Campus News

Congratulations, Graduates!

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Dec. 17, 2010) – Today, UK students will trade their winter coats and gloves for caps and gowns as the University holds its first December Commencement to honor students who earned their degrees in August or December. Graduate and professional degrees will be conferred at 3 p.m. in the Singletary Center for the Arts. Undergraduate degrees will be conferred at 6 p.m. in Memorial Coliseum.

Interestingly, while this is the University of Kentucky’s first December Commencement, historical research indicates that UK honored graduates in November, January and February, however it has been some time since the University has honored graduates mid-year. Approximately 41 percent of UK’s graduates earn their degrees in August and December and the addition of December Commencement has proven to be very popular.

More than 500 undergraduates and 100 graduate and professional students are expected to participate in today’s exercises.

UK President Lee T. Todd, Jr., will deliver the Commencement address at both ceremonies. In addition to his remarks, and keeping with university tradition, a student will address the crowd at the undergraduate ceremony. Rachel Popham, a graduating senior from Louisville, is the December Commencement student speaker. The sociology major is a graduate of DuPont Manual High School and is involved on campus as a UK 101 peer instructor, a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars and a tutor at the C.A.T.S. Center.

Popham, along with her peers, will be honored and their names announced as they will walk across the stage and shake hands with the president and dean of their college. During the undergraduate ceremony, the student's video image, name and major will be displayed on a screen above the stage. Doctoral hoodings will be held during the graduate ceremony.

The UK Alumni Association is holding a reception for graduates and their families from 4 until 6 p.m. today at the King Alumni House. Reservations are not required, the event is free and all are invited to attend.

Friends and family of our graduates who cannot make it to Lexington do not have to miss out on this special event. UK is utilizing social media and other technology to bring Commencement directly to one’s computer or mobile device.

The undergraduate Commencement ceremony will be live-streamed online at www.uky.edu/uknow, the university’s daily news website, beginning with a pre-ceremony show at 5:40 p.m. “Live from the Blue Carpet” features students, faculty and special guests as they prepare for Commencement and is hosted by students from the School of Journalism’s broadcast journalism program. The ceremony will immediately follow beginning at 6 p.m.

Followers of UK’s Twitter account (twitter.com/universityofky) can follow along with the Commencement activities via live tweets prior to and during the event. Twitter users are also encouraged to use the hashtag #ukgrad to honor all our graduates.

Facebook users can invite friends and family to attend Commencement through an event created by UK. Click here to view the event and invite people to attend.

Graduates can view the ceremony beginning Dec. 21 on the University’s YouTube site at www.youtube.com/universityofkentucky.

Should inclement weather arise, graduates and friends are encouraged to check the UK homepage at www.uky.edu as well as UKNow, the university’s news site, for the most up-to-date information regarding delays, cancellations and postponements. All members of the University of Kentucky family are also encouraged to sign up for UK Alert to have inclement weather and other urgent information sent to their mobile devices or e-mail addresses.