The University of Evansville will award 583 degrees to 586 graduating students during its 157th Commencement ceremony, 1:30 p.m., Saturday, May 9, at the Ford Center in Evansville. The event will feature the Senior Keynote address, the conferring of honorary degrees to Lee Hamilton and Jean Beckman, presentation of the University of Evansville Alumni Association’s Outstanding Teacher of the Year award, as
well as Outstanding Senior Service Awards.
This year’s Senior Keynote speaker will be Nathaniel R. Graves from Renssalaer, Indiana. Graves will be receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in special education and elementary education, and will attend Vanderbilt University in the fall to pursue a Master of Education in higher education administration. While at UE, Graves was an admission ambassador and an orientation leader, and part of the Anti-Bias team through the Office of Diversity Initiatives. He served as an event coordinator for an after school program that finds homes for those whose situations leave them without a place to live. Additionally, he held a number of leadership roles in his fraternity, Phi Gamma Delta
During the ceremony, Lee Hamilton will receive an honorary Doctor of Laws degree, and Jean C. Beckman will receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree. From 1989 to 2003, Hamilton is currently Professor of Practice in the School for Public and Environmental Affairs, Distinguished Scholar in the School of Global and International Studies, Co-Chair for International Engagement Advisory Board, and director of the Center on Congress at Indiana University. From 1965 to 1999, Hamilton served Indiana in the US House. Beckman was chair of UE’s Department of Chemistry, later dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and then interim vice president for academic affairs.
For those who cannot attend Commencement in person, a video of the ceremony will stream live online at www.evansville.edu/commencement/live.cfm. The recorded video will be posted on this page the week after Commencement.
