By Jill Yesko, University Relations
Contact: (336) 334-5371
Posted 12-14-06
Sherry McDowell, right, smiles after receiving her degrees in communication studies and political science at Thursday's commencement.
GREENSBORO, NC - Amid the sea of regalia, there were cries of jubilation, whoops of joy and sighs of relief from the more than 1,400 students awarded diplomas during UNCG’s 2006 December commencement ceremonies.
Among the degrees conferred were 967 baccalaureate degrees, 376 master’s degrees, 45 doctorates and 20 specialist degrees.
Diplomas were awarded to students who completed programs in August as well as December.
Of the degrees, 52 were given to international students.
Unlike last year’s snow and sleet, this year’s graduates were haled by bright sunshine and balmy temperatures.
Commencement speaker Dr. Vidyaranya B. Gargeya, professor of information systems and operations management and director of the MBA program at the Bryan School of Business and Economics, hailed the new graduates and likened their “journey to excellence” to that of creating a masterpiece, whether a painting by Picasso or making a “mouth-watering” pizza.
“Whether it is the pizza you ate last night, a painting by Picasso in the last century or the pyramids of Egypt that have stood the test of time for several millennia, the journey to excellence has continued all along and [is] ever widening,” Gargeya said.
Gargeya cited Robert Michael Kelly, a December MBA graduate at the Bryan School of Business and Economics who finished his degree after serving in Iraq, as an example of the diversity of students at UNCG who embody excellence.
“It’s not where you are at a given moment in time. It is how you have metamorphosed yourself over time. Enhancing quality and striving for excellence is not for the weak or the meek-hearted.”
Gargeya concluded his remarks with a poem by Bengali Nobel Prize-winning poet Rabindranath Tagore that challenged students not become lost “in the dreary desert sand of dead habit.” Read the full text of his address here.
UNCG Chancellor Patricia A. Sullivan remembered Benjamin S. Ruffin, emeritus member of the UNC Board of Governors who died on Dec. 7. Ruffin was to have delivered greetings from the UNC system.
UNCG Provost Dr. Edward Uprichard along with Dr. Anna Marshall-Baker, chair of the Faculty Senate; Thomas W. Ross, chair of the UNCG Board of Trustees; Carol F. Matney, president of the UNCG Alumni Association; and Dr. James Peterson, dean of the Graduate School, also participated in the commencement exercises.
Cindra Kamphoff, a PhD graduate in exercise and sports science, delivered remarks on behalf of the December graduating class. “Call me doctor Kamphoff,” remarked Kamphoff to her fellow graduates. “Even Dr. K. would be fine for short.”
In keeping with tradition, a member of the graduating class, Edgar Cabrera, and an alumna, Frances Turner Ross ’56, rang the University Bell at the conclusion of commencement.
