Release date: May 8, 2008
Contact: Beverly Cox Clark at 404-712-8780 or beverly.clark@emory.edu

Emory University to Hold Commencement May 12 for 3,600+ Graduates

Home Depot co-founder and renowned philanthropist Bernie Marcus will deliver the keynote address at Emory University's 163rd commencement ceremony Monday, May 12, and will receive an honorary doctor of humane letters degree. The central ceremony, starting at 8 a.m., will be followed by individual college and school diploma ceremonies. Commencement will be broadcast live and then archived via the Internet.

Emory President James Wagner will preside at the 90-minute ceremony. The event will take place on the Emory quadrangle for about 3,600 graduating students and their families.

Three other individuals also will be recognized during commencement with honorary degrees: mental health advocate Mary Jane England, currently president of Regis College in Massachusetts, who will receive a doctor of science; award-winning writer Ernest Gaines, author of "A Lesson Before Dying," who will receive a doctor of humane letters; and renowned Harvard University biologist and conservationist E. O. Wilson, who will receive a doctor of science.

The academic procession under the direction of Chief Marshal Ray DuVarney, professor and chair of physics, will be led across the university's historic quadrangle by the kilt-clad Atlanta Pipe Band. Dressed in full Scottish Highland attire, the drum and bagpipe ensemble will march to "Emory and Old St. Andrews March," written by Emory alumnus Henry D. Frantz Jr. in honor of Emory's sister institution, the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.

Members of the procession will be dressed in the academic regalia of caps, gowns and hoods adopted by the class of 1902. Depending on their field of study, the hoods of graduates will be scarlet, gold, purple, salmon, sapphire, apricot, white, green or dark blue.

The Thomas Jefferson Award, the university's premier faculty/administrative officer award for significant service to the institution, and the University Scholar/Teacher Award, given on behalf of the United Methodist Church Board of Higher Education and Ministry, will be presented. The Marion Luther Brittain Award, the most prestigious student award for service to the university, also will be given.

Following the central ceremony, students will report to various locations on campus to receive diplomas from their individual schools. The diploma ceremony for Emory College (the undergraduate arts and sciences school) will be held on the quadrangle.

Emory University (www.emory.edu) is known for its demanding academics, outstanding undergraduate experience, highly ranked professional schools and state-of-the-art research facilities. Perennially ranked as one of the country's top 20 national universities by U.S. News & World Report, Emory encompasses nine academic divisions as well as the Carlos Museum, The Carter Center, the Yerkes National Primate Research Center and Emory Healthcare, Georgia’s largest and most comprehensive health care system.

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