The University of Tampa will hold its 151st commencement virtually on Saturday, Dec. 5, 2020, at 11 a.m. (EST). The ceremony will honor 618 degree-seeking candidates, including 497 who will be earning a bachelor’s degree and 121 who will be earning a master’s degree. The event is free and available to view online by the students, their family members and friends, UT faculty and staff, and the general public.
The University is holding commencement virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic. At this time, public health officials are discouraging crowds and large gatherings to help prevent the transmission of the coronavirus.
Leslie Jones, assistant dean of the College of Social Sciences, Mathematics and Education and associate professor of mathematics at UT, is the speaker for the ceremony. She’s the recipient of the 2019-2020 Louise Loy Hunter Award, which is given annually to a UT faculty member for excellence in teaching and cumulative contributions in service and scholarship.
The ceremony will include remarks by President Ronald Vaughn, James S. MacLeod, chair of UT’s Board of Trustees, and others. Payton Cusimano, who will be earning a Bachelor’s of Arts degree in advertising and public relations, will introduce the speaker, and Debra Tuberion, who will be earning a Bachelor’s of Arts degree in psychology, will deliver the challenge to the graduating class.
A downloadable version of the ceremony will be available immediately after. In addition, each graduate will receive a personalized video commemorating their achievement. More information about the virtual ceremony can be found at ut.edu/commencement/december-commencement.
Degree-seeking candidates and those who’d like to say “congratulations” are encouraged to submit photos through social media by using the hashtag #UTampaGrad and tagging @uoftampa. For details, visit ut.edu/utampagrad.
Here are some statistics about UT’s December 2020 graduating class.
UT Degree-Seeking Candidates:
Total: 618
Countries Represented: 34
% of graduates from Florida: 71
Undergraduates:
Total bachelor’s degree candidates: 497
Summa cum laude (GPA 4.0): 4
Magna cum laude (GPA 3.75 or higher, but less than 4.0): 50
Cum laude (GPA 3.5 or higher, but less than 3.75): 68
Top three most popular undergraduate majors in this class: finance, marketing and psychology
Graduate Students:
Total master’s degree candidates: 121
With honors (GPA 3.9 or higher, but less than 4.0): 13
With highest honors (GPA 4.0): 20
MBAs awarded: 39
The University of Tampa is a private, comprehensive university located on 110 acres on the riverfront in downtown Tampa. Known for academic excellence, personal attention and real-world experience in its undergraduate and graduate programs, the University serves approximately 10,000 students from 50 states and typically about 130 countries.
