SUU Celebrates the Graduating Class of 2010

Published: April 26, 2010 | Read Time: 3 minutes

Southern Utah University is excited to join with 1,817 soon-to-be graduates at SUU’s 111th annual Commencement festivities this Friday, April 30 and Saturday, May 1. The campus and local communities are invited to join in the celebration of SUU’s Class of 2010 – the largest graduating class in the University’s history.

These graduates will join together in the University commencement Ceremony on Friday, April 30, at 4:30 p.m. in the Centrum Arena, where they will hear from U.S. Senator Robert F. Bennett as the keynote speaker in addition to SUU President Michael T. Benson.

The student speaker who will represent the Class of 2010 at this year’s festivities is Alyssa Sanders from Mt. Pleasant, UT, who will be graduating with a bachelor’s degree in communication.

The Class of 2010 at Southern Utah University includes 453 students who have earned a master’s degree, 1,008 who have earned a bachelor’s degree, 339 who have earned an associate’s degree and 17 who will receive a special educational certificate.

All degrees will be awarded at college convocation ceremonies to be held throughout the day on Saturday, May 1.

Of all those degrees, this year’s most popular majors include accounting, biology, communication, criminal justice and elementary education. And together, the Class of 2010 has earned an average GPA of 3.475 over an average of 10.7 semesters from enrollment to graduation.

This year’s graduates come to SUU from nine different countries:

• Albania
• China
• France
• Japan
• Saudi Arabia
• Slovak Republic
• South Korea
• United States
• U.S. Territory of Puerto Rico

Within the U.S., the class of 2010 comes from 43 different states:

Alaska

Alabama

Arkansas

Arizona

California

Colorado

Connecticut

Delaware

Florida

Georgia

Hawaii

Idaho

Illinois

Indiana

 

Kansas

Louisiana

Maine

Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan

Minnesota

Mississippi

Missouri

Montana

Nebraska

Nevada

New Hampshire

New Jersey

New Mexico

New York

North Carolina

Ohio

Oklahoma

Oregon

Pennsylvania

Tennessee

Texas

Utah

Virginia

Vermont

Washington

Wisconsin

Wyoming

And the University’s resident graduates have come to SUU from 28 of the state’s 29 counties.

As to the ethnic origins of this year’s graduating class, students have identified themselves as follows:

• American Indian/Alaskan Native – 17
• Asian – 23
• African American – 10
• Caucasian – 1,663
• Hispanic – 49
• Pacific Islander – 18
• Other – 4
• Unspecified – 22

The Class of 2010 includes 741 men and 1,076 women, with 58 married couples who will celebrate their SUU graduation together.

Students donning caps and gowns will range in age from 16 to 64 years old; the average age for a class of 2010 graduate at SUU is 27 years old.

The formal presentation of this year’s honorary doctorate degrees will take place in the University Commencement ceremony on Friday afternoon. This year SUU will recognize two individuals: former first lady of the state of Utah Norma W. Matheson, to receive a degree in humane letters; and Senator Robert F. Bennett, to receive a degree in public service.

In the Friday ceremony, the SUU community will recognize this year’s University Valedictorian, Robyn LaLumia, a hotel, resort and hospitality management major from Salt Lake City, Utah. LaLumia has maintained a perfect 4.0 grade point average while at Southern Utah University.

Several faculty and staff members who have positively impacted the campus community in the past year will also be recognized during Commencement.

Faculty Award Recipients:

• Outstanding Educator—Earl Mulderink, professor of history
• Outstanding Scholar— Jim Aton, professor of English
• Distinguished Educators — Assistant Professor of English Kyle Bishop, Assistant Professor of English Wynne Summers and Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice Wayne Williams.

Staff Award Recipients:

• Distinguished Staff Members — Clarisse Lunt, administrative assistant within the College of Performing and Visual Arts, and Ben Johnson, building maintenance and repairs manager within the Department of Facilities Management.
• Outstanding Staff Members — Paula Alger, advisor and curriculum coordinator within the School of Business, and Travis Rosenberg, human resources generalist.

For additional information about all of this year’s graduation festivities, please visit SUU's Graduation Information Headquarters online.

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