UH Manoa schedules fall semester commencement

Nearly 1,600 undergraduate and graduate students are eligible to receive degrees this month as the University of Hawaiʻi at Manoa holds commencement exercises on Sunday, December 17, 2006, beginning at 9:00 a.m. at the lower campus Stan Sheriff Center.

Keynote speaker for the ceremony is Albert Wendt, currently Citizen‘s Chair in the UH Manoa English Department, and distinguished Pacific writer in residence through 2008. Professor Wendt is a prolific author, with five novels, three collections of short stories, and four volumes of poetry to his credit.

He was profiled in the film A New Oceania: Albert Wendt, Writer that was screened at the Hawaiʻi International Film Festival a year ago. His play, The Songmaker‘s Chair, was staged at Kumu Kahua Theatre earlier this year. As a pioneer in the Pacific, Professor Wendt has been a mentor to many writers and has been a prime mover in anthologizing the literature of the Pacific region.

Representing the graduating class as student speaker is Ruthchelle Melchor, graduating with a double major in political science and speech. Melchor is a neighbor islander from Kauaʻi.

Candidates for honors are Emilly Borthwick, Sarah Myhre, Lisa Ann Oliveira and Pail Sakuma. Also graduating this semester are Regents Scholars are Kelly Custer, Kapalaiʻula de Silva, Jennifer Nishimura and Leah Taylor and Predsidential Scholar Matthew Medeiros.

Doors to the Stan Sheriff Center will open at 8 a.m. for the combined undergraduate and advanced degree ceremony which is expected to last about two hours. The event is free and open to the public. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis; there are no tickets issued. Balloons and strollers are not allowed inside the arena.

Free parking will be available in the lower campus parking structure; there will be no shuttle service from upper campus parking lots. Friends and family members may greet graduates following the ceremony at Les Murakami Stadium, and authorized lei vendors will be located in front of the stadium. There will be a live webcast of the ceremony. For information on the webcast and further details about the commencement ceremony, visit http://manoa.hawaii.edu/commencement.

For more information, visit: http://manoa.hawaii.edu/commencement