will be awarded in economics, psychology, mass communication, human development and family studies, exercise and sports science, nursing, English, finance, political science and mechanical engineering respectively.

University of Utah President Michael K. Young will officiate at this year’s commencement. The featured speaker will be United States Ambassador to China and former Governor of Utah Jon Huntsman, Jr. He will be presented with an honorary doctorate of humane letters. The student speaker will be Jody Farley who is graduating in family and consumer studies. The vocalist will be Jennifer Turner Smith, who is graduating in music from the College of Fine Arts.

Honorary degrees will also be presented to Sue D. Christensen for doctor of humane letters, E. Gordon Gee for doctor of laws, Shane Robison for doctor of engineering and W. Dean Singleton for doctor of business.

The Rosenblatt Prize for Excellence, 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: Marissa Diener, associate professor of family and consumer studies; Elizabeth Tashjian, associate professor of finance; Janet E. Lindsley, associate professor of biochemistry; and Sivaraman Guruswamy, professor of metallurgical engineering.

The Distinguished Scholarly and Creative Research Award recipients are: Brenda Bass, distinguished professor of biochemistry; David Strayer, professor of psychology; and Glenn Prestwich, presidential professor of medicinal chemistry.

The 2010 Distinguished Professors are: Christopher Hacon, distinguished professor of mathematics; David Chapman, distinguished professor of geology and geophysics; and Michael K. Young, distinguished professor of law.

The university will recognize the 2010 Honors Professor, Cal Boardman, professor of finance; the 2010 Bennion Center Public Service Professor, Rosemarie Hunter, director of University Neighborhood Partners; and the Calvin S. and JeNeal Hatch Prize in Teaching, Donald Stephen Strassberg, professor of psychology.

The 2010 University Professor Esther Rashkin, professor of languages and literature, will be recognized along with Escalante Elementary School’s Tim Bailey as the Outstanding School Teacher, and Luke Garrott, professor of political science, will be honored for the Distinguished Service Award.

Fifteen 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 6, 2010. The College of Health convocation will be held at 5 p.m. in the Jon M. Huntsman Center. The College of Nursing 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 7 at the following locations and times:

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

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

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

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

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

• College of Humanities: Jon M. Huntsman Center, 11:15 a.m.

• College of Mines and Earth Sciences: Film & Media Arts Auditorium, 11: 30 a.m.

• College of Pharmacy: Olpin Union Ballroom, 2 p.m.

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

• College of Social and Behavioral Science: Jon M. Huntsman Center, 1:45 p.m.

Commencement ceremonies for the S. J. Quinney College of Law will be held Friday, May 14 at 10 a.m., in Kingsbury Hall. The School of Medicine will hold commencement ceremonies on Saturday, May 22, 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 broadcast the May 7 commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 8, at 5:30 p.m. The ceremony will also be available at www.kued.org.