Published: December 14, 2015
UT to Hold Winter Commencement Saturday, Dec. 19
The University of Tampa will hold its 141st commencement Saturday, Dec. 19, at 9:30 a.m. in the Bob Martinez Athletics Center. The ceremony will include 509 graduates, including 391 bachelor’s degree candidates and 118 master’s degree candidates.
The ceremony is open to the public, but seating is limited.
Arthur Onipede Hollist, associate professor of English, is the speaker for the ceremony. Hollist is the recipient of the 2014-2015 Louise Loy Hunter Award, which is given annually by its previous recipients to a UT professor for excellence in teaching and cumulative contributions in service and scholarship.
Jodi-Leigh Ward, of Kingston, Jamaica, will introduce the speaker. A marketing major, Ward was a member of Delta Epsilon Iota Academic Honor Society, served as a resident assistant and received the 2014-2015 Student Unsung Hero Award. Her campus involvement included Diversity Fellowship, the E.L.I.T.E. leadership program, UT Diplomats and the American Marketing Association.
Taylor Jackson, of Charlotte, NC, will give the challenge to the graduating class. A psychology major, Jackson was a member of the President’s Leadership Fellows and the student coordinator of diversity and inclusion in the Office of Student Leadership and Engagement. She has served as a First-Year Experience mentor and a member of the Honors Council and Alpha Kappa Delta International Honor Society for Sociology.
The Alumni Association will give the Alumni Achievement Award to Seth Garber ’04, director of sales-North America for Kore Inc. The Alumni Achievement Award recognizes UT alumni who have made great accomplishments in their chosen careers or civic involvement.
In the days leading up to the ceremony, several departments will hold hooding ceremonies for their master’s degree candidates:
- Thursday, Dec. 17:
- Department of Education hooding ceremony, 6 p.m., Martinez Athletics Center Sword & Shield Room
- Friday, Dec. 18:
- Department of Nursing hooding and pinning ceremony, noon, Plant Hall Grand Salon (by invitation only)
- Department of Health Sciences and Human Performance hooding ceremony, 1 p.m., Plant Hall Fletcher Lounge
- Sykes College of Business hooding and awards ceremony, 6 p.m., Plant Hall Fletcher Lounge
UT Graduates by the Numbers:
Total graduates = 509Countries represented = 47
% of graduates from Florida = 48%
Undergraduate students
Total bachelor’s degree candidates = 391
Summa cum laude (GPA 4.0) = 0
Magna cum laude (GPA 3.75 or higher, but less than 4.0) = 20
Cum laude (GPA 3.5 or higher, but less than 3.75) = 51
Top 3 most popular undergraduate majors in this class = Accounting, 2nd place Criminology and Finance, Management
Graduate students
Total master’s candidates = 118
With honors (GPA 3.9 or higher, but less than 4.0) = 11
With highest honors (GPA 4.0) = 7
MBAs awarded = 43