Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey Commencement-at-a-Glance 2016, The University’s 250th Anniversary Commencement
Rutgers University–New Brunswick, Sunday, May 15, 12:30 p.m., Rutgers University–Newark, Wednesday, May 18, 9 a.m., Rutgers University–Camden, Wednesday-Thursday, May 18-19 (times vary)
An estimated 16,944 graduates will receive degrees from Rutgers this year. They include approximately 10,902 baccalaureate degrees, 4,210 master’s degrees, 1,830 doctorates (including professional doctorates), one specialist in education and one artist diploma. Since its founding in 1766, Rutgers has awarded 551,048 academic degrees (excluding 2016 estimated total).
Locations: High Point Solutions Stadium, Busch Campus, Piscataway; Prudential Center, Newark; BB&T Pavilion, Camden.
Remarks: New Brunswick: President Barack Obama and Matthew Panconi (student speaker), president, Rutgers University Student Association (RUSA); finance major, Rutgers Business School-Newark and New Brunswick. Hometown: South Brunswick, N.J.
Honorary degrees:
Rutgers University-New Brunswick will present honorary degrees to President Barack Obama, (Doctor Laws), the keynote speaker at commencement; Bill Moyers (Doctor of Laws), broadcast journalist, author, founder of several television production companies including Public Affairs Television, founding organizer and deputy director of the Peace Corps, special assistant to President Lyndon B. Johnson and keynote speaker at the Rutgers-New Brunswick College of Arts and Sciences convocation; and S. Jocelyn Bell Burnell (Doctor of Science). Bell Burnell is visiting professor, Department of Physics, University of Oxford, and pro-chancellor, Trinity College, Dublin. Bell Burnell played a central role in the development of radio astronomy through her discovery of the first pulsars. Rutgers-University Newark will present honorary degrees to Wendell Pierce (Doctor of Fine Arts), renowned actor, radio personality, author and humanitarian, and human rights activist Radhika Coomaraswamy (Doctor of Humane Letters). Coomaraswamy was the undersecretary general of the United Nations, special representative for children and armed conflict from 2006 to 2012, and the U.N.’s first special rapporteur on violence against women, from 1994 to 2003. Rutgers University-Camden will present honorary degrees to Sister Mary Scullion (Doctor of Letters), co-founder of Philadelphia-based Project HOME, and Raymond Ackerman (Doctor of Humane Letters), philanthopist, visionary South African entrepreneur and retired chair of the international retail supermarket chain, Pick n Pay.
General information:
This is Rutgers University-New Brunswick’s sixth commencement at High Point Solutions Stadium and third since the integration with UMDNJ in July 2013. It is the fourth presided over by President Robert Barchi, whose tenure as Rutgers’ 20th president officially began in September 2012.
Students from Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences (http://commencement.rutgers.edu/rbhs-convocations) participate in the Rutgers-New Brunswick commencement, although some individual schools hold convocations in Newark.
The School of Arts and Sciences will hold its convocation in High Point Solutions Stadium at 3 p.m. following the Rutgers-New Brunswick commencement. Academic departments should be contacted for information about individual receptions. The remaining schools and colleges will hold convocations or receptions. The schedule follows.
NOTE: Estimated numbers of graduates are from the Office of the University Registrar.
EDWARD J. BLOUSTEIN SCHOOL OF PLANNING AND PUBLIC POLICY
Thursday, May 12, 11 a.m.
38 undergraduate degrees, 103 graduate degrees (350 undergraduate joint degrees are counted in their college totals)
Location: Undergraduate student convocation - Louis Brown Athletic Center, 83 Rockafeller Road, Livingston Campus, Piscataway
Saturday, May 14, 3 p.m. Graduate Student convocation
Location: Nicholas Music Center, 85 George St., New Brunswick
Speaker: Shams Naga, principal, Naga Architects, Dubai. Master’s in Urban Planning, Class of 1986. Recipient, Dean’s Medal of Merit Award.
