FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Gov. Mike Huckabee, former Chancellor Daniel Ferritor and philanthropist Pat Walker will be presented with honorary degrees at the 2005 All-University Commencement, which will be held at 8:45 a.m. May 14 in Bud Walton Arena.

Huckabee will receive an honorary doctorate of laws and deliver the 2005 commencement address. Ferritor, chancellor emeritus and professor of sociology, will receive an honorary doctorate of arts and sciences, and Walker, a long-time philanthropist in the state of Arkansas, will receive an honorary doctorate of humane letters.

Huckabee took office July 15, 1996, following the resignation of Gov. Jim Guy Tucker, and became Arkansas' 44th elected governor after winning the November 1998 election with the highest percentage of the vote ever received by a Republican gubernatorial nominee in Arkansas. He won another four-year term in November 2002. He is recognized as a national leader in education and health-care reform. 

Huckabee chairs the Education Commission of the States, a highly respected education policy organization that helps governors, legislators, state education officials and others identify, develop and implement public policies to improve learning at all levels. He has served as president of the Council of State Governments and is currently vice chairman of the National Governors Association.

Huckabee graduated from Ouachita Baptist University at Arkadelphia magna cum laude in 2 ½ years. He attended Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas.

Huckabee has pushed through reforms in Arkansas that expanded the availability of college scholarships, increased the number of charter schools and established new approaches to workforce education.

His Smart Start initiative placed a heavy emphasis on reading and mathematics for students from kindergarten through the fourth grade. He then created Smart Step, a similar emphasis for students from the fifth through the eighth grades. The governor is a noted speaker and author, addressing the subjects of politics and public policy before groups across the country and around the world. He appears regularly on national television and radio shows, discussing issues of importance to the states.

In the fall of 1997, his book, “Character Is The Issue,” was released by Broadman & Holman. The book chronicles Huckabee's political career and discusses the importance of character in politics and life. It was followed by two more: “Kids Who Kill,” which addresses issues of juvenile violence, and “Living Beyond Your Lifetime,” which examines how to establish a legacy that will live on after you're gone. He is married to Janet McCain Huckabee, who grew up in Hope, Ark., and with whom he has three children.

Known for his quick wit and willingness to listen, Dan Ferritor has been a stalwart of the UA campus for almost 30 years. Having led the university through more than a decade as chancellor from 1986 to 1997, his successful tenure laid the firm foundation for the university’s continued progress in the 21st century. 

Among Ferritor’s crowning achievements is the leadership he provided during the renovation of Old Main, a fixture of the Fayetteville skyline and the symbol of the University of Arkansas. More than $13 million was collected for renovation efforts, and in 1991, the building was rededicated to use by future generations of students.

Ferritor’s influence is seen in numerous aspects of the UA campus. During his tenure, he engineered a $120 million building boom on campus that resulted in an additional 2 million square feet in classroom, laboratory and library space.

After serving 11 years as Chancellor, Dr. Ferritor returned to the department of sociology to teach in fall 1998. As a testament to his commitment to education, Ferritor was awarded the University of Arkansas Alumni Association’s Faculty Achievement Award for Teaching and Research in 1984. As an expression of the university’s esteem, Ferritor was awarded the Chancellor’s Medal in 2000.

In March 2001, the University of Arkansas dedicated the Daniel E. Ferritor Hall, named in honor of a chancellor who became known by many as one of the U of A’s best cheerleaders.

Ferritor has served as a member of the board of directors of the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce, the United Way of Washington County and the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport Authority. He has served as chairman of the board for the Ozark Guidance Center, was the 2001 chair of the American Heart Association Walk for Northwest Arkansas, and is a trustee of the Harvey and Bernice Jones Charitable Trust.

In fall 2004, Ferritor was appointed the inaugural holder of the Bernice Jones Endowed Chair in Community.

Ferritor is married to Patsy Hoey Ferritor, with whom he has three children.

