WHAT: Washington University’s 144th Commencement. The university will bestow degrees on some 2,500 undergraduate, graduate and professional students. The university also will bestow honorary degrees on five individuals.
WHERE: Brookings Quadrangle, which is directly west of Brookings Hall, the university’s main administration building that sits on hill overlooking Forest Park.
WHEN: 8:30 a.m. Friday, May 20, 2005
HIGHLIGHTS:
• Richard A. Gephardt, who served as both majority and minority leader for Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives, will deliver the Commencement address.
• During the ceremony, Gephardt also will receive an honorary doctor of humane letters degree. Washington University’s four other honorary degree recipients and their degrees are: William H. Gass, Ph.D., Washington University’s David May Distinguished University Professor Emeritus in the Humanities in Arts & Sciences, doctor of humanities; Emily R. Pulitzer, founder and chairman of the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts in St. Louis, doctor of humanities; Robert G. Roeder, Ph.D., the Arnold O. and Mabel S. Beckman Professor of Biochemistry and head of the Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Rockefeller University, doctor of science; and James E. Stowers Jr., co-chairman of the Stowers Institute for Medical Research in Kansas City and founder and current board member of American Century Companies Inc., a leading investment manager, doctor of science.
• About 125 alumni from the Class of 1955, celebrating their 50th reunion, will march in the procession.
• And for the 25th straight Commencement, the music will be provided by The Mighty Mississippi Concert Band of St. Louis, under the direction of Dan Presgrave, music director/conductor of the University Symphony Orchestra, the University Wind Ensemble and The Saint Louis Wind Symphony.
MEDIA SEATING: News organizations sending a reporter to Commencement should call Sue Killenberg McGinn by 5 p.m. May 19 to make arrangements for a reserved seating ticket.
MEDIA PARKING: Reserved media parking is available at the south end of Brookings Hall. Take Forsyth to Hoyt Drive; take Hoyt to south leg of the circle drive that leads up to Brookings Hall, where a parking attendant will direct you. Please show attendant a media ID.
VIOLENT WEATHER PLAN: Commencement will be held outside rain or shine. However, in case of violent weather, Commencement for undergraduates will be held in the Athletic Complex’s Field House, still beginning at 8:30 a.m. The graduate and professional degrees will be bestowed at each respective school’s Commencement reception. If the violent weather schedule is necessary, media will be notified by 7:30 a.m. Friday.
For more information the morning of Commencement, call Sue Killenberg McGinn at 314-603-6008.