Former UA hoops player Kerr will deliver address
President Bush will not speak at commencement, which has been moved back to McKale Center and split into two ceremonies, the UA announced last week.
Alumnus Steve Kerr, a former professional basketball player, will deliver the commencement speeches in McKale, which will hold morning and afternoon ceremonies as in years past.
Bush's office called President Peter Likins last week to inform him that Bush would not speak at the graduation. Likins had characterized the possibility of Bush's visit as remote since sending the invitation to the White House a month ago.
To accommodate a possible Bush speech, the UA announced recently that the commencement would be consolidated into a single ceremony, which would be held in Arizona Stadium.
But according to the March 15 announcement, the graduation will be split into two ceremonies and held in McKale, its location for the past three decades.
Officials coordinating graduation were unavailable Friday to explain why the ceremony was moved back inside after it had been set for Arizona Stadium.
Kerr, a player at the UA from 1984-1988, led the Cats to the 1988 Final Four. He went on to win four NBA Championships with the Chicago Bulls and San Antonio Spurs. Kerr's basketball jersey hangs in McKale.
Likins had asked Kerr to speak before receiving overtures from the White House that Bush would consider an invitation to deliver the address at the UA.
At commencement last year, Gov. Janet Napolitano spoke to graduates in the morning ceremony, and Republican Sen. Jon Kyl spoke in the afternoon. Other past commencement speakers included former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.
Commencement is scheduled for May 15, and information on individual college ceremonies is available at http://w3.arizona.edu/~dos/commencement/index.html.