Ceal Barry, former head coach of the University of Colorado at Boulder women's basketball team, will give the commencement address on Friday, May 6, during the CU-Boulder spring commencement ceremony.
The ceremony, which is free and open to the public, will begin at 8:30 a.m. in Folsom Stadium, where 5,464 degrees will be conferred. For the first time since the spring commencement ceremony was moved to the stadium in 1992, the graduating students will be seated on the field rather than in the stands.
Interim Chancellor Philip DiStefano approved the commencement committee's recommended change in student seating for the spring 2005 ceremony.
"The commencement ceremony is meant to honor the students," DiStefano said. "This is their day and we want them to be the center of attention, so having them seated on the field makes perfect sense."
Guests are asked not to bring large purses or bags to the ceremony, and people entering the stadium may be subject to search. The ceremony will be held outdoors in the stadium regardless of the weather. In the event of heavy rain, the ceremony will be held in an abbreviated form.
Graduating students are invited to attend a pre-commencement breakfast on Norlin Quadrangle on May 6 from 7 a.m. to 7:45 a.m. Illegal Pete's will serve breakfast burritos and UMC Catering will provide juice, coffee and muffins.
Each spring the commencement ceremony begins with a procession of faculty and all graduates from the Norlin Quadrangle to Folsom Stadium. Guests are urged to be in their seats at the stadium by 8:15 a.m. to watch the student procession, which will begin at 8 a.m. on the Quad.
Degrees to be awarded include 4,297 bachelor's degrees, 787 master's degrees, 229 doctorate degrees and 151 law degrees.
Barry stepped down as head coach of CU-Boulder's women's basketball team at the end of the 2004-05 season after 22 years and 427 victories. She now serves as the assistant athletic director for student services at CU-Boulder. Barry's teams excelled both on the court and off, where over the years 85 of her players were Academic All-Conference student athletes.
Also during the ceremony, Marcia E. Lattanzi-Licht and Karl Pister will receive honorary degrees and Mark Addison will be honored with the University Medal.
Lattanzi-Licht is being honored for her leadership in the hospice movement in the United States and abroad. She co-founded the Boulder County Hospice and now travels the world as an author, educator and lecturer giving presentations, seminars and workshops on grief and loss, death and dying, hospice services, bereavement and stress management.
Pister is chancellor emeritus at the University of California at Santa Cruz and former dean of engineering and professor emeritus at the University of California at Berkeley. He is being honored for his teaching and research in the mechanics of solids and structures, including earthquake engineering. He also is being honored for his work to develop policies and programs to diversify the engineering workforce.
Addison is being honored with the University Medal in recognition of his long-term service to and support of CU-Boulder and the arts community. As an adjunct professor for the past decade in the art and art history department, he has brought numerous experts from across the country to talk to his classes, all at a cost to CU-Boulder of $1 per year. He also has donated more than 200 works of art to the CU Art Museum from his extensive collection of contemporary art.
For more information about the commencement ceremony visit the Web site at .