A Commencement Thank You

UW-Parkside 2012 Winter Commencement.

From: Debbie Ford, Chancellor

To: Everyone who made Winter Commencement a huge success

Colleagues and graduates,

I want to take this opportunity to thank all of the people who contributed their time and talents to make the 2012 University of Wisconsin-Parkside Winter Commencement such a success. It takes a great deal of hard work and dedication to present a program as complex as commencement and have it unfold flawlessly. Our hardworking and dedicated faculty and staff did just that on Sunday making the flawless seem effortless.

To keep this note brief, I won't single out all of the people involved but there are some groups and individuals I want to congratulate for their efforts: Head Marshal Lisa Marie Barber handled the myriad details involved in the ceremony from finding a replacement singer for the national anthem to making sure the microphone was perfectly modulated when Dennis Rome announced an MBA candidate who graduated "with distinction!" Registrar Rhonda Kimmel, Graduation Services Coordinator Rita Minger, and the Commencement Committee for their planning and foresight; Vice Chancellor and Provost Fred Ebeid who served as an exceptional host setting a perfect pace for the proceedings; Facilities Management and Dave Light in particular for a picture perfect setting to celebrate student success; deans Dirk Baldwin, Emmanuel Otu, and Dean Yohnk and Division Head Peggy James for introducing the approximately 200 students who attended with flawless pronunciation of each name; Diane Donnelly and Jana McLaughlin for their coordination of the event and their tireless efforts to ensure a smooth ceremony; Creative Services, University Relations and Advancement, and Alumni Relations for their many contributions.

We also say thanks to UW System President Kevin Reilly for addressing our students. We appreciate him spending his Sunday afternoon here and we appreciate his wise words of advice and encouragement. We thank Dr. Julie Kinzelman for accepting our alumni award and coming up on stage despite recent knee surgery. And we thank graduate speaker Julie Evans who exemplified the talent, poise, and polish of the Class of 2012.

Most important, we thank the graduates and their parents, family, and friends who witnessed this important day. I can't tell you how energizing and affirming it is to meet with students and relatives at the commencement reception and hear their stories of how UW-Parkside changed their lives for the better. You can't help but be excited about the future with the talented, motivated, and engaged graduates we send into the world.

Again, thank you to everyone who contributed to making the 2012 University of Wisconsin-Parkside Winter Commencement an unqualified success!

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ABOUT THIS STORY:

Story Status: Archived
Publish date: 12/18/2012

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