December Commencement Honors August and December Graduates

LEXINGTON, KY. (Oct. 25, 2010) - Lauren Greenwood worked hard to finish her coursework so that she could graduate early, finishing her major in political science and minor in French in three-and-a-half years.

But the Chicago native would not have been able to return to UK in May for commencement. However, that’s no longer an issue for UK students who graduate in December as UK this year is conducting its first-ever mid-year Commencement.

"I worked hard to graduate early, and if there was no December Commencement, it would almost seem as if my work went unnoticed and unrewarded," Greenwood said. "Being the youngest of three, I know it will make my parents proud that all of their children graduated college and got the recognition they deserved for it."

The first-ever mid-year commencement is just one of several changes to graduation ceremonies this year. In addition, UK officials are revamping the May Commencement ceremony to make it more focused on students and eliminating individual college recognitions in favor of attracting more interest in the main Commencement ceremonies.

The President's Academic Ceremonies Task Force, appointed by UK President Lee T. Todd Jr. last year, reviewed how other Kentucky and national benchmark universities conduct graduation ceremonies before recommending these changes intended to provide as many students as possible with a meaningful acknowledgement of their academic achievement. 

The December Commencement will honor students who graduate in August and December. The Spring Commencement will honor students who graduate in May, but the event will still be open to those students who graduate the prior August and December but do not go through December Commencement exercises.

With an estimated 41 percent of UK students earning their degrees in August and December, it's no wonder the move to holding graduation ceremonies in winter is proving to be a popular decision.

Nearly 500 undergraduates and more than 100 graduate students have already indicated their intention to participate in the Commencement ceremonies planned for Friday, Dec. 17, the last day before the semester break. 

The undergraduate ceremony will be held in Memorial Coliseum at 6 p.m. and the graduate ceremony will be held at 3 p.m. in the Singletary Center for the Arts Concert Hall. Students are encouraged to RSVP by visiting the Commencement website at http://www.uky.edu/Commencement/.

Psychology major Brittany Martin of Frankfort also plans to participate in the December Commencement, which she thinks is a great idea, and the timing works well, taking place about one month after she expects her baby girl to be born.

"It's much smaller, low key, will be faster, and graduates don't have to wait six months until they've already moved on with their lives to walk," Martin said. "I was homeschooled in high school, so I never had the opportunity to attend a graduation ceremony or walk across the stage. Finishing college will be a huge accomplishment for me, and it feels great to know that my family will be there to celebrate with me."

And then there's Glenn Wilson, who has waited 49 years to walk across that stage and accept his college diploma. The 77-year-old Nicholasville resident graduated from high school in 1950 and worked on the family farm until he entered the U.S. Army in 1954. Upon his honorable discharge, he entered UK in the fall of 1956 on the GI Bill where he studied English and biology. He left in 1961.

"I left UK because I had exhausted my GI Bill's educational benefits," Wilson said. "I was heavily in debt because of my education expenses and my first wife's enormous medical expenses. I really had no clue if I'd earned a degree or not."

Wilson found a job with Lexington's IBM plant where he enjoyed a successful 30-year career until his retirement in 1991. It wasn't until earlier this year, at the urging a friend (a former UK professor), that Wilson inquired about his educational degree. He learned that he indeed had earned a bachelor's degree in English, with a minor in biology, and he plans to experience Commencement in December.

"When I received my UK bachelor's degree dated Aug. 5, 2010, in the mail, my first reaction was to just stare at it in disbelief! The more I got to thinking about that whole strange situation, the more I came to tell myself that I should do the whole Commencement thing!" 

As part of the recommendations of the Academic Ceremonies Task Force, individual colleges will no longer hold recognition ceremonies for their graduates, but will hold receptions following the main Commencement ceremonies in May. 

The December and May Commencement ceremonies will highlight the students by announcing each graduate's name 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.

To allow more time for recognizing students, only honorary doctorate recipients will be announced. No other awards will be presented and no special speakers will be invited to the ceremonies. President Todd and a student will be the only special speakers for the undergraduate ceremony. Undergraduate students can apply to be the student speaker. The application is on the Commencement website, where students will also find information about caps, gowns and other Commencement regalia.

Faculty honors and the Sullivan Medallions, traditionally presented at the May Commencement, will be given at a newly created universitywide honors event planned for the spring.

To allow family members who cannot attend in person, December and May undergraduate Commencement ceremonies will be livestreamed from Memorial Coliseum on UKNow, UK's news website.