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News Release

Last modified: Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Commencements scheduled at IU for May 3 through May 14

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 8, 2008

EDITORS NOTE: This spring during commencement exercises, Indiana University will award three honorary degrees, the highest academic recognition the university can give, thus adding to its list of 651 distinguished individuals who have been so recognized since the first honorary degree was given in 1905. Read more about these individuals at: http://newsinfo.iu.edu/news/page/normal/7967.html

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- A total of 16,049 graduates will be eligible for degrees from Indiana University during May commencement ceremonies at eight campuses. IU commencement week begins in Bloomington on May 3 (Saturday) and concludes at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne on May 14 (Wednesday).

Will Shortz, crossword editor for The New York Times, subject of the 2006 feature film Wordplay and an IU alumnus, will address graduates, friends and family members at two ceremonies on the Bloomington campus on May 3. IU Bloomington will award 6,737 degrees during the morning and afternoon ceremonies at Assembly Hall. The morning ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. and the afternoon ceremony at 3 p.m.

There also are 1,810 Purdue University degrees to be conferred on IU campuses, mostly in separate ceremonies. IU commencement ceremonies and the number of graduates eligible for degrees, including Purdue University degrees awarded on campuses that have Purdue programs, are:

• IU Southeast, May 5 (Monday), 6 p.m. at the Ogle Center Amphitheater. Degrees will be awarded to 1,018 students, including 986 from IU and 32 from Purdue.
• IU Kokomo, May 6 (Tuesday), 10:30 a.m. to the east of the IU Kokomo library. Degrees will be awarded to 583 students, including 541 from IU and 42 from Purdue.
• IU South Bend, May 6 (Tuesday), 6 p.m. in the Joyce Center at the University of Notre Dame. Degrees will be awarded to 1,060 students, including 1,033 from IU and 27 from Purdue.
• IU Northwest, May 8 (Thursday), 4 p.m. CDT at the Genesis Center in Gary. Degrees will be awarded to 784 IU students.
• IU East, May 9 (Friday), 6 p.m. in the Tiernan Center at Richmond High School. Degrees will be awarded to 341 students, including 315 from IU and 26 from Purdue.
• IUPUI, May 11 (Sunday), 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. in Halls A-B-C of the Indiana Convention Center. Degrees will be awarded to 5,667 students, including 4,559 from IU and 963 from Purdue. This number also includes graduates from the IU Columbus facility, where there are 104 IU graduates and 41 Purdue graduates.
• IPFW, May 14 (Wednesday), 7 p.m. in Fort Wayne's Memorial Coliseum. Degrees will be awarded to 1,669 students, including 990 from IU and 679 from Purdue.

For Bloomington, the number of graduates includes degree candidates for May, June and August, and graduate students whose degrees have been or will be awarded on a monthly basis from January 2008 to July 2008. For other campuses, the figures include degree recipients from December 2007 and candidates for May, June and August 2008. The numbers also include graduate students whose degrees have been or will be awarded during the 2007-2008 academic year.

Honorary degrees will be conferred at commencement ceremonies on three campuses this spring.

• IU Bloomington: Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the president of Liberia, will receive an honorary Doctor of Laws degree.
• IU South Bend: Robert Deputy, long-time Elkhart business leader and philanthropist, will receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree.
• IUPUI: Russell Edgerton, director of the Pew Forum on Undergraduate Learning and an authority on higher education, will receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree.

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