UAF to host 97th commencement ceremony
May 1, 2019
The University of Alaska Fairbanks will honor the Class of 2019 during its 97th commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 4, at the Carlson Center in Fairbanks.
The university's first commencement took place in 1923, when the sole graduate, John Sexton Shanly, received a bachelor’s degree in agriculture. On Saturday, UAF expects to confer approximately 1,366 degrees on 1,277 students. Some students will receive more than one degree. The commencement ceremony includes graduates from summer and fall 2018 and spring 2019.
University of Alaska President Jim Johnsen and UA regents John Davies and Karen Perdue will help UAF Chancellor Daniel White confer degrees.
The UAF Inu-Yupiaq Student Dance Group will lead the processional. Graduates, faculty members, university officials, and honorary degree and Meritorious Service Award recipients will participate in the ceremony beginning at 1:20 p.m.
This year’s honorary degree recipient is the Rev. Anna Frank, who has served Alaskans for more than half a century as a community health aide, counselor and priest. Educator and UAF advocate Linda Hulbert will receive a Meritorious Service Award.
The student speaker will be Jessica Obermiller, who is graduating with a bachelor’s degree in anthropology. This year’s outstanding students are Raymundo Lopez, recipient of the 2019 Marion Frances Boswell Memorial Award honoring an outstanding bachelor’s degree candidate; Jessica Kot, recipient of the Joel Wiegert Award honoring an outstanding associate degree candidate; and Michael Bilan, recipient of the Gray S. Tilly Memorial Award honoring an outstanding nontraditional graduating student.
A. David McGuire, professor of ecology at the UAF Institute of Arctic Biology, will be the procession’s grand marshal. He is among six retiring staff and faculty members who will be granted emeritus status, a title given to those who have served the university with distinction for at least 10 years.
Others receiving emeritus status are: Kris Hundertmark, associate professor of wildlife biology and conservation; Susan Renes, associate professor of counseling; Marsha Sousa, honors director; David Verbyla, professor of natural resources management; and Denise Wartes, program manager for the Rural Alaska Honors Institute.
The Carlson Center will be open for guest seating at noon on Saturday, and the processional will begin at 1:20 p.m. The event will be available as a webcast at https://uaf.edu/commence/multimedia.php.
Graduates, their families and UAF alumni are welcome to attend a reception hosted by the UAF Alumni Association at the Carlson Center Pioneer Room immediately following the ceremony.
Class of 2019 profile
The following statistics provide a snapshot of the UAF 2019 graduating class. These are preliminary numbers, current as of April 30, 2019. Final statistics will not be available until early September.
1,366 awards expected to be conferred on approximately 1,277 students:
- 56 occupational endorsements
- 186 certificates
- 243 associate degrees
- 598 bachelor’s degrees
- 205 master’s degrees
- 37 doctorates
- 42 recommendations for education licensure
Diversity breakdown:
- 743 women, 531 men, three specified other genders
- 195 Alaska Native/American Indian
- 37 Asian-American
- 35 African-American
- 80 Hispanic or Latino
- 704 Caucasian or white
- 14 Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
- 169 Other or unknown
- 43 International
- Average age: 30; median age: 27
- Youngest graduate is 16, with an occupational endorsement in basic carpentry; youngest baccalaureate graduate is 19, with a bachelor’s degree in business administration; oldest graduate is 76, with a Ph.D. in interdisciplinary studies.
2019 schedule
The following is a schedule of commencement activities. Times with asterisks are estimated.
Saturday, May 4
Noon — Carlson Center opens for guest seating; students arrive
12:30 p.m. — Graduates line up
12:50 p.m. — Stage party, faculty and Ph.D. candidates line up
1:20 p.m. — Academic procession begins, ceremony follows
*4:30 p.m. — Alumni reception, Pioneer Room, Carlson Center
CONTACT: Marmian Grimes, 907-474-7902, mlgrimes@alaska.edu