UT To Hold 158th Commencement Ceremony on May 4

The University of Tampa will honor more than 1,900 students at its 158th commencement on Saturday, May 4, during two separate ceremonies at the Expo Hall at the Florida State Fairgrounds.

The ceremony for graduates of the Sykes College of Business and the College of Arts and Letters will take place at 9:30 a.m., and the ceremony for graduates of the College of Social Sciences, Mathematics and Education and the College of Natural and Health Sciences will follow at 2 p.m.

Between the two ceremonies, there are 1,748 bachelor’s degree candidates and 245 master’s degree candidates — 1,993 in all. The ceremonies also recognize the master’s candidates who will officially graduate in August.

At the morning ceremony, Marty Rifkin ’82, co-founder of Northwest Natural Products, will give the address, and Dhanasree Arivalagan M.S. ’24 will deliver the student challenge. In the afternoon ceremony, Dr. Xavier Cannella ’78, peripheral vascular and general surgeon, will give the address, and Hope Aliyah Pohlman ’24 will deliver the student challenge.

Here are some statistics about the graduates:

Total graduates: 1,993
Percent of graduates from Florida: 38%

Undergraduate students:
Total bachelor’s degree candidates: 1,748
Summa cum laude (GPA 4.0): 28
Magna cum laude (GPA 3.75-3.99): 233
Cum laude (GPA 3.5-3.74): 340
Most popular undergraduate majors: Marketing, Finance, Allied Health

Graduate students:
Total candidates: 245
With highest honors (GPA 4.0): 16
With honors (GPA 3.9-3.99): 10
MBAs awarded: 49
Doctorates awarded: 1

In the days leading up to the ceremony, several departments will hold hooding ceremonies for their master’s degree candidates:

Thursday, May 2:

Master of Science in Nursing hooding ceremony, 1 p.m., Vaughn Center ninth floor, Crescent Club

Friday, May 3:

Master of Science in Exercise and Nutrition Science hooding ceremony, 11 a.m., Plant Hall, Music Room
Sykes College of Business hooding ceremony, 6 p.m., Martinez Athletics Center
College of Social Sciences, Mathematics and Education hooding ceremony, 6 p.m., Vaughn Center ninth floor, Crescent Club

Also, on May 3 at 10 a.m., UT’s Army ROTC program will hold its commissioning ceremony in Falk Theatre. Retired four-star Gen. Raymond A. “Tony” Thomas will be the keynote speaker and guest of honor.