Media Advisory — UA to Hold Joint May-August Graduation Ceremonies May 6-7 in Bryant-Denny Stadium

Graduate School Ceremonies: Friday, May 6, 6 p.m.

First Undergraduate Ceremony: Saturday, May 7, 8:30 a.m. – College of Arts and Sciences, College of Engineering, College of Human Environmental Sciences and School of Social Work

School of Law Ceremonies: Saturday, May 7, 1:30 p.m. In case of rain, the law school ceremony will be held at Moody Music Building on the UA campus.

Second Undergraduate Ceremony: Saturday, May 7, 6 p.m. – Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration, College of Communication and Information Sciences, College of Education and Capstone College of Nursing

UNDERGRADUATE CEREMONIES SPEAKER – Sela Ward, award-winning actress and UA alumna – Ward, who will speak at both undergraduate ceremonies, is best-known for her award-winning portrayals as Lily Sammler on “Once and Again” and Teddy Reed on “Sisters.” She is a 1977 graduate of UA’s College of Communication and Information Sciences. Ward received two Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe for her work on “Once and Again” and “Sisters.” NOTE: Ward will be available to media immediately following the 8:30 a.m. ceremony in the media room located directly across from the Alabama locker room.

SCHOOL OF LAW SPEAKER – Bryan Stevenson, executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery – The Equal Justice Initiative represents persons on death row or persons who are accused of capital crimes. Stevenson’s work on behalf of condemned prisoners has won him national acclaim. In 1996, he was named the Public Interest Lawyer of the Year by the National Association of Public Interest Lawyers. In 1995, he was awarded the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship Award Prize.

SEVERE WEATHER PLAN – In the event of severe weather, a ceremony may be rescheduled for a time later in the day or evening. On Friday, May 6, if it is storming at 6 p.m. and the storm is passing over, the ceremony will be held later Friday evening. If it is impossible to hold the ceremony Friday evening, the ceremony for graduate students will be folded into the first ceremony on Saturday which is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. In the event that it storms all day Saturday and it is impossible to hold one or more of the Commencement ceremonies, any ceremonies that cannot be held Saturday will be postponed until Sunday, May 8 at 2 p.m. Those attending any of the UA ceremonies should listen to WUAL radio, watch WVUA-7 or check the UA Web site for updated information regarding the time for the ceremony.

UA TO BROADCAST COMMENCEMENT LIVE VIA INTERNET — The graduate and undergraduate ceremonies will be broadcast live over the Internet. Those who wish to view the ceremonies on the Internet can go to the main UA Web page at http://www.ua.edu/ to find the web cast link. The webcast will require the free Windows Media Player and a broadband connection. The webcast will be archived on UA’s Web site and will be available for viewing until May 30.

TV STATIONS TO OFFER DELAYED BROADCASTS OF CEREMONIES –

WVUA-TV7 will air delayed broadcast of Saturday’s undergraduate ceremonies. The morning ceremony will air Saturday, May 14 at 2 p.m. The evening ceremony will air Sunday, May 15 at 2 p.m.

WOTM-TV19 will air the morning ceremony Saturday, May 14 at 2 p.m. and Wednesday, May 18 at 7 p.m. The evening ceremony will air Monday, May 16 at 7 p.m.

NOTEWORTHY/INSPIRING GRADUATES

BRAD HUTCHINSON : Air Force Reservist Completes Computer Science Degree while Stationed in Afghanistan –After serving in the Marine and then Air Force reserves for six years without being activated, Senior Airman Robert “Brad” Hutchinson thought he would have no problem finishing his last class for his computer science degree at the Capstone. Orders came on Dec. 27, 2004, and he arrived at Bagram Airfield in Bagram, Afghanistan on Jan. 25. Using e-mail and online technology, Hutchinson has been able to complete his last class and will graduate with the rest of his class; he just won’t be present to walk across the stage. “The past four years have been some of the best years of my life. It kind of saddens me that it has to end with me being in Afghanistan, but I know I am where I am supposed to be,” explained Hutchinson. Contact Hutchinson at Hutchinson@baf.afgn.army.mil, or his adviser, Dr. Marcus Brown, associate professor of computer science, at 205/348-5243 or mbrown@cs.ua.edu.

