Time to Celebrate: Spring Commencement 2012

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The University of Maryland is getting ready to celebrate the graduation of more than 7700 students. The main Spring Commencement exercise takes place at 1 p.m. on Sunday, May 20 in the Comcast Center. Individual schools and departments will hold their own ceremonies on Sunday, May 20 and Monday, May 21 at various times and locations. Please see the Commencement website for details.

5,443 Terps have applied for bachelor's degrees, 1712 for master's degrees and 548 for doctoral degrees.

The most popular undergraduate degree remains Criminology-Criminal Justice followed by Economics, Communication, Psychology and Government & Politics. The most popular graduate degrees include Business & Management, Education-Curriculum & Instruction, Library-Information Science, Public Policy and the Executive MBA. PhD degrees lead with Music, Veterinary Medicine, Computer Science, Physics and Electrical Engineering.

Guests are encouraged to arrive at least 45 minutes early to observe the traditional procession of students and faculty.

Streaming and Live Broadcast Information

The main commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 20 will be streamed live (and archived for later viewing) starting at approximately 12:15 p.m. (ET) with the procession. The program begins at 1 p.m.. UMTV, the University of Maryland's cable TV station, will also carry the celebration live. On campus, UMTV is on channel 38. Comcast customers can watch on Channel 73 in Prince George's County and on Channel 2 in Montgomery County. On Verizon, the event will be on Channel 40 in both counties.

Robert H. Smith School of Business - Sunday, May 20, 2012 at 5:30 p.m. - Comcast Center. Speaker: Michael Ward - chairman and chief executive officer of CSX Corporation

A. James Clark School of Engineering - Monday, May 21, 2012 at 4 p.m. - Comcast Center. Speaker: Retired U.S. Air Force Gen. Lester L. Lyles. (Also available on your smart device.)

NOTE: Former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker will deliver the commencement address to the School of Public Policy on Sunday, May 20 at 5 p.m. in the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center's Dekelboum Recital Hall. Please contact Jennifer Talhelm in Public Policy.

John Berry (right) - the director of the Office of Personnel Management - will be the featured commencement speaker on May 20. He is a 1980 graduate of the University of Maryland, having earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Government & Politics.

As OPM director, he is the federal government's chief people person - responsible for recruiting, hiring and setting benefits policies for 1.9 million federal civilian employees. With more than 20 years of experience in the federal government, Berry is a passionate and aggressive advocate for public service and federal workers.

"I now have two high honors in my life," said Berry. "First to be called by the President and asked to serve my country as director of OPM; second, to be called by my university to speak at my alma mater."

Student medalist Jenny Wang (left) came to Maryland from Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring with a lot of energy and interests - and found just the right outlet for them all. She double majored in unrelated disciplines, served as a teaching assistant and helped start an undergraduate research journal. She also volunteered in a local emergency room and organized community service events. Wang earned 40 credits before becoming a Terp, and she kept up that academic pace on campus. She maintained a 4.0 GPA as she completed degrees in physiology and neurobiology and in English language and literature. She'd earned 40 credits before becoming a Terp. Future plans include medical school and a trip to her parent's homeland of China to continue studies of calligraphy and Chinese folklore.

Student speaker Heungkook "HK" Stephens (right) is a civil engineering major who wants to be known for channeling his compassion and talents to improve the lives of others. A civil engineering major, he helped Engineers Without Borders provide a sustainable water source in Brazil and a water chlorination system in Peru. He also directs a youth ministry and before coming to Maryland spent a month in Bangladesh teaching character education. Stephens is also an avid dancer who earned a spot on the university's Dynamic Dance Team and later the Culture Shock D.C. troupe. Stephens will be staying at Maryland for graduate work studying the advanced detection and deactivation of waterborne pathogens.

Honorary Degrees

The University of Maryland will be awarding two honorary degrees during the main commencement exercise:

Edward A. St. John '61 brings to philanthropy the same commitment that helped him build one of the region's largest and most successful commercial real estate firms. He has impacted the state, economically through his successful company, as a leader through his public service and philanthropically through his generosity.

Suzanne G. Valenstein currently is Research Scholar at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. She is retired from the museum's Department of Asian Art, where she curated the Chinese ceramics for thirty-five years. She also was guest curator for an exhibition at China Institute in America, for which she wrote the catalogue, Ming Porcelains: A Retrospective (1970).

Shuttle and Parking Information

Shuttle-UM service will be available from the College Park Metro station to the Comcast Center and individual departmental ceremonies between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 20. Shuttle service will also be available from the College Park Metro station to individual departmental ceremonies between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. on Monday, May 21. Visitors requiring special handicap transportation the day of commencement should call dispatch services at 301-314-0318. Visitors with parking question can call 301-314-PARK. See the Spring Commencement website for driving directions.

Senior Swirl Ice Cream

In honor of Commencement, The Dairy will be selling "Senior Swirl" Ice Cream: Vanilla Ice cream with a chocolate swirl, red and yellow sprinkles, and brownie pieces. The Dairy is located in Turner Hall on Route One. "Senior Swirl" will only be offered for a limited time from Monday, May 14 through Monday, May 21 from 10 a.m. to 4p.m. The Dairy will be open regular hours on Sunday, May 20.

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