TAMPA – On Saturday, May 8 the University of Tampa’s 128th commencement will honor 1,144 graduates, including 913 bachelor’s degree candidates and 231 graduate degree candidates graduates.
This is the second record breaking year in a row that the St. Pete Times forum will house more than 1,000 graduates.
This year’s commencement speaker is Rashid Skaf, a ‘92 UT alumnus. Skaf is the current president and CEO of AMX, a Texas-based firm that develops tailored solutions to meet the evolving technological needs of customers in a variety of industries.
UT senior Paige Williams, of Apollo Beach, Fla., will introduce the speaker.
A marketing major, Williams ran cross country for UT for four years and competed in the national championships in both cross country and track.
Williams was also named an Academic All-American.
UT Senior Bryan Cormier, of Fitchburg, Mass., will issue the student challenge.
Graduating with a bachelor’s degree in history, Cormier was a member of the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Team and served in Louisiana and Mississippi following Hurricane Katrina. After graduating, he will enter a master’s program for administration of higher education at Suffolk University in Boston.
The 2009 Esse Quam Videri Award will be awarded to Thomas A. Meachum ’81, MBA ‘93. Meachum has served on the board of directors for Tampa Alpha, UT’s local alumni chapter, since 1993 and has helped raise more than $200,000 for the University at various Tampa Alpha activities.
April (Gillespie) Jones ’04 will receive the 2010 Young Alumnus Award. She has been on the National Alumni Association since shortly after graduation and is now the vice president of financial affairs for them.
Graduation will take place on Saturday, May 8 at 10 a.m. in the St. Pete Times forum, and the event is free and open to the public although seating is limited.