ONEONTA, N.Y. -- Thousands of parents, family members, alumni, and friends will be on hand on Saturday, May 16, to honor the Class of 2009 at the SUNY College at Oneonta's 120th Commencement. Honorary SUNY doctorates will be presented to Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Robert Olen Butler. Both recipients will address the graduates as the Commencement speakers.
The College will offer two ceremonies in the Dewar Arena of the Alumni Field House, one at 10 a.m. and one at noon. Depending on their major, students will attend one of the ceremonies. Following each of the ceremonies, the graduates and their guests will participate in one of several divisional ceremonies, where the graduates will receive individual diplomas and awards.
In all, 1,577 students are expected to be awarded degrees. Over 1,000 will participate in the annual ceremony, which will include graduates who completed the requirements for bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, and certificates of advanced study in the summer or fall of 2008 or the spring of 2009. At the ceremony, College President Nancy Kleniewski will offer the welcome and introduction of honored guests, and Patrick Brown, Chair of the College Council, will greet the assembly.
President Kleniewski and Provost F. Daniel Larkin will present the SUNY
Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching to Associate Professor
Renee Walker
of the Department of Anthropology and Assistant Professor
Brian Beitzel of the Department
of Educational
Psychology and Counseling.
Betty Winchester, secretary of the
Communication Arts
Department, will receive the SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in
Classified Service.
President Kleniewski and Provost Larkin will confer the degrees on
graduates. Patrick Brown will join President Kleniewski in presenting
honorary SUNY doctorates to Don Garber and Robert Olen Butler. Upon receipt
of their honorary degrees, they will each offer an address to the graduates.
Senior class President Sarah Cascone will present remarks, as will Student Association President Dean McGowan. Karen Brown, Vice President of the Alumni Association, will greet the College's newest alumni.
Music for the ceremonies will be provided by the Catskill Brass under the direction of Professor Carleton Clay. Selections will include the premier performance of "Recessional, Oneonta, 2009," an original piece composed by Professor Clay and dedicated to Alexandra Kraus and her fellow graduates of the Class of 2009.
The Mohawk Valley Frasers will provide bagpipe music for the
processional. Vocalist Joshua Rothberg of the Class of 2009 will lead the
audience in singing the national anthem and the alma mater. SUNY
Distinguished Teaching Professor
Douglas
Shrader of the Philosophy Department will serve as the mace bearer.
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For more information about the College, please call the Community Relations Office at (607) 436-2748 or send e-mail to Carol Blazina, Vice President for Community Relations.SUNY College at Oneonta - Ravine Parkway - Oneonta, NY 13820 - 607.436.3500
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