JESSICA GILLILAN (bachelor’s degree in nursing): Personal experience with cancer leads to nursing career – Gillilan, a native of Boaz, became convinced that her career should focus on pediatric oncology after two family members were diagnosed with cancer. An 18-year-old cousin, with whom she was extremely close, died after battling a rare form of muscular cancer and, in January, 2004, Gillilan’s dad was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer. For more than three years Gillilan has volunteered for 14 to 20 hours per week at the Good Samaritan Clinic, a free clinic in Tuscaloosa, while working on her nursing degree. In September, she was awarded the 2004 Cherokee Inspired Comfort Award in the Student Nurse category. She was selected from more than 1,600 people from across the country nominated for the eight awards presented in four categories. Gillilan may be reached at jessphil4_13@yahoo.com or 256/572-2791 (cell).

Courtney Graham (bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering) – Her research involves aiding the military with enemy target detection. During her college career, Graham, a native of Tuscaloosa with a perfect 4.0 grade point average, has been working on research with Dr. Stanley E. Jones, Cudworth Professor of Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics.

The pair’s efforts are designed to improve the stability criterion for projectiles striking sand and soil targets. This research is vital to the success of the armed forces because many enemy targets are buried deep beneath the soil, and the challenge of defeating these targets has become increasingly difficult as enemies have realized the limitations of current penetrator technologies. Graham can be reached at 205/886-3188 or courtneygraham@comcast.net. Jones can be reached at 205/348-7242 or sejones@coe.eng.ua.edu.

USA TODAY ALL-USA ACADEMIC MEMBERS INCLUDED IN CLASS OF 2005:

Abigail Smith (bachelor’s degree in speech communication): 2004 Second Team Member of USA Today All-USA College Academic Team – Smith’s academic career has gone from non-existent – she was a high school dropout – to being recognized for her academic accomplishments by USA Today in 2004. She is an accomplished debater, an advocate for social justice and a founding member of a multicultural sorority at UA. “I didn’t really have any direction when I was younger,” said Smith, a native of Richmond, Calif., who dropped out of school at 16. “I started working full time when I was 16 years old, and I thought I was actually going to work in the food industry for the rest of my life somewhere in Berkeley or San Francisco, and then I went to community college to take a couple of classes out of interest and was introduced to debate, and that kind of steered the course of the rest of my life so far.” Smith was recruited to the University to join the debate team by UA debate coach Edward Lee. Smith may be reached at 205/246-1449. Lee may be reached at 205/348-2714.

Katie Marchiony (bachelor’s degree in business): 2005 Second Team Member of the USA Today All-USA College Academic Team – While tackling full academic course loads, working at University Medical Center and assisting with student recruitment efforts, Marchiony designed and implemented an academic peer mentoring program that is being applied in courses across the UA campus and has drawn the attention of a panel of chief information officers representing Fortune 500 companies. Marchiony can be reached at mmarchio@cba.ua.edu.

Jason Spruell (bachelor’s degree in chemistry) 2005 Third Team Member of the USA Today All-USA College Academic Team – Spruell’s undergraduate research has given the chemical industry insight into more practical ways of achieving desired chemical reactions in an environmentally friendly manner. Companies that produce chemical goods, such as plastics and pharmaceuticals, use catalysts to increase the rate and efficiency of chemical reactions, thereby using less energy. These catalysts have traditionally been dissolved in organic solvents. Water has often not worked well as a solvent for certain types of reactions, but a particular class of catalysts, known as water soluble palladium catalysts, are effective in water. In analyzing these catalysts, Spruell has discovered more about their properties and how they work. Last year, Spruell was awarded the Barry M. Goldwater Excellence in Education Program Scholarship, given to roughly 300 university juniors and seniors nationwide. Spruell can be reached at jspruell@gmail.com or 205/310-8170.

William Norvell Jr. (bachelor’s degree in business) 2005 Honorable Mention of the USA Today All-USA College Academic Team – Working to overcome stereotypes of the Greek System, Norvell, president of UA’s Interfraternity Council, negotiated an agreement between University administrators and UA’s 23 fraternities on how disciplinary action is handled. He developed a “Hazing Protocol” empowering Greek presidents to strictly enforce a “no tolerance” policy related to hazing violations. Norvell can be reached at norve001@bama.ua.edu.