UAS Juneau 40th Annual Commencement Ceremony, May 1
“UAS is celebrating its largest graduating class in 40 years,” said Chancellor John Pugh. "We have significant increases in our graduating associates, bachelors, and masters degrees. I want to thank the faculty and staff as well as our community partners for their efforts to assist the students in accomplishing their educational goals."
Juneau, Alaska
Date of Press Release: April 25, 2011
The University of Alaska Southeast Juneau campus holds its 40th annual commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 1 at 2 p.m. at the Charles Gamble Jr.-Donald Sperl Joint Use Facility, 12300 Mendenhall Loop Road (UAS Rec Center). The public is invited to join the celebration. The University of Alaska Southeast is honoring graduates from Summer and Fall 2010 and Spring 2011. Parking and shuttle service will be available from the Auke Lake Campus. The event is live streamed.
A total of 539 graduates are scheduled to receive degrees from the Juneau, Ketchikan and Sitka UAS campuses; a 42% increase over 2010. The increase is in part due to new graduates in a Masters of Educational Leadership program and an Occupational Endorsement in Law Enforcement from the Sitka campus.
“UAS is celebrating its largest graduating class in 40 years,” said Chancellor John Pugh. "We have significant increases in our graduating associates, bachelors, and masters degrees. I want to thank the faculty and staff as well as our community partners for their efforts to assist the students in accomplishing their educational goals."
Graduates give UAS high marks
As UAS celebrates its 40th commencement anniversary, a just released study shows 93% of UAS graduates surveyed either very satisfied or satisfied with their intellectual growth while at UAS. The University of Alaska Graduate Survey 2010 by the McDowell group also shows UAS graduates "more likely than University of Alaska Anchorage and Fairbanks graduates to be very satisfied with their overall academic experience."
Commencement Speakers: Calkins and Lumba
The 2011 commencement speaker and Honorary Doctorate of Education recipient is a long time advocate for public education in Alaska. Annie Calkins has lived in Alaska since 1972 when she taught art and social studies in the Southeast village of Craig. She earned her Masters in Education from UAS in 1986. Ms. Calkins then worked as Curriculum Director for Aleutian Region School District and for ten years at the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development, first as the Early Childhood Specialist and then as the Language Arts/Fine Arts Specialist. Annie Calkins has written more than 25 federal and state grants in the last decade and has been the External Evaluator to 37 projects across the state. Ms. Calkins is currently working to provide culturally sensitive and significant education to Alaska Native students.
The student speaker and outstanding student in English is Grace Lumba, nominated for her consistently high quality academic work, and for bringing poetry and media to life on campus and in the broader community. Lumba is a second generation Filipina-American, one of six siblings born to parents Rosalie Yadao Prado and Salvador Lumba in Juneau. Grace has made the most of her opportunities as a UAS undergraduate; from working as a peer advisor to participating in student academic exchanges to Hawaii and Costa Rica to serving as Vice President of the Media Club and co-host of UAS Radio Sunday evenings on Excellent Radio.
Regents Kenneth J. Fisher, Timothy Brady and Robert Martin are scheduled to assist Chancellor John Pugh and Provost Richard Caulfield in conferring of degrees.
Reception and Art Exhibit
The commencement ceremony is immediately followed by a catered reception in the Mourant Cafeteria. An exhibit of art by graduating Bachelor of Arts in Art students is in the Fireweed Room just adjacent to the Mourant cafeteria April 25-May 1. The exhibit features painting and drawing by Outstanding Graduate in Art Teri Robus, ceramics and painting by Cassia O'Neil and ceramics and sculpture by Josh Reeder and Bergen Carey.
The University of Alaska Southeast had 3,963 students enrolled in 2010; 2554 of those students take classes from the Juneau Campus.