Commencement Exercises to be Held Dec. 17 at Greensboro Coliseum

By Steve Gilliam , University Relations

Contact: (336) 334-4314

Posted 11-30-09

GREENSBORO, N.C. — UNCG will hold commencement exercises Thursday, Dec. 17, at 10 a.m. in the Greensboro Coliseum, with biologist Dr. Matina Kalcounis-Rüppell as speaker.

Kalcounis-Rüppell’s address will be titled “Foundation for new degrees of learning.” Last spring, she received the Alumni Teaching Excellence Award from UNCG.

She is an associate professor in the Department of Biology, and her teaching and research interests include the behavior and ecology of wild mammals, especially bats and rodents and their use of ultrasound. She has taught classes in vertebrate zoology and ecology. She is a past chair of the North American Society for Bat Research.  She gives regular presentations to the public about wildlife conservation, including a popular Halloween season program on bats.

UNCG Chancellor Linda P. Brady will preside and will welcome the graduates and their families, and will play a central role in the ceremony. Approximately 1,500 students are candidates to complete their degrees during the semester. Graduates who completed degrees in August can also participate in the December ceremony.

In addition to Brady and Kalcounis-Rüppell, other participants include Provost David H. Perrin; Dr. Laurie Kennedy-Malone, chair of the Faculty Senate; Randall Kaplan, chair of the UNCG Board of Trustees; UNC President Erskine B. Bowles; Jana W. Wagenseller, president of the UNCG Alumni Association; and Jacob Scott Henry who will be the speaker for the December graduating class.

Also taking part in the ceremonies will be UNCG’s academic deans; Dr. Daniel Winkler, who is faculty marshal and mace bearer; Margie Wiggins, chief marshal, and Renwick Pridgeon, undergraduate tassel turner. At the conclusion, the University Bell will be rung by Julie Tesh of the December class and Diane Carpenter Peebles, an alumna of the Class of 1959. The Commencement Brass will provide music.