May Commencement Event Details

May Commencement will be held on Saturday May 4, 2013 for:

Undergraduate Students in:  Day Program

Graduate Students in:  Physician Assistant Studies

Thursday, May 2

Rehearsal

4:30 – 5:30 p.m.

Si Melby Hall

Saturday, May 4

Baccalaureate Service

8:45 – 10 a.m.

Hoversten Chapel, Foss Center

Baccalaureate is a celebration service of music and word held for the graduating class. Graduating Students should wear their cap and gown and may sit with their family or guests in any available seats. Please note that seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Commencement Ceremony – Rain Plan in Effect

11 a.m.
Doors to Si Melby Hall will open at 9:45 a.m.

Student Line-Up:
10 a.m.
Line up promptly at 10:15 a.m.

• Original Location: Christensen Center Lobby
• Rain Plan Check-In Location: Lower level of Si Melby Hall/Kennedy Center. Check-in tables will be set up on the south end of the lower level hallway, immediately outside of the Fitness Center.
• Line-Up Notes: Students will line up down the two southernmost hallways in the lower level. (The Men’s locker room hallway in Melby. and the new locker room hallway in Kennedy).

Faculty Line-Up:
10:15 a.m. wearing cap and gown

• Original Location: Sateren Lobby, Music Hall
• Rain Plan Check-In Location: Faculty line-up will move to the lower level of Si Melby Hall/Kennedy Center. A check in table will be located on the north end of the hallway, near the entrance to Melby 119.
• Line-Up Notes: Faculty will line up down the northern hallway in the lower level of Melby (Women’s locker room hallway).

Flag Bearers:

• Original Location: Event & Conference Planning Office.
• New Check-In Location: 3rd Floor Coaches suite of the Kennedy Center.

Commencement Speaker & Honorary Degree Recipient

Bill George, Professor of Business Practice, Harvard University; Former CEO of Medtronic Commencement Speaker & Honorary Degree Recipient

Between 1989-2002 George served Medtronic as President and COO, Chief Executive Officer, and Chairman of the Board. Widely known for his work in leadership studies, and particularly his four best-selling books, Authentic Leadership, True North: Discover Your Authentic Leadership, Finding Your True North: A Personal Guide and 7 Lessons for Leading in Crisis, and True North Groups: A Powerful Path to Personal and Leadership Development. George is a professor of management practice, and has taught at the Harvard Business School since 2004 and is the current faculty chair of the Executive Education program, Authentic Leadership Development.

He has been named one of the “Top 25 Business Leaders of the Past 25 Years” by PBS; “Executive of the Year-2001″ by the Academy of Management; and “Director of the Year-2001-02″ by the National Association of Corporate Directors. Mr. George makes frequent appearances on television and radio, and his columns are published in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Business Week, and Fortune.

George received his BSIE degree with high honors from Georgia Tech and the MBA with high distinction from Harvard University, where he was a Baker Scholar. George and his wife, Penny, who runs their family foundation in Minnesota, split their time between Cambridge and Minneapolis.

Jim Ramstad, Former United States Congressman

Representative Ramstad was a Republican member of the Minnesota State Senate from 1981 to 1990 before entering the U.S. Congress. He was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1991 to 2009. He considers ending discrimination against those suffering from mental health and addiction problems a major part of his legacy, and worked under both Republican and Democratic majorities to pass a Mental Health Parity Bill, which was signed into law in December, 2008.

Ramstad has identified himself as a recovering alcoholic, and in recent years is a resident fellow at the Harvard Institute of Politics where he is leading a study group titled The Policy and Politics of Addiction.

Ramstad received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Minnesota, and is a graduate of George Washington University Law School. He was an officer in the National Guard, worked in private practice and was a legislative aide to the Minnesota House of Representatives.

Department and Program Receptions

12:30 - 2 p.m.

After the ceremony graduates should plan to meet their guests at reception locations, below:

Fine Arts & Humanities: Christensen Center, Center Commons

Natural Sciences: Christensen Center, East Commons

Education, Health & Physical Education and Social Sciences: Christensen Center, Coffee Shop

Business Administration & Economics: Oren Gateway Center Lobby & Adeline Johnson Conference Room

Social Work: Christensen Center, Marshall Room

Physician Assistant Studies: Anderson Hall, Physician Assistant Studies Office