Schools at IUPUI Host Special Speakers for Commencement Ceremonies

More than 5,600 students are eligible to receive degrees at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis's main commencement ceremonies on Sunday, May 11, 2008, at the Indiana Convention Center.

On Saturday and Sunday, May 10 and 11 at the Convention center, graduating students will also attend school-level recognition cermonies, some of which feature special guest speakers.

Guest speakers at school ceremonies include:

Kelley School of Business (Graduate), 2 p.m., Saturday, May 10, 500 Ballroom, Joyce Rogers, Vice President for Development Ivy Tech, and former president and CEO of Indiana Black Expo, Inc.

Kelley School of Business, (Undergraduate), 5 - 6:30 p.m., May 11, Sagamore Ballroom 4-7, Charlie Smith, CEO of Countrymark Cooperative, Indiana's only American-owned oil refining and marketing company.

School of Engineering and Technology, 5-6:30 p.m., May 11, Hall F, graduating senior Rachel Meyer, a member of the first Biomedical Engineering graduating class at IUPUI; president of the Engineering and Technology Student Council; and the recipient of this year's Alfred R. and Janet H. Potvin Outstanding Student Leader and Scholar award.

School of Law-Indianapolis, 3 p.m., Saturday, May 10, Sagamore Ballroom, the Honorable John D. Tinder, United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit. During his distinguished legal career, he has also served as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana and a chief trial deputy in the Marion County Prosecutor's Office.

School of Liberal Arts, 5-6:30 p.m., May 11, 500 Ballroom, Dallas Dishman, executive director of the David Geffen Foundation of Beverly Hills, Calif., and a School of Liberal Arts at IUPUI geography alum. At Geffen Foundation, Dishman overseas the foundation's philanthropic activities in the areas of HIV / AIDS, civil liberties, cultural arts, Jewish community services, and healthcare.

School of Public and Environmental Affairs, 12-1:30 p.m., Sunday, May 11, Hall E, Samuel Odle, FACHE, president and CEO of Methodist and Indiana University hospitals and Clarian Health Indianapolis operations.

IUPUI main commencement ceremonies will be held Sunday, May 11 at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. in Halls A-B-C of the Indiana Convention Center. IUPUI Chancellor Bantz will preside at both ceremonies. IU President Michael McRobbie will be on the platform for both ceremonies to confer IU degrees. Purdue President France A. Córdova will do the same, but only at the afternoon ceremony.

Some 4,559 students will receive degrees from Indiana University and 963 from Purdue University. This number also includes graduates from the IUPU Columbus, where there are 104 IU graduates and 41 Purdue graduates.

For additional information, go to: http://info.iupui.edu/news/page/normal/3514.html and http://alumni.iupui.edu/commencement/2008/info.html .