United Nations University Rector Hans van Ginkel is Summer 2003 Commencement Speaker

Summer commencement exercises scheduled for Sunday, August 17, at Stan Sheriff Center

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
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Posted: Aug 13, 2003

About 500 University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa graduate and undergraduate students are expected to participate in UH Mānoa‘s 2003 Summer Commencement Exercises scheduled for Sunday, August 17, at 9 a.m. at the Stan Sheriff Center. United Nations University Rector Hans J.A. van Ginkel (pronounced Hinkel) will address graduates at the ceremony.

United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan appointed van Ginkel as rector of United Nations University (UNU) in Tokyo in 1997. As rector, van Ginkel oversees the university, which consists of UNU Centre in Tokyo, several research and training centers and programs worldwide, and a network of associated institutions and scholars.

Born in Indonesia, van Ginkel has lived in the Netherlands since 1951. His varied fields of interest include urban and regional development, population, housing studies, science policy, internationalization and university management. He has published widely on these areas and has contributed extensively to a number of international organizations. He is the president of the International Association of Universities, vice chair of the Board of Trustees for the Asia Institute of Technology, a member of the Academia Europea, an Honorary Fellow of the Institute for Aerospace Survey and Earth Sciences, a member of UNESCO‘s Advisory Group for Higher Education, and is an officer for several other professional associations.

He also has received a number of awards from his country—an appointment to the Social Sciences Council of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences; the Knight of the Order of the Netherlands‘ Lion, one of the country‘s higher distinctions, from Queen Beatrix; and the highest medals of distinction from the City of Utrecht, the Chamber of Commerce, and Utrecht University. He has also received honorary doctorates from the Universitatea Babes-Bolyai of Cluj in Romania and the University of California at Sacramento.

There are 699 eligible candidates for advanced and undergraduate degrees:
· Doctorates: 47 PhDs, 1 ArchD (architecture doctorate)
· Master‘s degrees: 277
· Certificates: 9 post-baccalaureate certificates in secondary education
· Bachelor‘s degrees: 365

Doors to the Stan Sheriff Center will open at 8 a.m. for the combined undergraduate/advanced degree ceremony at 9 a.m. 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 Stan Sheriff Center.

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. Authorized lei vendors will be located in front of Les Murakami Stadium.