UW Spring Commencement May 17 With Three Separate Ceremonies

The University of Wyoming’s spring commencement ceremonies, featuring three separate events, are planned Saturday, May 17.

UW is scheduled to accord degrees upon 1,267 undergraduate students, 424 graduate students, 62 College of Law students and 20 School of Pharmacy students.

All ceremonies, free and open to the public, will be held in the Arena-Auditorium, with the exception of the College of Law ceremony, which is scheduled in the Buchanan Center for the Performing Arts. The ceremonies will be livestreamed on YouTube and WyoCast; links will be posted on the UW Commencement webpage at https://www.uwyo.edu/commencement/index.html.

Graduates should arrive at War Memorial Fieldhouse one hour before their respective ceremony start times. Parking and shuttle information may be found here.

Martha Wyrsch is the keynote speaker for all three graduation ceremonies. She received her undergraduate degree in English literature from UW in 1980; a law degree from George Washington University in 1986; and the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program certificate in 2002.

She grew up in Laramie and was active in many organizations as an undergraduate, including serving as Associated Students of UW president. Wyrsch has received several UW awards, including the Distinguished Alumna Award; College of Arts and Sciences Distinguished Alumna Award; and the Mortar Board National Honor Society Distinguished Alumna Award. She has received several state and national awards and appointments.

Wyrsch has been a senior executive for a number of energy companies and general counsel and chief legal officer for three energy companies. She also has served as a director of several public companies and is currently on several boards.

The schedule for each ceremony is:

-- 8:30 a.m. -- Undergraduate ceremony for College of Arts and Sciences, College of Education, College of Engineering and Physical Sciences and School of Energy Resources.

The student speaker is Rachel Gaukel, from Keeline, who will graduate with a B.S. in energy resource management and development, with a concentration in professional land management.

-- 12:30 p.m. -- Graduate ceremony, all colleges.

Similar to winter commencement, students being awarded master’s degrees will be hooded in the Fieldhouse beginning at 10:30 a.m. Students receiving Ph.D.s should arrive inside by 11:30 a.m.; doctoral hooding will occur on stage during the ceremony.

Guests attending the graduate ceremony are reminded that the Fieldhouse is a space for graduates only. Graduate families and guests are encouraged to meet their graduates in the Arena-Auditorium following the ceremony.

Enrique “Enjo” Salonga is the graduate student speaker. He is graduating with a master’s degree in agricultural and applied economics and a graduate certificate in community college leadership.

-- 3:30 p.m. -- Undergraduate ceremony for College of Agriculture, Life Sciences and Natural Resources, College of Business, College of Health Sciences, Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources, and Office of Academic Affairs.

Annabelle Pierson, a sales and marketing student from Bozeman, Mont., is the student speaker.

UW-Casper spring commencement will be at 6 p.m. Monday, May 19, at the Ford Wyoming Center. For more information, visit www.uwyo.edu/uwcasper/commencement/index.html.