CHAMPAIGN -- The 129th Commencement of the UI at Urbana-Champaign will be held in two ceremonies May 14 at the Assembly Hall.
The speaker at both ceremonies will be former U.S. Sen. Paul Simon of Illinois who will receive an honorary degree, as will five other people.
At the 10:30 a.m. ceremony, candidates in the colleges of Applied Life Studies, Communications, Law, Liberal Arts and Sciences, and Veterinary Medicine; the Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations; the School of Social Work; and the Graduate School of Library and Information Science will receive degrees. Candidates in the colleges of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences; Commerce and Business Administration; Education; Engineering; and Fine and Applied Arts will receive their degrees at the 2 p.m. ceremony.
Doors will open at 9:30 a.m. for the morning ceremony and at 1 p.m. for the afternoon ceremony. After all students and their guests are seated, remaining seats will be available to the public. Shuttle buses will stop at various locations on campus, including Assembly Hall, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
All students who have earned bachelor's, master's, doctoral and professional degrees and advanced certificates during the preceding year are honored at the UI's annual commencement.
Simon, who retired from the Senate in 1997, is a professor at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, where he teaches political science and journalism. Before beginning his career in politics, he was the nation's youngest editor-publisher. At 19 he revitalized the Troy Tribune in Troy, Ill., near St. Louis.
Simon then began his political career in the Illinois House of Representatives in 1954. Eight years later he was elected to the Illinois Senate before being elected lieutenant governor in 1968.
In 1974, Simon was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and served Illinois' 22nd and 24th congressional districts for 10 years before beginning his 12-year career in the U.S. Senate. He made a bid for the Democratic nomination for president in 1988.
Simon will receive an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Public Administration.
Also scheduled to join Simon in receiving honorary degrees:
James W. Carey will receive an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Letters for his contributions as an author, educator and administrator. Carey, a professor of international journalism at Columbia University and former dean of the UI College of Communications, has been an analyst of the media's role in society, and his commentaries on American civil life have become some of the most influential in communications studies.
Susan Daniels will receive an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Public Administration. As deputy commissioner for disability and income security for the Social Security Administration, Daniels helped develop the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Work Incentives Program, which gave Americans with disabilities the opportunity to return to work.
Luis Leal is an internationally recognized scholar of Chicana/Chicano literature, as well as Mexican and Latin American literature and culture. His pioneering work has brought the concerns of these communities into mainstream America. A retired UI professor of Spanish, Italian and Portuguese, Leal has written more than 30 books and 300 articles, which have helped to define the Greater America field of study. He will receive an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Literature.
Gordon E. Moore, who will receive an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Science, is credited as one of the leaders in the semiconductor industry. Moore, chairman emeritus of Intel Corp., was one of the founders of Fairchild Semiconductor Corp., where his research efforts developed planar technology for transistors that paved the way for the growth of integrated circuits, electronics and computers. Karen Keskulla Uhlenbeck is often credited with transforming the study of geometry, signified by the many mathematical theorems that bear her name. Her work in nonlinear analysis, geometry and topology in the fields of mathematics and physics has made her one of the most distinguished mathematicians in the world. A professor of mathematics at the University of Texas at Austin, Uhlenbeck will receive an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Science.
Three Alumni Achievement Awards will be presented by the UI Alumni Association at the commencement ceremonies. Receiving the awards:
Linda K. Bunker, a professor in the Curry School of Education and associate dean for graduate programs and admissions at the University of Virginia, pushed for equity among genders in sports at Virginia, including scholarships for female athletes. She earned bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees from the UI and 12 varsity letters competing in basketball, tennis and field hockey.
Alfred Y. Cho is recognized as the co-inventor and principal developer of a revolutionary process called molecular beam epitaxy, which is used all over the world to manufacture electronic and opto-electronic semiconductor chips. He graduated from the UI with bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees, and then worked at Bell Laboratories, eventually becoming the director of semiconductor research, a post he holds today. He received an Honorary Doctor of Engineering Degree from UI in 1999 and was awarded the National Medal of Science in 1983.
Sheldon F. Good is the founder of the nation's largest real estate auction firm. He has held various national and international positions, including becoming the first American president of the International Real Estate Federation in Paris in more than a decade. In recognition of that service, he was awarded the Gold Medal of the City of Paris. Good received a bachelor's degree from the UI and was named the Illini of the Year by the Alumni Association Chicago Illini Club in 1998.
