BOCA RATON, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) — Friday is a very exciting day for students graduating from Florida Atlantic University. Fall Commencement is set for various times throughout the day.
Here are the details from FAU:
Florida Atlantic University will confer more than 2,400 degrees during its fall commencement ceremonies held in the Carole and Barry Kaye Performing Arts Auditorium at FAU Boca Raton, 777 Glades Road. The ceremonies are scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 6, at 9 a.m., 1 and 5 p.m., and Friday, Dec. 7, at 9 a.m., and 1 p.m. The new graduates will join more than 124,000 alumni who have graduated from FAU since the university opened in 1964.
“Commencement is a revered tradition in the academic world, providing an opportunity for faculty, staff and the families and friends of graduates to come together in the spirit of celebration,” said FAU President Mary Jane Saunders. “We all join in expressing congratulations to our fall graduates, and we wish them well in their future endeavors.”
FAU will present the President’s Distinguished Service Medallion to Claudia Hillinger, Ph.D., president of the Max Planck Florida Foundation, which is part of the Max Planck facility that is located at FAU Jupiter. She joined the Max Planck Society, Germany’s most successful scientific research organization, in 1998. Hillinger was responsible for Institute development before becoming research coordinator and head of the Central Scientific Laboratories and Technical Facilities for the Max Planck Institute of Biogeochemistry in Jena, Germany. She received a doctorate in biology from the Institute of Botany and Microbiology at the Technical University of Munich (TUM). She recently received the highest honor awarded by the German American Business Chamber in Miami – the 2012 German American Award of Excellence.
Jay Salkini, president and CEO of Tecore Networks and a two-time FAU alumnus, will be awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters at the 9 a.m. ceremony on Thursday, Dec. 6. Major FAU benefactors Dr. Joan Rosmarin Chodorkoff, a retired psychologist, and Dr. Bernard Chodorkoff, a retired psychiatrist, will be awarded Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters at the 1 p.m. ceremony on Thursday, Dec. 6.
Emily Sutker will be awarded an honorary bachelor’s degree posthumously from the College of Education on Friday, Dec. 7, at 1 p.m. She was pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education at FAU at the time of her death. Her family will accept the degree on her behalf.
“There are just a few times in life that one remembers forever, and receiving a college degree is certainly one of them,” said Robert J. Stilley, chair of FAU’s Board of Trustees. “I congratulate all of FAU’s graduates on this achievement and hope their degrees help them accomplish many more great things.”
Fall commencement will highlight the accomplishments of some outstanding graduates, including:
· Jacinto Garrido, 51, has served in the United States Public Health Service for more than 26 years. The Chief of Special Medical Operations for the Immigration Health Services Corps, he will receive a Doctor of Nursing Practice from the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing on Friday, Dec. 7, at the 1 p.m. ceremony.
· Nadja Johnson, 28, overcame personal tragedy and the challenge of adapting to the American culture as a nontraditional student from Jamaica. Johnson maintained a 4.0 GPA and will receive her Ph.D. in Comparative Studies from the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters on Friday, Dec. 7, at the 9 a.m. ceremony.
· Lauren Robinson, 21, has dreamed of being a teacher since she was a little girl. After attending honors and advanced placement classes in high school, Robinson spent her final semester at FAU as a full-time fifth grade teacher at FAU’s A.D. Henderson University School. She will receive a B.A. in Education with a TESOL endorsement on Friday, Dec. 7, at the 1 p.m. ceremony.
Some interesting statistics regarding the fall graduating class include the fact that 94 of the degree recipients are over the age of 50. The oldest graduate is 65 and the youngest is 18. The graduates represent 57 countries.
For the convenience of family members and friends who cannot attend the commencement ceremonies, the proceedings will be cybercast at http://www.fau.edu/webcast/.
