Commencement

Grassroots activist Gertrude Jackson, who for 60 years worked for civil rights, social change, and racial justice in the Arkansas Delta, will receive an honorary degree at UALR’s fall commencement ceremonies Thursday, Dec. 20, in the Jack Stephens Center.

Students who plan to graduate this fall should stop by GradFest between 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.  Oct. 10 and 11 in the lower concourse of the Donaghey Student Center.

UALR celebrated spring commencement on Saturday, May 19, with the largest group of graduates in school history, including a group of Rwandan scholars.

They arrived at UALR four years ago following a grueling, 25-hour flight halfway around the world from their homes in Rwanda, a small country tucked between the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, and Uganda.

Ryne Ramaker of Bentonville has been named the 2012 winner of the Edward L. Whitbeck Memorial Award, UALR’s top academic prize.

Kelly Ward has studied construction management from the time he was big enough to hold his grandfather’s hammer. The 23-year-old Joe T. Robinson High School alum will graduate from UALR on Thursday, Dec. 15, with a degree in construction management and already has a job waiting as an assistant project manager for T.L. Services in … Soon-To-Be Grad Would Do It All Again

Dru Davis knows what he’s going to do after the Thursday, Dec. 15, commencement ceremony. Sleep.

UALR expects a record number of students to graduate this fall, and most will walk in the commencement ceremony at 7 p.m Thursday, Dec. 15, in the Jack Stephens Center.

Cheryl Chapman, founding director of UALR Children International, will receive an honorary doctorate of humane letters at the university’s commencement ceremonies Saturday, May 21, for her 36-year professional career in philanthropic work and the humanities.

UALR celebrates spring commencement Saturday, May 21, with traditional pomp and circumstance. But this year, new age tools will help friends and family across the globe watch the ceremony in real time and post congratulations as their grad receives his or her degree.