A Look Back| Commencement | University of Georgia

2013 Spring Commencement

More than 4,100 undergraduates and nearly 1,100 graduate students were eligible to receive diplomas in the University of Georgia's spring Commencement ceremonies on May 10, 2013. U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., delivered the undergraduate address, and doctoral and master's degree students heard from UGA professor Stephen Hajduk, head of the department of biochemistry and molecular biology. During the undergraduate ceremony, Mary Frances Early, UGA’s first African-American student to graduate from the university, was recognized with an honorary doctor of laws degree.

2012 Fall Commencement

About 2,265 total UGA students were eligible to receive their diplomas for the fall Commencement ceremonies. Nearly 1,800 of those degrees were for undergraduates. Many of those students and their families filled Stegeman Coliseum for the morning ceremony, where UGA President Michael F. Adams spoke about the academic chops of this crop of graduates.

2012 Summer Commencement

The University of Georgia held summer Commencement exercises Saturday, Aug. 4 in Stegeman Coliseum with approximately 1,476 students eligible to receive degrees. The exercises were a combined ceremony for undergraduate and graduate students who completed degree requirements at the end of summer semester. 742 candidates for bachelor's degrees and 734 candidates for doctoral, master's and specialist in education degrees were eligible to participate in the ceremony.

2012 Spring Undergraduate Commencement

Gov. Nathan Deal was the graduation speaker for Friday evening’s undergraduate ceremony.

Some 4,000 University of Georgia students earned their bachelor's degrees at the Spring 2012 undergraduate commencement ceremony on May 11. Nearly 40,000 family and friends joined their graduates inside Sanford Stadium on a pleasant evening to mark the milestone. Nathan Deal, the 82nd governor of the State of Georgia, delivered this year's commencement address. Afterward, a spectacular fireworks show signaled the end of the ceremony.

2012 Spring Graduate Commencement

More than 1,100 students received doctoral, masters and specialist degrees at the Spring 2012 commencement exercises for the University of Georgia Graduate School on May 11. Nearly 4,000 family and friends attended the 10 a.m. ceremony in Stegeman Coliseum. Dr. Lindsay Boring (MS ’79, Ph.D ’82), director of the Joseph W. Jones Ecological Research Center at Ichauway in Southwest Georgia, delivered the commencement address.

2011 Fall Undergraduate Commencement

During the ceremony, the university awarded honorary degrees to James H. Shepherd Jr. and his parents Alana and Harold for their philanthropic commitments and contributions to UGA and the state of Georgia.

Approximately 2,225 University of Georgia students were eligible to receive degrees at the 136th fall semester Commencement ceremonies Dec. 16 in Stegeman Coliseum. The keynote of Friday's Commencement ceremony was an address by James H. Shepherd Jr., chairman of the Shepherd Center in Atlanta. A 1973 UGA business graduate, Shepherd leads the country's largest catastrophic care hospital. Robert "Trey" Darnell Sinyard III of Athens was the student speaker during the undergraduate exercises.