Pat Walker was raised in Tulsa, Okla. She met Willard Walker, her husband for 61 years, in Coffeyville, Kan., after moving there with her mother in 1942. Pat and Willard lived in several different towns before settling in Springdale to raise their two children, Patricia and Johnny Mike. Her seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren bring her great joy. She celebrates life and the pleasure of being with family and friends each day.

Pat and Willard created the Willard and Pat Walker Charitable Foundation in 1986. Since that time, their generosity has touched the lives of thousands of Arkansans. She is a member of the Foundation Board for the Arkansas Cancer Research Center, an active member of First Christian Church of Springdale and takes a role in overseeing the Walker Charitable Foundation. She follows Razorback sports closely, enjoying the spirit of the fans and the opportunity to share time with family and friends at sporting events.

Pat Walker has received awards in recognition of her philanthropy, including the 2002 American Heart Association Tiffany Award, the Distinguished Services Award from the Razorback Foundation and the UAMS Distinguished Services Award. She has been recognized as one of the Most Distinguished Women in Arkansas and was named to the Top 100 Women in Arkansas list by Arkansas Business in 1999.

Pat and the late Willard Walker were inducted into the Towers of Old Main in 2001 and honored as Chancellor’s Medal recipients. At the time, they had also been long-time members of the Chancellor’s Society. In 1996, the Pat Walker Theater was dedicated at Springdale High School. On Nov. 12, 2004, the Pat Walker Health Center was dedicated on the UA campus.

Pat Walker has focused on health and education in her state and her community for many years. Most recently, she contributed to the mission of the 2005 Komen Ozark Race for the Cure by being Honorary Chairperson along with her daughter-in-law, Debbie, and granddaughter, Clancy.

 Doors for the event open at 7:30 a.m. Commencement guests will enter Bud Walton Arena through the south entrance, accessible from Leroy Pond Drive.

All purses and camera cases will be inspected by the ushers. Alcoholic beverages, bottles, cans, thermoses, containers, backpacks, laser pointers, outside food and drink and noisemakers (bells, horns, whistles or other artificial noisemakers) will not be allowed in the arena.

Graduate students will enter through the truck tunnel on the east side of the arena. Faculty and undergraduates will enter through the press entrance located on the right side of the south entrance. No one in robes will be allowed through the main (south) entrance.

The following is the schedule of all  commencement ceremonies and speakers:

Friday, May 13, 2005

Eleanor Mann School of Nursing

7 p.m., Old Rogers High School, located at 1114 S. Mountie Blvd. in Rogers

No speaker is scheduled.

Saturday, May 14, 2005

Sam M. Walton College of Business

12:30 p.m., Barnhill Arena — Graduates and faculty assemble for procession between 11 a.m. and 11:45 a.m.

U.S. Rep. John Boozman — Boozman, a successful businessman and a life-long resident of Arkansas, represents the Third District of Arkansas in Congress.

A graduate of Northside High School in Fort Smith, Boozman played football at the University of Arkansas while completing his pre-optometry requirements. He graduated from the Southern College of Optometry in 1977 and entered private practice that same year as co-founder of Boozman-Hof Regional Eye Clinic, a major provider of eye care to Northwest Arkansas.

Sworn in on Nov. 28, 2001, Boozman was elected in a special election to replace Asa Hutchinson, who resigned after accepting President George W. Bush's appointment to become Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Boozman currently serves on the House Veterans Affairs Committee and, in the 109th Congress, was appointed chairman of the economic opportunity subcommittee which focuses on assisting veterans’ transition back to their civilian lives. He also sits on the Veterans Affairs Oversight & Investigations Subcommittee.

He is a member of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee where he serves on three subcommittees: the Aviation Subcommittee; the Highways, Transit & Pipelines Subcommittee; and the Water Resources & Environment Subcommittee.

