On May 12, Harriet Miers will give counsel to a different kind of audience — students graduating from the University of Houston Law Center. Miers, counsel to President George W. Bush, will deliver a speech at the law commencement ceremony at 2 p.m. in Hofheinz Pavilion.

A U.S. Supreme Court nominee, Miers served as assistant to the president and deputy chief of staff. Prior to that, she was assistant to the president and staff secretary. Before joining Bush’s staff, she was co-managing partner at Locke Liddell & Sapp, LLP. In 1992, Miers became the first woman president of the Texas State Bar, and she became the first woman president of
the Dallas Bar Association in 1985.

On May 13, Nobel Peace Laureate Jody Williams will address Graduate College of Social Work students at 1 p.m. in Cullen Performance Hall. Williams, Distinguished Visiting Scholar of Social Work and Global Justice at UH, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997 for her work to ban antipersonnel landmines. Williams is one of only 12 women to receive the prize in its more than 100-year history.

She is the founding coordinator of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), which was launched in 1992. Since then, ICBL has grown to include more than 1,300 non-governmental organizations in more than 80 countries. She also is a founding member of the international group PeaceJam, which brings high school students and Nobel Laureates together to create community projects that promote peace. Among other recognitions, Williams has received 12 honorary doctorates.

On May 13, UH alumnus Aylwin B. Lewis, Sears Holdings Corp.’s president and chief executive officer, will speak at the Bauer College’s undergraduate commencement. The ceremony will be held at 1 p.m. in Hofheinz Pavilion.

Other speakers include business leaders such as Mark G. Papa, EOG Resources Inc. chairman and chief executive officer, who will speak at the C.T. Bauer College of Business’ graduate commencement. The event will begin at 7 p.m. May 12 in Cullen Performance Hall. Laurie Hawkinson, Smith-Miller and Hawkinson Architects principal, will speak at 1 p.m. May 13 at the Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture.

The College of Optometry will host alumnus Dr. Wesley Pittman, past president of the Texas Optometry Association, as its commencement speaker. The graduation will be held at 5 p.m. May 13 in Cullen Performance Hall. Later that day, Chester F. “Buddy” Barnes II, EniSys Technologies, LLP chief executive officer and managing director, will address engineering students at 5 p.m. in Hofheinz Pavilion. Barnes also is the founder and president of Crystal Fuels, Inc.

On May 14, the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics’ commencement will be held at 2 p.m. in Hofheinz Pavilion. Nancy Chang, Tanox Inc. co-founder and board of directors chairman, will speak.

For the complete list of commencement ceremonies, visit http://www.uh.edu/news/commencement/
sched.html.

Francine Parker
fparker@central.uh.edu