UT’s spring class of 2001 will graduate Sunday, May 6 at 1 p.m. at the Tampa
Convention Center in downtown Tampa. Nearly 500 seniors and graduate students
have applied to walk in the ceremony, including 372 spring graduates and 114 who
expect to receive their degrees in August, said Melanie Boyd, assistant
registrar. The roster includes 415 undergraduates receiving bachelor’s degrees
and 71 graduate students receiving master’s degrees.
Author Amy Hill Hearth will deliver the Commencement address. Hearth is the
winner of the 2000 George Foster Peabody Award for Having Our Say: The Delany
Sisters' First 100 Years, a television movie based on her best-selling 1993 book
by the same title. Hearth also is a former New York Times journalist. She
graduated from UT in 1982 with a bachelor's degree in writing. As an
undergraduate, she served as editor-in-chief of the Minaret.
Following Hearth’s address, UT President Ronald L. Vaughn will confer the
degrees upon the graduates. Among them, 32 will receive Cum Laude honors (GPA at
least 3.5, but less than 3.75), 23 will receive Magna Cum Laude recognition (GPA
at least 3.75, but less than 4.0), and three will receive Summa Cum Laude honors
with perfect 4.0 GPA.
The program also will include four special recognitions. Civil rights leader
and author Robert Saunders, who last year published Bridging the Gap: Continuing
the Florida NAACP Legacy of Henry T. Moore, will be granted an honorary Doctor
of Public Service degree, and Bill McBride, managing partner of Holland &
Knight LLP international law firm, will be presented with The University of
Tampa Award for Distinguished Public Service.
Additionally, two UT graduates from previous years will be given special
awards of recognition. Guy Richard "Rick" Thomas ‘72 will receive the Esse Quam
Videri Outstanding Alumni Award, the highest award that can be given to a
graduate of UT, and Lisa Shetter Robey ’88 will receive the Young Alumnus Award.
Both recognize dedication to the University and the local and national alumni
associations, as well as high achievement in professional career and exemplary
civic involvement.
For more information, contact the Office of Public Information at publicinfo@ut.edu.