1. UW-Eau Claire Commencement
Set for May 16 in Zorn Arena
RELEASED: May 7, 2009
EAU CLAIRE — Spring commencement exercises for 1,217 students at the University of
Wisconsin-Eau Claire will be held May 16 in Zorn Arena.
Candidates from the College of Arts and Sciences and candidates for master's degrees
will receive degrees during a 9 a.m. ceremony. Candidates from the College of Business, College
of Education and Human Sciences, and College of Nursing and Health Sciences will receive
degrees during a 2 p.m. ceremony.
A total of 1,107 students are candidates for bachelor's degrees, including 572 from the College
of Arts and Sciences, 227 from the College of Business, 229 from the College of Education and Human
Sciences, and 79 from the College of Nursing and Health Sciences.
A total of 110 students are master's degree candidates. Of those, 16 are from the College of
Arts and Sciences, including six students who are candidates for specialist in education degrees; 32 are
from the College of Business; 30 are from the College of Education and Human Sciences; and 32 are
from the College of Nursing and Health Sciences.
Chancellor Brian Levin-Stankevich will preside over the ceremonies and confer degrees.
Interim Provost and Vice Chancellor Marty Wood will present the candidates. Deans of the
colleges will present the baccalaureate diplomas. Dr. Andrew Phillips, dean of graduate studies
and associate vice chancellor for academic affairs, and Dr. V. Thomas Dock, dean of the College
of Business, will present diplomas and hood the master's degree and specialist in education
degree candidates. Dr. Susan Harrison, interim chair of the University Senate, will serve as
commencement marshal. Dr. Jeanie Geurink, assistant professor of communication and
journalism, will announce the candidates' names at the morning ceremony, and Barbara Arnold,
lecturer of communication and journalism, will announce the names in the afternoon. Rachel
Kohn will provide signing for the deaf and hard of hearing.
Lauren Tompkins, Eau Claire, a candidate for a bachelor of music degree in applied voice, will
lead the "National Anthem" and Allison Wells, Eau Claire, a candidate for a bachelor of music degree in
music performance, will lead the "University Alma Mater" during the morning ceremony. Caitlin Nelson,
-over-

2. UW-Eau Claire Commencement — Page 2
Green Bay, a candidate for a bachelor of music education degree in choral music, will lead the "National
Anthem" and Kathryn Eckes, Maple Grove, Minn., a candidate for a bachelor of music degree education
in choral music, will lead the "University Alma Mater" during the afternoon ceremony. The UW-Eau Claire
Faculty Brass Quintet, a brass quintet that has performed programs on campus and in communities
and schools across Wisconsin and Minnesota, will provide music.
JoAnne Brandes, a retired chief administrative officer and attorney at SC Johnson and
JohnsonDiversey Inc. and a 1975 UW-Eau Claire journalism and political science graduate, will
deliver the "Charge to the Class" during the morning and afternoon ceremonies.
Brandes also will receive the UW-Eau Claire Alumni Association's Lifetime Excellence
Award, which is presented to alumni who have demonstrated a long and successful commitment to their careers and
communities.
Several other alumni will receive awards from the UW-Eau Claire Alumni Association.
Reggie Bicha, the inaugural secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Children and
Families, and Ritter Diaz, a commercial attaché to the Embassy of the Republic of Panama in
Japan, each will receive the Alumni Distinguished Achievement Award. The award recognizes
distinguished service to the community, state or nation that brings credit upon the recipient and
the university.
The President's Award, which recognizes outstanding professional and personal achievements and service
to UW-Eau Claire, will be presented to Dr. Michael Carney, an associate professor in the department of
chemistry at UW-Eau Claire.
Samuel Ecoff, instructor of piano, music theory and composition and music technology at
the Waukesha County Conservatory of Music in Hartland, will receive the Outstanding Recent
Alumnus Award, which acknowledges special achievements and great promise of alumni who
are within 15 years of their graduation from UW-Eau Claire.
Read a recent UW-Eau Claire news release
(www.uwec.edu/newsreleases/09/apr/0430May09AlumniAwards.htm) for more detailed
information on alumni award recipients.
A number of retiring faculty and academic staff members also will be honored during the
ceremony. Retirees attending the morning ceremony are Dr. Linda J. Carpenter, professor
emerita, communication sciences and disorders; Dr. J. Brady Foust, professor emeritus,
geography and anthropology; and Gloria Hochstein, senior lecturer emerita, English. Retirees
-more-

3. UW-Eau Claire Commencement — Page 3
attending the afternoon ceremony are Marilyn J. Kanne, outreach program manager emerita,
Continuing Education; and Dr. Nicholas Smiar, professor emeritus, social work.
Sarah Eastburn, Delafield, a candidate for a bachelor of arts degree in public relations and
Spanish business, will give the "Reflections" during the morning ceremony. Ryan Milbrath, Madison, a
candidate for a bachelor of arts degree in broadfield social studies, will deliver the "Reflections" at the
afternoon ceremony.
A reception for graduates and guests will follow each ceremony on the Central Campus
Mall. If it rains, the reception will move to the Spruce-Tamarack Room of Davies Center.
Tickets, required for admission to the morning and afternoon ceremonies, are available
only to graduating students.
-30-
JLB/JP
UW-Eau Claire News Online
Find UW-Eau Claire news online at www.uwec.edu/newsreleases. You'll find news releases
from today back through January 1997, the weekly University Bulletin, a selection of coming
events calendars and a news tips submission form.
-over-