NEWS RELEASE: MADELEINE ALBRIGHT TO ADDRESS UA COMMENCEMENT
(From Julieta Gonzalez, 520-626-4336; [email protected]) (Sent May 3, 1999)
University of Arizona students who have completed graduation requirements as of May 1999 will receive degrees Saturday, May 15 at McKale Center. UA President Peter Likins will confer degrees upon approximately 3,789 undergraduate, 630 master's and 155 doctoral students. The procession of degree candidates begins at 9 a.m. for the morning ceremony and 1:30 p.m. for the afternoon session.
Press photographers should note: Platforms will be located on the floor of McKale to facilitate video and still photographers. You may photograph from anywhere inside McKale until the ceremonies begin. Photographers shall then clear the floor aisles and use the platforms or remain in the corners.
The scheduled speaker for the morning ceremony is Arizona Secretary of State, Betsy Bayless. United States Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright is scheduled to address the afternoon ceremony.
Honorary degrees and awards:
Madeleine Korbel Albright will be presented for the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws during the afternoon ceremony. Albright entered government service as the United States Representative to the United Nations in 1993. Today, she serves as Secretary of State. Albright is the first woman to serve in that position and is presently the highest ranking woman in the nation's government. The nomination came forward from the Department of Women's Studies as a way to honor a life of distinguished public service.
Roman W. DeSanctis will be presented for the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Science. DeSanctis was a student athlete and elected president of the student body at The University of Arizona. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi and graduated summa cum laude in 1951. He graduated from Harvard Medical School and became a member of Harvard faculty in 1962. Today he holds the rank of professor of medicine at Harvard and serves as director of clinical cardiology at the Massachusetts General Hospital.
Samuel L. Eichenfield will be presented for the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws. Eichenfield, a Phoenix business man, is active in philanthropic activities. He is president and chief executive officer of the FINOVA Group. When appointed to this position in 1987, he accepted responsibility for a company in serious financial trouble. Since then, he has placed the operation on sound financial footing. He's increased the workforce from 155 to more than 1,300 employees, and expanded to more than 50 offices world-wide. Fortune Magazine named the company in twelfth place in its listing of "One Hundred Best Companies To Work For in America." Eichenfield and FINOVA have formed a close partnership with the UA's College of Business and Public Administration.
James E. Rogers will be presented for the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws. An alumnus of the UA, he has practiced law and developed radio and television stations in the West. His dedication to the welfare of higher education has motivated significant financial commitments to colleges and universities, including the UA.
Ben Vereen will be presented for the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Fine Arts. Following a distiguished career as singer, dancer, actor and star of stage and screen, Vereen devotes his life largely to the development of a high school for the performing arts on the south side of Chicago. He has been active in a wide range of humanitarian programs including the American Heart Association, served as International Chairman for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Vereen currently serves as Chair Emeritus of the UA Dance Advisory Board.
The Alumni Achievement Award will be presented to Helen Hudson Lovaas. Lovaas graduated from the UA in 1960. In addition to working as the chief executive officer of the Hudson Respiratory Care, Inc., she was the first woman CEO named to the Board of Directors of the Health Industry Manufacturers Association, and the first woman CEO named to the Board of the American Respiratory Care Foundation. Most recently, Lovaas and her husband of 17 years, Leland Lovaas, have created the Allan C. Hudson and Helen Lovaas Endowed Fund for Excellence to support heart and stroke research at the UA's Sarver Heart Center.
Student Awards: The Robie Medal will be presented to Kharisma montes de Oca and Jacob Beverage. Montes de Oca is the president of Mortar Board Senior Honorary, and is graduating with a bachelor's degree in Music Composition. Beverage is graduating with a bachelor's degree in Optical Engineering. He is a Flinn scholar interested in the development of medical optical instrumentation that can be used by physicians in non-invasive diagnosis and treatment of illnesses in underdeveloped countries. He has conducted research at the Arizona Cancer Center, assisting in building a fully automated microscope.
Nugent Award recipients are Anabell Castro and Adam Talenfeld. Castro will receive a bachelor's degree in Nursing. She has participated as a Peer Advisor for the Student Encouragement Program and as president of the College of Nursing's Student Body. Additionally, she is the lead guitarist for the Mariachi Arizona Ensemble. Talenfeld, a Flinn scholar, will receive a degree in Spanish, Economics, and Molecular and Cellular Biology. His interests include attending medical school and eventually entering the political arena. He has served as a Spanish interpreter the University Medical Center since 1996 and studied in Mexico and Spain where he received the Superior Diploma of Spanish as a Foreign Language from the Ministry of Education in Spain.
The Freeman Medal Award winners are Tara Taylor and Jack Barnes. Taylor, graduating with a degree in Political Science, plans to attend law school. She served the UA as student body president and plans to run for the office of governor of Arizona. Barnes, a Flinn scholar and national Merit Scholar, will receive degrees in Economics and Spanish. He received a Fulbright scholarship to complete a masters degree in Business Administration from the Instituto de Empresa 's Bilingual International MBA program in Spain.
For additional information and more human interest stories on graduates, contact Julieta Gonzalez at News Services, 621-1877 or at [email protected].
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