In 2005, Boozman was named to the House International Relations Committee and sits on the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Human Rights & International Operations and the Subcommittee on the Middle East & Central Asia.

School of Architecture

1 p.m., Arkansas Union Ballroom — Graduates and faculty assemble for procession at 12:30 p.m. in the hallway north of the ballroom.

Rodolfo Machado — Machado is the principal and co-founder of Machado and Silvetti Associates, a Boston-based firm that has developed an international reputation for “boldly conceived and brilliantly executed urban projects.”

Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Machado has lived in the United States since 1968.  He received his diploma in Architecture from the Universidad de Buenos Aires and his Master of Architecture degree from the University of California at Berkeley. Machado practiced architecture throughout the United States before partnering with Jorge Silvetti in 1974.

In addition to his architectural practice, Machado has been a member of the Harvard University faculty since 1986, where he currently chairs the department of Urban Planning and Design at the Graduate School of Design. He has taught at Carnegie-Mellon University and at the Rhode Island School of Design, where he chaired the department of architecture from 1978 until 1986.

Notably, Machado has been the Bishop Professor of Architecture at Yale University, the Smith Professor of Architecture at Rice University, the Jean Labatut Professor of Urbanism at Princeton University, and the Thomas Jefferson Professor in Architecture at the University of Virginia.

In 1995, he curated an exhibition titled "Monolithic Architecture" at the Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, and his own drawings and projects have been extensively published and exhibited in museums and galleries around the world. Machado is currently an overseer at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences

1 p.m., Bud Walton Arena -- Graduates and faculty assemble for procession at 12:15 p.m. inside the truck tunnel under the Harrod (east) entrance.

Neil Wesley Hunt — Hunt graduated from Fordyce High School in 2001. As class president, valedictorian, and an All-State scholar athlete, Hunt excelled both in and out of the classroom throughout his high school career. He received a Chancellor’s Scholarship to attend the University of Arkansas, where he became a Four-Year Honors Scholar in the department of history, focusing on civil rights and African American studies.

Hunt worked as a legislative assistant for U.S. Rep. Mike Ross in the summer of 2003 and as a public policy assistant for Cranford Johnson Robinson Woods in the summer of 2004.  Last fall, he helped coordinate both the local and national press operations for the Grand Opening of the William J. Clinton Presidential Center and Park in Little Rock.

Hunt is a member of the Phi Delta Theta Fraternity, a former senator in the Associated Student Government, and the recipient of the 2005 Henry Woods Student Leadership Award. He will begin law school at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Bowen School of Law in August.

Erin Peretti — Peretti is a First Ranked Senior Scholar with a perfect 4.0 grade-point average and will graduate with an honors degree in history and classical studies. She is a Chancellor’s Scholar and was named a Presidential Scholar for 2004-05 for her academic achievement in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences.

Peretti was named to the National Dean’s List from 2003 to 2004 and the Fulbright College Dean’s Honor Roll from 2001 to 2004. She received a Sturgis Study Abroad Grant and an Honors College Study Abroad Grant, which were used to study classics and humanities in Rome during the summer of 2004.

She won an award for the best paper presentation at the Eta Sigma Phi National Convention. The award was for a selection from the second chapter of Peretti’s honors thesis, “Boudica: Life and Legacy of the Warrior Queen.”

Peretti plans to attend University of North Texas to pursue a Master of Library Science degree, and she hopes to become an academic librarian, serving a college, university, or research library.

Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

1 p.m., Pauline Whitaker Animal Science Center — Graduates and faculty assemble for procession at 12:30 p.m. in the graduate robing room.

Megan Hardy — Hardy is a First Rank Senior Scholar with a 4.0 grade-point average as an apparel studies major with a minor in agribusiness. She is a member of Gamma Beta Phi, Alpha Zeta Agricultural Honor Fraternity and the National Society of Collegiate Scholars.