Alan M. and Phyllis Welsh Hallene, 1951 UI graduates, will receive the Alumni Association Distinguished Service Award for their longtime commitment to the UI through volunteer and philanthropic efforts. The two met at the UI and have continued to serve as advisers and advocates for the university. Their contributions to the UI helped build the Hallene Gateway, which serves as the eastern entrance to campus. Alan Hallene received the Alumni Achievement Award in 1985.
Among other planned activities in honor of the graduating class, the UI Symphonic Band will give a free concert for graduates, candidates and their guests at 8 p.m. May 13 in the Great Hall of the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. Tickets are not required.
All graduating students and their guests are invited to a reception hosted by UI President and Mrs. James J. Stukel and Chancellor Michael Aiken from 8 to 9:30 a.m. May 14 in the gardens of the president's house, 711 W. Florida Ave., Urbana. Academic attire is encouraged.
More commencement ceremonies
Additional commencement ceremonies have been scheduled by many individual UI units. All take place on May 14, except as noted:
Colleges
Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences -- for undergraduate degrees, 9:30 a.m., Great Hall, Krannert Center for the Performing Arts; for graduate degrees, 10 a.m., Recital Hall, Smith Memorial Hall.
Applied Life Studies -- 4 p.m., 100 George Huff Hall.
Commerce and Business Administration -- Departments of accountancy and economics, 12:30 p.m. May 13, 100 George Huff Hall; MBAs and Executive MBAs, 2:30 p.m., May 13, Great Hall, Krannert Center for the Performing Arts; departments of business administration and finance, 4:15 p.m., May 13, 100 George Huff Hall.
Communications -- 2 p.m., Foellinger Auditorium. Education -- 10 a.m., 100 George Huff Hall.
Engineering -- 4:30 p.m., Assembly Hall.
Law -- 11 a.m. May 13, Great Hall, Krannert Center for the Performing Arts.
Veterinary Medicine -- 1:30 p.m., Great Hall, Krannert Center for the Performing Arts.
Schools
Architecture -- 10 a.m., Foellinger Auditorium.
Art and Design -- 10 a.m., Tryon Festival Theater, Krannert Center for the Performing Arts.
Graduate School of Library and Information Science -- 1:30 p.m., Recital Hall, Smith Memorial Hall.
Life Sciences -- 1:30 p.m., 100 George Huff Hall.
Music -- 5:30 p.m., Recital Hall, Smith Memorial Hall.
Social Work -- 4 p.m., Colwell Playhouse, Krannert Center for the Performing Arts.
Departments
Chemical Engineering -- 1:30 p.m., 100 Noyes Laboratory. Chemistry-- 1:30 p.m., Colwell Playhouse, Krannert Center for the Performing Arts.
Economics (LAS) and Finance (LAS) -- 11 a.m. May 13, Foellinger Auditorium.
Humanities I -- 1:30 p.m. May 13, Foellinger Auditorium.
Humanities II -- 4 p.m. May 13, Foellinger Auditorium.
Landscape Architecture -- 10:30 a.m., Sunken Garden, Allerton Park, Route 2, Monticello; in case of rain, Washington School Gymnasium, 100 W. Jefferson St., Monticello.
Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science (LAS) -- 4 p.m., Tryon Festival Theater, Krannert Center for the Performing Arts.
Physics and Astronomy -- 2 p.m. May 13, 151 Loomis Laboratory of Physics.
Psychology -- 4:30 p.m., Great Hall, Krannert Center for the Performing Arts.
Social Sciences -- 9 a.m. May 13, 100 George Huff Hall.
Theater -- 10 a.m., Colwell Playhouse, Krannert Center for the Performing Arts.
Urban and Regional Planning -- 10 a.m., Levis Faculty Center.
Center
Executive Development Center -- 5 p.m. May 12, Smith Memorial Hall.
Institute
Labor and Industrial Relations -- 3 p.m. May 13, Wagner Education Center, Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations.
Congratulatory programs
African-American Cultural Program -- 7:30 p.m. May 13, 100 George Huff Hall.
La Casa Cultural Latina -- 7 p.m. May 13, Foellinger Auditorium. Initiation program
Phi Beta Kappa -- 10 a.m. May 13, Tryon Festival Theater, Krannert Center for the Performing Arts.
Commissioning program
All-Service ROTC Commissioning Ceremony -- 1 p.m. May 15, Foellinger Auditorium.
