KNOXVILLE — An estimated 3,079 undergraduate and graduate students will receive degrees from the University of Tennessee at UT’s spring commencement ceremony set for 8:30 a.m., May 7, in the Thompson Boling Arena.
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Howard H. Baker Jr.
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Former U.S. Senator Howard H. Baker Jr. will address the graduates and UT Knoxville will award him its first honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters.
A UT College of Law graduate, Baker is one of four generations of UT alumni. His grandson, Daniel, will graduate from the College of Arts and Sciences on the same day.
UT Knoxville Chancellor Loren Crabtree said Baker’s award is well-deserved.
“Howard Baker is one of the leading statesmen and national political figures of our times. To be able to honor him with the first honorary doctoral degree from his alma mater is truly fitting,” Crabtree said.
A native of Huntsville, Tenn., Baker served three terms as a U.S. senator from Tennessee (1967-1985) and was the first Republican popularly elected to that position.
He was vice chairman of the Senate Watergate Committee. He served as Senate Minority Leader from 1977 to 1981 and as majority leader from 1981 until he retired in 1985. Baker also served as President Ronald Reagan’s chief of staff 1987-1988. He later went on to serve as Ambassador to Japan from 2001 to 2005.
In 2003, UT opened the Howard Baker Center for Public Policy to develop programs and promote research to further the public’s knowledge of our system of governance and highlight the importance of public service.
Parking for the university commencement ceremony will be available in the following areas: G-10 (enter from Neyland Drive), C-17, C-18 and C-3. Overflow parking is available in any lot marked commuter or non-commuter.
In addition to the university ceremony, students now attend separate college commencement ceremonies. A list follows.
For more information about commencement, visit http://registrar.tennessee.edu/graduation.shtml.
Details on trolley and shuttle service to commencement are available in Adobe Acrobat pdf form at http://pr.tennessee.edu/parkingshuttleinformation.pdf.
UT Knoxville Commencement Exercises
Thursday, May 5
College of Veterinary Medicine Hooding Ceremony
8 p.m., Tennessee Theatre, 604 S.Gay St.
Friday, May 6
College of Nursing
3 p.m., Thompson-Boling Arena, 1600 Phillip Fulmer Way
College of Architecture and Design
4 p.m., Clarence Brown Theatre, 1714 Andy Holt Ave.
College of Law Hooding Ceremony
6 p.m., Knoxville Convention Center (Ballroom), 701 Henley St.
Graduate Hooding Ceremony
6 p.m., Thompson-Boling Arena
Saturday, May 7
University Commencement Ceremony
8:30 a.m., Thompson-Boling Arena
College of Communication and Information
11 a.m., Knoxville Convention Center, Exhibit Hall A
College of Engineering
11:30 a.m. Knoxville Convention Center, Exhibit Hall B
College of Arts and Sciences
11:30 a.m., Thompson-Boling Arena
College of Social Work
Noon, Alumni Memorial Building, 1408 Middle Dr.
College of Business Administration
3 p.m., Thompson-Boling Arena
College of Education, Health and Human Sciences
3 p.m., Knoxville Convention Center, Exhibit Hall A
College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources
3:30 p.m., Knoxville Convention Center, Exhibit Hall B