MASON GROSS SCHOOL OF THE ARTS
Thursday, May 12, 2:30 p.m.
144 graduating seniors, 79 graduate degrees (29 Doctor of Musical Arts, 22 Master of Music and 27 Master of Fine Arts, 1 Artist Diploma)
Location: State Theatre, 15 Livingston Ave., New Brunswick
Speaker: Kevin Goetz, CEO, Screen Engine, which conducts market research for the entertainment industry. Benefactor, the Kevin Goetz Studio for Theater and Dance. Class of 1984.
NEWARK GRADUATE SCHOOL HOODING
Thursday, May 12, 3 p.m.
88 Doctoral and 18 Master’s of Fine Arts recipients
Location: Paul Robeson Campus Center, 350 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Newark
SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION
Thursday, May 12, 5 p.m.
805 joint undergraduate degrees
Location: Louis Brown Athletic Center, 83 Rockafeller Road, Livingston Campus, Piscataway
GRADUATE SCHOOL-NEW BRUNSWICK
Friday, May 13, 10 a.m.
1,052 graduates
Location: Louis Brown Athletic Center, 83 Rockafeller Road, Livingston Campus, Piscataway
SCHOOL OF HEALTH RELATED PROFESSIONS
Friday, May 13, 10 a.m.
257 undergraduate degrees, 274 graduate degrees
Location: New Jersey Performing Arts Center, 1 Center Street, Newark
RUTGERS BUSINESS SCHOOL-NEWARK AND NEW BRUNSWICK (UNDERGRADUATE NEW BRUNSWICK)
Friday, May 13, 2 p.m.
663 undergraduate degrees
Location: Louis Brown Athletic Center, 83 Rockafeller Road, Livingston Campus, Piscataway
Speaker: Arthur Certosimo, vice chair and Board of Advisors member, Promontory Interfinancial Network. Class of 1977. Chair, Board of Advisors, Rutgers Business School-Newark and New Brunswick; vice chair, Board of Overseers, Rutgers University Foundation.
DOUGLASS RESIDENTIAL COLLEGE
Saturday, May 14, 10 a.m.
Recognizing 558 graduating seniors enrolled in Douglass Residential College
Location: Antilles Field, Douglass Campus, New Brunswick
Speaker: Judge Paulette Sapp-Peterson, retired judge, New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division (on temporary recall). Douglass College, Class of 1971, and Rutgers Law School at Camden, Class of 1977.
SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT AND LABOR RELATIONS
Saturday, May 14, 2 p.m.
137 undergraduate degrees, 182 graduate degrees (385 undergraduate joint degrees are counted in their college totals)
Location: Louis Brown Athletic Center, 83 Rockafeller Road, Livingston Campus, Piscataway
Speakers: Members of the Class of 2016, with their programs and hometowns – Evan Murphy, Bachelor of Arts in Human Resource Management, Hamburg, N.J.; Erica Akitani-Bob, Bachelor of Arts in Labor Studies and Employment Relations, Mount Olive, N.J.; Talia Schank, Master of Labor and Employment Relations, Milwaukee; Niki Patel, Master’s in Human Resource Management, Edison, N.J.
GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES
Sunday, May 15, 8 a.m.
340 graduate degrees
Location: Livingston Hall, Livingston Student Center, 84 Joyce Kilmer Ave., Livingston Campus, Piscataway
GRADUATE SCHOOL OF APPLIED AND PROFESSIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
Sunday, May 15, 9:30 a.m.
84 graduate degrees
Location: Visitor Center, 100 Sutphen Road, Busch Campus, Piscataway
RUTGERS UNIVERSITY-NEW BRUNSWICK COMMENCEMENT
Sunday, May 15, 12:30 p.m.
Location: High Point Solutions Stadium, Busch Campus, Piscataway
Speakers: President Barack Obama (honorary Doctor of Laws recipient), Matthew Panconi, Rutgers University Student Association president.
SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
Sunday, May 15, 3 p.m.
4,908 graduating seniors
Location: High Point Solutions Stadium, Busch Campus, Piscataway
Speaker: Bill Moyers, broadcast journalist; author; founder of several television production companies, including Public Affairs Television; founding organizer and deputy director of the Peace Corps; and special assistant to President Lyndon Johnson.
For information about individual academic department celebrations, contact the departments directly.
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING
Sunday, May 15, 4 p.m.
825 graduates
Location: Louis Brown Athletic Center, 83 Rockafeller Road, Livingston Campus, Piscataway
SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
Sunday, May 15, 4:30 p.m.
171 graduate degrees
Location: Nicholas Music Center, 85 George St., New Brunswick
Speaker: Michael Gochfeld, physician, professor emeritus, Rutgers
SCHOOL OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
Monday, May 16, 10 a.m.
754 graduates
Location: Lawn near College Pond (“Passion Puddle”), George H. Cook Campus, New Brunswick
Rain: Monday, May 16, 10 a.m., Louis Brown Athletics Center, 83 Rockafeller Road, Livingston Campus, Piscataway
NEW JERSEY MEDICAL SCHOOL
Monday, May 16, 10 a.m.
168 medical degrees
Location: New Jersey Performing Arts Center, 1 Center Street, Newark
Speaker: Debbie Salas-Lopez, physician, associate chief medical officer, Lehigh Valley Health Network, Allentown, Pa., and professor of medicine, University of South Florida, Morsani College of Medicine and the College of Public Health. Class of 1996.
ROTC COMMISSIONING CEREMONY – NAVY/MARINES
Monday, May 16, 10:30 a.m.
Five ensigns (Navy) and one second lieutenant (Marine Corps) to be commissioned
Location: Trayes Hall, Douglass Student Center, 100 George Street, New Brunswick
Speaker: Vice Adm. Robert L. Thomas Jr., director, Navy Staff
RUTGERS SCHOOL OF DENTAL MEDICINE
Monday, May 16, 4 p.m.
135 DMD degrees
Location: New Jersey Performing Arts Center, 1 Center Street, Newark
Speaker: Richard Valachovic, president and CEO, American Dental Education Association
SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK
Monday, May 16, 3 p.m.
637 graduate degrees
Location: Louis Brown Athletic Center, 83 Rockafeller Road, Livingston Campus, Piscataway
Speaker: Edith Savage-Jennings, pioneer in the civil rights movement, founding fundraiser and board member, the King Center
GRADUATE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
Monday, May 16, 4:30 p.m.
275 graduates (254 master’s, 20 doctorates, one specialist of education)
Location: College Avenue Gymnasium, 130 College Ave. New Brunswick
ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON MEDICAL SCHOOL
Monday, May 16, 7 p.m.
140 medical degrees
Location: State Theatre, 15 Livingston Ave., New Brunswick
Speaker: Arthur Rubenstein, professor of medicine, Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania
ERNEST MARIO SCHOOL OF PHARMACY
Tuesday, May 17, 10 a.m.
193 Pharm.D. degrees
Location: College Avenue Gymnasium, 130 College Ave., New Brunswick
Speaker: Ronald J. Mannino, chair and co-CEO, Interchem Corp./WG Critical Care. Class of 1974.
ROTC COMMISSIONING CEREMONY–ARMY
Tuesday, May 17, 10 a.m.
22 second lieutenants to be commissioned
Location: College Avenue Student Center, Multipurpose Room, 126 College Ave., New Brunswick
Speaker: Lt. Gen. Gustave “Gus” F. Perna, deputy chief of staff, Army G-4, Logistics
RUTGERS UNIVERSITY-NEWARK COMMENCEMENT
Wednesday, May 18, 9 a.m.
