The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater will celebrate the achievements of its graduates as proud families gather for spring commencement ceremonies.
A total of 1,558 graduates will cross the stage this Saturday, May 13, to receive their degrees. The morning ceremony, which begins at 10 a.m., recognizes 672 undergraduate students and 120 graduate students from the College of Arts and Communication and the College of Business and Economics. The afternoon ceremony begins at 3 p.m. and recognizes 662 undergraduate students and 104 graduate students from the College of Education and Professional Studies and the College of Letters and Sciences. Both ceremonies will be held in the Kachel Fieldhouse.
Charles Pruit, a member of the UW System Board of Regents from 2003 to 2016, will be the commencement speaker for both ceremonies. He was elected board president in 2009, and served a two-year term.
Pruitt, a native of Rochester, Minn., is a partner and co-managing director of the A.B. Data Group. He completed his undergraduate studies at Macalester College and then earned both an M.A. and a Ph.D. in government from Harvard University.
Tyler McNamer, a communication major from Elkhart Lake, will be the student speaker for the morning ceremony. A Warhawk Ambassador, McNamer also volunteers to read books aloud to students with visual disabilities and serves as an LBGT Peer Educator. He also excels at public speaking, having won state and national forensics and speech competitions.
David Sackett, a chemistry major from Rhinelander, will be the student speaker for the afternoon ceremony. A nontraditional student who served in the United States Navy as a petty officer second class, Sackett completed undergraduate research in biochemistry that was published in the journal, “Biochemical Research Communications.”
The ceremonies will include 63 students who are veterans, 14 international students and 159 nontraditional undergraduate students, defined as undergraduate students who are 25 years of age or older. In addition, 117 self-identified students with disabilities will receive degrees.
Commencement will be broadcast live online by UWW-TV, the university television station.
For more information, go to https://www.uww.edu/commencement.