Hardy is an active member of the Fashion Merchandising Club and Agribusiness Club. She has received the University Scholarship, Juanise Scoggin Johnson Scholarship and the Division of Agriculture Scholarship.

She is a School of Human Environmental Sciences STAR Ambassador (Service, Training and Recruitment). As a junior, Hardy was the Presidential Scholar, which is the junior with the highest grade-point average in the college.

She is the daughter of Scott and Kathy Hardy of Tumbling Shoals and the granddaughter of Dr. Glenn Hardy of Fayetteville, former dean of Bumpers College. Glenn Hardy had the longest tenure of any dean of the college, from 1965-1987.

College of Engineering

3:30 p.m., Barnhill Arena — Graduates and faculty assemble for procession at 3 p.m. on the south side of Barnhill Arena.

Rodney Slater — Slater is the former U.S. Secretary of Transportation. Born in Marianna, Ark., in 1955, he earned a law degree from the university in 1980.  From 1987 to 1992, Slater was a member of the Arkansas State Highway Commission, serving as the commission’s chair in 1992, before joining the Clinton administration.

As a partner with the Washington, D.C., law firm Patton Boggs LLP, Slater concentrates on many of the public policy and transportation objectives that were set under his leadership, including aviation competition and congestion mitigation, maritime initiatives, high-speed rail corridor development and overall transportation safety and funding.

While secretary, Slater outlined his vision in two major Department of Transportation reports: “The Changing Face of Transportation” and “Transportation Decision Making: A Policy Architecture for the 21st Century.”  These reports were prepared with input from hundreds of transportation stakeholders throughout the nation, including members of industry, labor, academia, government, citizen groups and other community interests.

Prior to his tenure as transportation secretary, Slater served as director of the Federal Highway Administration, where - as the agency’s first African-American administrator in its century-long history - he oversaw the development of an innovative financing program that resulted in hundreds of transportation projects being completed two to three years ahead of schedule with greater cost efficiencies.

College of Education and Health Professions

4 p.m., Bud Walton Arena — Graduates and faculty assemble for procession at 3:30 p.m. inside the truck tunnel under the Harrod (east) entrance.

Dr. Kenneth James — James was appointed as director of the Arkansas Department of Education by Gov. Mike Huckabee in 2004. Prior to his appointment, he served as the superintendent of schools in Fayette County (Lexington, Ky.), Little Rock, Van Buren and Batesville.

James also served as assistant superintendent for Educational Services with the Escondido Union High School District in Escondido, Calif.

He is active in the Arkansas Association of Educational Administrators and has served as legislative chair of the curriculum committee. In 1998, James was selected as the Superintendent of the Year for the state of Arkansas.

He has served as an officer or board member of several professional organizations, including Arkansas Curriculum and Instruction Administrators, Economics America and the Arkansas Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development. He presently serves on the University of Arkansas Educational Administration Steering Committee, the State Advisory Board on Reforming Education and the AASA Board of Directors. He also has intimate knowledge about school assessment in the state, having served on the ACTAAP Administrative Testing Committee .

Saturday, May 21, 2005

School of Law

1:30 p.m., Barnhill Arena

Justice Robert Brown, Arkansas Supreme Court — Brown was appointed to Position 7 of the Arkansas Supreme Court in 1990. His past judicial experience was as special circuit judge for Pulaski County.

Brown’s professional experiences include serving as an assistant to former Arkansas Gov. and U.S. Sen. Dale Bumpers and U.S. Congressman Jim Guy Tucker. He served as a member of the Arkansas Bar review from 1979 to 1981 and taught national government as an adjunct professor of law at the University of Arkansas in Little Rock in 1984.

His publications include “The Second Crisis of Little Rock: A Report on Desegregation within the Little Rock Public Schools” in 1988, “From Whence Cometh Our Appellate Judges: Popular Election Versus the Missouri Plan” in 1998 and “Expanded Rights Through State Law: The United States Supreme Court Shows State Courts the Way” in 2002.