Location: Prudential Center, 25 Lafayette St., Newark
Participants:
Newark College of Arts and Sciences (652 graduates)
University College-Newark (92 graduates)
Graduate School-Newark (181 graduates)
School of Public Affairs and Administration (46 undergraduate and 150 graduate degrees)
School of Criminal Justice (198 undergraduate and 21 graduate degrees)
Rutgers Business School-Newark and New Brunswick (618 undergraduate degrees)
Speaker: Wendell Pierce, actor, radio personality, author and humanitarian. Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts recipient.
SCHOOL OF NURSING
Wednesday, May 18, 10 a.m.
221 undergraduate degrees, 322 graduate degrees
Location: New Jersey Performing Arts Center, 1 Center Street, Newark
Speaker: Sung Poblete, president and CEO, Stand Up to Cancer. Classes of 1989, 1992, 2000. Visiting professor for more than 20 years. Member, Rutgers Hall of Distinguished Alumni, Class of 2016.
ROTC COMMISSIONING CEREMONY – AIR FORCE
Wednesday, May 18, noon
Nine second lieutenants to be commissioned
Location: Kirkpatrick Chapel, 81 Somerset Street, New Brunswick
Speaker: Retired Maj. Gen. Earl D. Matthews
SCHOOL OF NURSING-CAMDEN
Wednesday, May 18, 4 p.m.
265 undergraduate degrees, 84 graduate degrees
Location: BB&T Pavilion, 1 Harbour Blvd., Camden
Speaker: Wallena Gould, founder of the nonprofit organization Diversity in Nurse Anesthesia Mentorship Program, and chief nurse anesthetist, Main Line Endoscopy Centers
SCHOOL OF BUSINESS-CAMDEN
Thursday, May 19, 9:30 a.m.
329 bachelor’s degrees and 117 master’s degrees
Location: BB&T Pavilion, 1 Harbour Blvd., Camden
Speaker: Suzanne Ackerman-Berman, transformation director, Pick n Play, and daughter of South African supermarket chain founder, philanthropist and honorary Doctor of Letters degree recipient Raymond Ackerman
RUTGERS LAW SCHOOL AT CAMDEN
Thursday, May 19, 2 p.m.
137 graduates
Location: BB&T Pavilion, 1 Harbour Blvd., Camden
Speaker (Keynote): The Honorable Faustino Fernandez-Vina, associate justice, New Jersey Supreme Court. Rutgers Law School at Camden, Class of 1981. Sister Mary Scullion (Honorary Doctor of Letters recipient), co-founder, Project HOME, which has helped more than 8,000 people break the cycle of homelessness and poverty by providing a continuum of care from street outreach and supportive housing to health care, education and employment services.
FACULTY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES-CAMDEN
Thursday, May 19, 6 p.m.
Location: BB&T Pavilion, 1 Harbour Blvd.
Participants:
Camden College of Arts and Sciences (665 graduates)
Graduate School (170 graduates)
University College-Camden (89 graduates)
Speaker: Lisa Ciaranca Kaplan, principal, Andrew Jackson School, Philadelphia;
winner, 2015 Escalante-Gradillas Prize from The Best Schools as National Principal of the Year
RUTGERS BUSINESS SCHOOL-NEWARK AND NEW BRUNSWICK
Friday, May 20, 4 p.m.
695 graduate degrees
Location: New Jersey Performing Arts Center, 1 Center St., Newark
Speaker: Robert M. Falzon, executive vice president and chief financial officer, Prudential Financial Inc. Rutgers University, Class of 1981. Member, Rutgers Business School Advisory Board.
RUTGERS SCHOOL OF LAW AT NEWARK
Friday, May 27, 10 a.m.
187 graduates
Location: New Jersey Performing Arts Center, 1 Center St., Newark
Speaker: Anthony D. Romero, executive director, American Civil Liberties Union.
EDITOR’S NOTE: For Rutgers University-New Brunswick commencement information, contact Steve Manas, University News and Media Relations, 848-932-0559 or smanas@ucm.rutgers.edu. Learn more about commencement at http://commencement.rutgers.edu