UT Celebrates Commencement May 10

More than 1,100 UT students — 1,163 to be exact — will become UT alumni at the University’s 138th commencement on Saturday, May 10, at the Tampa Bay Times Forum. The ceremony begins at 9:30 a.m.

The 1,163 degree candidates include 956 bachelor’s degree candidates and 207 master’s degree candidates. There are six undergraduates graduating summa cum laude (a perfect 4.0 GPA), which is a University record.

Ariel Acosta-Rubio, a member of UT’s class of 1984 and founder and CEO of CHURROMANIA®, will give the address. Acosta-Rubio, who is considered one of the preeminent thought leaders on Hispanic entrepreneurship, has seen his restaurant franchise venture grow to 140 stores in seven countries, including in more than 50 cities around the world. He will also be presented with the UT National Alumni Association Alumni Achievement Award.

Amita RajGuru ’14, a communication major from Nyon, Switzerland, will introduce Acosta-Rubio. A summa cum laude graduate, RajGuru was a member of the President’s Leadership Fellows and served as a resident assistant. She was the stage manager for every dance show for four years, was named 2013 Technical Student of the Year and served as the Student Government finance committee chair.

William Sandoval ’14, a management major from Mount Kisco, NY, will give the challenge to the graduating class. Sandoval was president of Student Productions, residence hall head resident, a Diplomat and vice president of Delta Sigma Pi business fraternity. He was active in the E.L.I.T.E leadership program, Student Government and was named the 2013-2014 Outstanding Student Leader.

Joe Orsino ’06, M.S. ’07 will receive the 2014 Young Alumnus Award from the National Alumni Association. Orsino is CEO of Caledon Concepts, parent company of the Ceviche Tapas Bar and Rococo Steak restaurant brands. Headquartered in Tampa, Caledon owns and operates multiple restaurants in the Tampa Bay area, as well as locations in Orlando, Sarasota and Delray Beach.

For more information on commencement, go to www.ut.edu/commencement. Tweet about commencement using #utampa.

UT Graduates by the Numbers:

Total graduates = 1,163
Countries represented = 66
% of graduates from Florida = 43

Undergraduates:
Total bachelor’s degree candidates = 956
Summa cum laude (GPA 4.0) = 6 (University record)
Magna cum laude (GPA 3.75 or higher, but less than 4.0) = 83
Cum laude (GPA 3.5 or higher, but less than 3.75) = 143
Top 3 most popular undergraduate majors in this class = criminology, communication and marketing (two-way tie for second place), sport management

Graduate Students:
Total master’s candidates = 207
With honors (GPA 3.9 or higher, but less than 4.0) = 6
With highest honors (GPA 4.0) = 5
MBAs awarded = 91