1,500 to graduate from Upper Iowa University on Saturday, May 7
FAYETTE, Iowa (May 2, 2011) – Upper Iowa University will graduate some 1,500 students on Saturday, May 7, from across the University’s domestic and international locations. Of those, more than 600 are scheduled to walk across the stage to receive their degrees during the 149th Commencement on the Fayette campus. There will be three ceremonies in Dorman Gymnasium at 10 a.m,, 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.
Graduates will represent not only the Fayette campus, but will have completed their degree requirements at one of UIU’s 17 centers in the United States or one of its international centers, or through the online or independent study programs. Of the more than 600 graduates planning to walk on Saturday, 560 will receive bachelor’s degrees in business, education, liberal arts, math and science. About 60 graduates will receive master’s degrees – including the first graduate in UIU’s newest master’s program, the Master’s in Higher Education Administration (MHEA).
Teri Walker, who is not only a UIU student but who works as an academic advisor at the UIU education center in Des Moines, will be the first recipient of the UIU MHEA degree. The MHEA is an online academic program that prepares graduates for leadership roles in education organizations.
Five students have been selected to speak during the Commencement exercises. Jeffrey Tourdot, Cedar Rapids, who is receiving his master’s degree in public administration through UIU’s Academic Extension program, will speak at all three ceremonies. A graduate of Oelwein High School, Tourdot also earned his bachelor’s degree in human services from the UIU center in Waterloo. Tourdot works for Linn County Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Services.
Tourdot will be joined at each ceremony by different UIU undergraduate students who are graduating with honors from the Fayette campus. Speaking at the 10 a.m. ceremony is Dan Bestul, a 2007 graduate of Northwood-Kensett High School, Northwood, Iowa. Bestul has completed a bachelor’s degree with a double major in finance and management and has already begun work on a master’s degree in business administration through the UIU online program. As an undergraduate, Bestul was captain of the Peacocks basketball team for two years.
UIU staffer, Kari Solheim, will speak at the 1 p.m. commencement exercises. Solheim, administrative assistant to the UIU Office of Student Development, is completing her degree in graphic design and also is celebrating her 20th year of serving Upper Iowa University. Sharing speaking honors at the 3:30 p.m. commencement ceremony are Tracy Nuss and Ashley Becker. Nuss, a graduate of AGWSR High School in Ackley, Iowa, earned his degree in all-science and will be teaching science this fall at North Fayette High School. Becker, a transfer student from Elgin, Iowa, earned her degree in elementary education major with endorsements in early childhood and reading.
Also joining UIU officials on the podium Saturday is Pastor Carl N. Tenney, Fayette Community Church, who will deliver the invocation.
All three UIU commencement ceremonies will be broadcast online at www.uiu.edu.
Contact:
Monica Bayer Heaton
Executive Director of Communications and Marketing
Phone: 563-425-5773
Cell: 515-291-2070
heatonm@uiu.edu
About Upper Iowa University
Founded in 1857, Upper Iowa University is a private, not-for-profit university providing undergraduate and graduate degree programs and leadership development opportunities to nearly 6,800 students—nationally and internationally—at its Fayette campus and learning centers worldwide. Upper Iowa University is a recognized innovator in offering accredited, quality programs through flexible, multiple delivery systems, including online and independent study. For more information, visit www.uiu.edu.