The University of Houston campus is typically filled with Cougars clad in red and white spirit apparel. This weekend, expect plenty of black on campus as nearly 5,000 students will don caps and gowns for spring commencement ceremonies.
UH’s commencement weekend will celebrate students’ academic accomplishments May 9 – 10 on campus. This weekend, the University will confer 4,939 degrees in 259 academic disciplines. These include 127 doctoral degrees, 401 professional degrees, 1,176 master’s degrees and 3,235 bachelor’s degrees.
These graduating Coogs will include 601 undergraduate students graduating Cum Laude (with honors), 508 students graduating Magna Cum Laude (with high honors) and 369 students graduating Summa Cum Laude (with highest honors). Also, 12 undergraduate students are graduating Summa Cum Laude and with a perfect 4.0 grade point average.
Sarah Ramirez will be UH’s youngest graduate during this spring’s ceremonies. At age 20, she will earn a Bachelor’s of Business Administration degree. She is the first student to graduate from UH through the Greater Texas Foundation (GTF) Scholars program. As a GTF scholar, Ramirez simultaneously earned her high school diploma and associates degree before transferring to UH.
Art student Robert L. Straight will be the oldest spring 2014 graduate at age 72. He will earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art-Sculpture.
A schedule of the weekend’s commencement ceremonies is as follows:
May 9
- College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics/Cullen College of Engineering/Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture - 9 a.m. in Hofheinz Pavilion. Dinesh Singh, vice chancellor of the University of Delhi will receive an Honorary Doctorate during this ceremony.
- College of Pharmacy - 9 a.m. in Cullen Performance Hall featuring guest speaker Scott F. Gilberson, Acting U.S. Deputy Surgeon Gerneral
- Graduate College of Social Work – 1 p.m. in Cullen Performance Hall featuring guest speaker Kathy Greenlee, Assistant Secretary for Aging, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
- College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences I – 2 p.m. in Hofheinz Pavilion
- College of Liberal Art and Social Sciences II – 7 p.m. in Hofheinz Pavilion
May 10
- Bauer College of Business – 9 a.m. in Hofheinz Pavilion
- College of Optometry – 1 p.m. in Cullen Performance Hall featuring guest speaker Dennis Levi, former dean of University of California-Berkeley Optometry and former UH faculty member
- College of Education/College of Technology/Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management – 2 p.m. in Hofheinz Pavilion
- UH Law Center – 7 p.m. in Hofheinz Pavilion featuring guest speaker Texas Supreme Court Justice Jeff Brown
Doors will open one hour before each ceremony. Seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Tickets are required for ceremonies at Cullen Performance Hall.
Attendees at Hofheinz Pavilion events are encouraged to arrive early as seating is limited. An overflow facility will be located across the street at the Science and Engineering Classroom Building.
Campus parking is limited, and attendees should plan to walk across campus to reach their commencement destinations.
For additional details on the weekend’s events, visit the UH Commencement website. Ceremonies will be streamed live on the Commencement Live page.