Inside Iowa State

April 27, 2007

Spring graduation events are May 4-5

by Anne Krapfl

An estimated 3,018 students will receive degrees from Iowa State during commencement events May 4-5.

The undergraduate ceremony begins at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, May 5, in Hilton. An anticipated 2,496 will receive bachelor's degrees from Iowa State this spring.

Robert Byron Bird will receive an Honorary Doctor of Science degree at the undergraduate ceremony and also give the address.

Bird is the Vilas Professor Emeritus of chemical and biological engineering at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. His research and four landmark textbooks have greatly influenced the teaching of chemical engineering and thermal science for the past five decades. His 1960s research replaced the concept of "unit operations" in chemical engineering with transport phenomena, a change that transformed the discipline and impacted industries as varied as food processing, petroleum and space travel.

Bird spent most of his childhood in Fort Dodge. He earned a B.S. from the University of Illinois and his Ph.D. from Wisconsin.

Graduate events

The College of Veterinary Medicine expects to award 97 Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degrees during a noon ceremony Saturday in Stephens. Dr. Keith Prasse, dean emeritus of the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Georgia and currently a consultant to the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges, will address the graduates. Prasse earned four degrees - B.S., M.S., Ph.D. and D.V.M. - from Iowa State. He is a 1998 recipient of ISU's Stange Award, the college's premier recognition of alumni for outstanding professional achievement.

Finally, the Graduate College will hold its commencement ceremony at 8 p.m. Friday, May 4, also in Stephens. An anticipated 94 Ph.D. candidates and 331 master's students will receive their degrees. Diane Birt, Mary B. Welch Distinguished Professor in Family and Consumer Sciences and a professor of food science and human nutrition, will address the graduates. Birt directs the Center for Research on Botanical Dietary Supplements. She has a B.A. degree from Whittier College, California, and a Ph.D. from Purdue University.

Tickets are not required for any of the ceremonies. Some of the colleges also will hold events to honor their graduating students.

Spring commencement

May 4-5

Friday, May 4

• 4 and 5:30 p.m., College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, awards ceremonies recognizing undergraduate students graduating with honors or distinction, Fisher Theater, 4-7742.
• 4:30 p.m., College of Human Sciences, ceremony for undergraduate students, Stephens (6 p.m. reception for undergraduate and graduate students, first floor lobby, Scheman), 4-7002.
• 5 p.m., College of Business, ceremony for undergraduate and graduate students, Hilton, 4-3656.
• 5:30-7 p.m., College of Engineering, informal ceremony and reception for graduate students, 220 Scheman, 4-8857.
• 8 p.m., Commencement, for master's and doctoral students, Stephens, 4-9372.

Saturday, May 5

• 8 a.m., College of Agriculture, reception for undergraduate students (9 a.m. ceremony), Stephens, 4-8653.
• 9:30-10:30 a.m., College of Engineering, receptions and recognition programs for undergraduate students (by department), Scheman, Fisher Theater, Hilton, Knapp-Storms Dining Complex and Hoover auditorium (9 a.m. continental breakfast), 4-8857.
• 9:30 a.m., College of Design, reception for undergraduate and graduate students (10 a.m. ceremony), Lightfoot Forum, College of Design, 4-7428.
• Noon, Commencement, College of Veterinary Medicine, Stephens, 4-0772.
• 1:30 p.m., Commencement, for undergraduate students in all colleges, Hilton, 4-9372.

Over 3,000 students will receive degrees from ISU during commencement events May 4-5.