Nearly 1,300 University of Mary Washington students will make the transition to alumni this weekend as part of the university’s 102nd Commencement.
On Friday, May 10, 249 students will receive graduate degrees during a ceremony in the William M. Anderson Center. The ceremony, which begins at 7:30 p.m., will include an address by William “Bill” Cleveland Bosher Jr., public policy expert and former Virginia superintendent of education. Provost Ian Newbould will present the Graduate Faculty Award to an exceptional full-time faculty member who has demonstrated excellence in graduate teaching and professional leadership in a graduate program.
One thousand twenty four students will receive degrees during the university’s undergraduate commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 11, which will begin at 9 a.m. on Ball Circle. The ceremony will feature an address by Steve Pemberton, business executive, motivational speaker and noted author. Newbould will present the Colgate W. Darden Jr. Award to the student with the highest grade-point average (GPA) in the four-year undergraduate program. He also will present the Grellet C. Simpson Award, the institution’s most prestigious annual award for excellence in undergraduate teaching, the UMW Alumni Association Outstanding Young Faculty Member Award, to recognize an exceptional member of the faculty who has served the institution for at least two years but no more than five years, and the Mary W. Pinschmidt Award, selected by the graduating class as the faculty member “whom they will most likely remember as the one who had the greatest impact on their lives.”
As part of the undergraduate ceremony, the university will award emeritus status to four faculty members and one administrator. Meta R. Braymer will be named Vice President for Economic Development and Regional Engagement Emeritus; Roy F. Gratz will be named Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Chemistry; Margaret A. Mi will be named Professor Emerita of Marketing; Denis Nissim-Sabat will be named Professor Emeritus of Psychology; and Larry W. Penwell will be named Professor Emeritus of Management and Psychology.
The title of emeritus is bestowed on faculty members who have served the university for at least 15 years and who have attained the rank of professor or associate professor.
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