No commencement speaker scheduled; five honorary degrees to be conferred

More than 5,600 students will leave McKale Center Saturday as members of UAâs 126th graduating class.

University of Arizona President Peter Likins will confer degrees upon more than 4,269 undergraduate, 837 masters and 276 doctoral students, as well as 98 medical, 128 law and 56 pharmacy students.

This yearâs graduation commencement will not feature a keynote speaker, and the ceremony will focus more on the graduating students than in past years.

UA President Peter Likins said the change is an experiment to make the ceremony more interesting for graduates and their families.

Patti Ota, Likinsâ senior associate, said administrative officials tracked the length of commencement ceremonies over 10 years and found that ceremonies sometimes lasted up to three hours and also lost focus on the students who were graduating.

ãMoney has nothing to do with the decision, absolutely zero percent,ä Ota said.

Outgoing Associated Students of the University of Arizona President Ray Quintero said the decision was wise, because students are rarely interested in the commencement speakers anyway.

Five honorary degrees will still be presented at the ceremony.

Nancy K. Bissell, co-founder of the Primavera Foundation, will be presented with an honorary doctorate of humane letters degree; also, Donald Gentry, the chairman, president and CEO of the Polymet Mining Corporation, will be presented an honorary doctorate of engineering degree.

Venture capitalist Jackson L. Wilson Jr. and former Arizona Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas A. Zlaket will be presented honorary law degrees.

Gary LeMel, the president of Worldwide Music for Warner Bros., will be presented an honorary doctorate of musical arts degree.

Two alumni achievement awards will be presented to local leader and bottler George Kalil, and to Delbert and Jewell McFarland Lewis, who have been generous supporters of education in Arizona.

Graduation ceremonies are this Saturday at 9 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. at McKale Memorial Center, 1721 E. Enke Drive.