The University will honor nearly 1,500 graduates at its 144th commencement on Saturday, May 6. For the first time the University will host two separate ceremonies at the Florida State Fairgrounds Expo Hall.
The ceremony for graduates of the Sykes College of Business and the College of Arts and Letters will take place at 9:30 a.m., and the ceremony for graduates of the College of Social Sciences, Mathematics and Education, and College of Natural and Health Sciences will follow at 2 p.m.
Between the two ceremonies, there are 1,209 bachelor’s degree candidates and 288 master’s degree candidates —1, 497 in all.
At the morning ceremony, William B. Rutherford ’86, chief financial officer and executive vice president at HCA Holdings Inc., will give the address, and Alan Randolph ’90, Florida state president at Bank of the Ozarks, will receive the 2017 Alumni Achievement Award. James Scudero ’17, a digital arts major from Hauppauge, NY, will introduce the speaker, and Khadijah Khan ’17, a journalism major from Tarpon Springs, FL, will deliver the challenge to the graduating class.
In the afternoon ceremony, Aileen Black ’83, executive director, industry lead and group leader U.S. government at Google, is the speaker, and Tammy Charles ’12, MBA ’14, senior manager of corporate relations at Metropolitan Ministries, will receive the 2017 Young Alumnus Award. Talia Ashby ’17, a sociology major from Tampa, FL, will introduce the speaker, and Jennifer Sanchez, a government and world affairs major from Tampa, FL, will deliver the challenge to the graduating class.
Several graduate programs have hooding ceremonies scheduled in the days leading up to commencement:
- Thursday, May 4:
- Department of Nursing hooding and pinning ceremony, 6 p.m., Plant Hall, Fletcher Lounge (by invitation only)
- Department of Education hooding ceremony, 6 p.m., Martinez Athletics Center, Sword & Shield Room
- Friday, May 5:
- Department of Health Sciences and Human Performance hooding ceremony, Noon, Martinez Athletics Center
- Sykes College of Business hooding and awards ceremony, 6 p.m., Martinez Athletics Center
Friday, June 23:
- MFA in Creative Writing hooding ceremony, 5:30 p.m., location to be announced
UT Graduates by the Numbers:
Total graduates = 1,497
Countries represented = 58
% of graduates from Florida = 44%
Undergraduates
Total bachelor’s degree candidates = 1,209
Summa cum laude (GPA 4.0) = 4
Magna cum laude (GPA 3.75 or higher, but less than 4.0) = 99
Cum laude (GPA 3.5 or higher, but less than 3.75) = 186
Top 3 most popular undergraduate majors in this class = Criminology, Management and Marketing
Graduate students
Total master’s candidates = 288
With honors (GPA 3.9 or higher, but less than 4.0) = 10
With highest honors (GPA 4.0) = 12
MBAs awarded = 110
