UNO Alumni Network to Grow by 1,500 During Commencement Weekend

Omaha – * NOTE: Updates Have Been Made To Reflect Enaction of the Inclement Weather Plan *

More than 1,500 University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) students will soon join the 100,000 other members of the UNO alumni network as we are set to host our May 2014 Commencement ceremonies, held on Friday, May 9, and Saturday, May 10.

This year’s ceremony will once again be held on the UNO campus, featuring a formal conferring of degrees on Friday, May 9, and individual college convocation ceremonies taking place on Saturday, May 10.

Admission is free and open to each of the commencement ceremonies on May 9 and May 10. Family and friends are encouraged to attend and celebrate the accomplishments of this year’s graduating class.

Conferral of Degrees – May 9
The university-wide conferral of degrees will take place at 6 p.m. in UNO’s Sapp Fieldhouse and celebrate the academic careers of UNO’s graduating undergraduates, graduate students and doctoral students.

Speakers at Friday’s conferral of degrees include UNO Chancellor John Christensen and University of Nebraska Regent Hal Daub, as well as student speakers from UNO’s undergraduate and graduate student body.

The ceremony will also feature the presentation of two awards: the Citiation for Alumni Achievement and the Chancellor’s Medal.

This year’s recepient of the UNO Citation for Alumni Achievement, presented by the UNO Alumni Association, is internationally known physicist and astronomer Dr. Penny Sackett. Sackett is a 1978 summa cum laude graduate of UNO who served as Chief Scientist for Australia from 2008 to 2011. In 2005, she helped discover the first-known Earth-sized planet orbiting a star other than the sun.

This year’s Chancellor’s Medal will be presented to Joe Kaminski, director of UNO Campus Recreation and a UNO alumnus. Kaminski helped oversee the design and construction of the 2010 renovations of UNO’s Health, Physical Education and Recreation building.

A reception will take place after the ceremony in the Milo Bail Student Center Ballroom.

College Convocation Ceremonies – May 10
On Saturday, May 10, each college from UNO as well as the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Colleges of Engineering and Education and Human Sciences will have their own unique ceremonies to celebrate the work of their graduating students.

The schedule and location for the 2014 College Convocation ceremonies is as follows:

College of Arts and Sciences
8:30 a.m. – Sapp Fieldhouse

College of Information Science and Technology
10:30 a.m. – Scott Conference Center

College of Education
11:30 a.m. – Sapp Fieldhouse

College of Communication, Fine Arts and Media
11:30 a.m. – Sapp Fieldhouse

College of Public Affairs and Community Service
2:30 p.m. – Sapp Fieldhouse

College of Engineering/Education and Human Sciences (UNL)
2:30 p.m. – Health, Physical Education, and Recreation Building

College of Business Administration
5:30 p.m. – Sapp Fieldhouse

Each college’s ceremony will be followed by a reception for students, family and friends.

Parking information and maps can be found at UNO’s Parking Services website: http://www.unomaha.edu/maps.

Those who cannot physically attend the ceremonies can watch them live at UNO’s USTREAM channel, www.ustream.tv/channel/university-of-nebraska-at-omaha.

For additional questions, please contact Charley Reed, UNO media relations coordinator, at unonews@unomaha.edu or by phone at 402.554.2129.

About the University of Nebraska at Omaha

Located in one of America’s best cities to live, work and learn, the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) is Nebraska’s premier metropolitan university. With more than 15,000 students enrolled in 200-plus programs of study, UNO is recognized nationally for its online education, graduate education, military friendliness and community engagement efforts. Founded in 1908, UNO has served learners of all backgrounds for more than 100 years and is dedicated to another century of excellence both in the classroom and in the community.

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