Commencement Information
Spring 2008 Commencement
The Spring 2008 Department of Communication Commencement ceremony will take place on Friday, May 23, 2008 at 9:00 a.m. in Ritchie Coliseum.
The commencement speaker will be William F. Askinazi, a lawyer and an Assistant Secretary of Business and Economic Development in the administration of former Maryland Governor Robert Ehrlich. Askinazi's biography is available here.
Please note that the University of Maryland campus-wide commencement ceremony will be held on Thursday, May 22, 2008 at 7:00 p.m. in the Comcast Center. Refer to the Graduation Information Web site (http://www.commencement.umd.edu) for any additional information about commencement activities.
Graduates are asked to arrive at 8:00 a.m. in the basement of Ritchie, in the martial arts room to check-in prior to commencement. In light of the occasion, please dress and act appropriately and do not forget to bring your cap and gown.
Tickets are not required by guests to attend the Communication Commencement ceremony.
For information regarding wheelchair accessibility or special needs for specific ceremonies, please contact Communication Office at 301-405-6519.
Cap and gowns will be available at the University Book Center. Please call 301-314-BOOK for hours of operation. The estimated cost for the cap, gown, and tassel is about $75 dollars.
If you have any questions about graduation contact the advising office by phone at 301-405-0862/0863 or by e-mail at commadvising@umd.edu.
Past Commencement Speakers
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December, 2007 Andrea Levy, former Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs, University of Maryland |
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May, 2007 Anthony G. Brown, Lieutenant Governor, State of Maryland To read his remarks, click here. |
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December, 2006 William Destler, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, University of Maryland |
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May, 2006 Richard S. Levick, Esq., President and CEO of Levick Strategic Communications. |
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December, 2005 Dwight
H. Sullivan, Chief Defense Counsel for the Office of Military
Commissions & Lynne I. Sullivan, founder and
principal of LIS Consulting, Arnold, MD. |
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May, 2005 J. Robert Dorfman, former Vice-President for Academic Affairs & Provost and former dean of the College of Computer, Mathematical and Physical Sciences at the University of Maryland |
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December, 2004 David Maraniss, Associate Editor of the Washington Post; recipient of the J. Anthony Lukas Prize for Non-Fiction and the 1993 Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting. |
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May, 2004 Kenneth
Baer, Founder and President of Baer Communications; former
Deputy Director of Speechwriting for Gore-Lieberman 2000 and Senior
Speechwriter for Vice President Al Gore. To read Baer's speech, click here. |
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December, 2003 William E. Kirwan, Chancellor, University System of Maryland. |
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May, 2003 Donald Shriber, Associate Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Director of the CDC's Washington Office. |
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December, 2002 Charles A. Moose, Chief of the Montgomery County, MD Police Department. |
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December, 2001 Mark Rosenker, department alumnus; Brigadier General, USAFR; Director of the White House Military Office and Deputy Assistant to the President. |
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May, 2001 Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Lieutenant Governor of Maryland. |
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May, 2000 Kenneth Waissman, department alumnus; producer of Grease and other major theater productions. |
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May, 1999 William Bronrott, department alumnus; Maryland State Delegate from the 16th District. |
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December, 1997 Orlando L. Taylor, Dean of the Graduate School and Professor of Communication Sciences & Disorders in the School of Communications at Howard University. |
