FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The University of Arkansas will celebrate the ultimate example of student success beginning on Friday and Saturday, May 11 and 12, during Spring Commencement ceremonies for graduate and undergraduate students.

The School of Law will continue the celebration when it holds its Commencement on Saturday, May 19.

A total of 4,230 U of A students are planning to attend Spring Commencement ceremonies this month. In all, 4,400 students have applied to graduate: 1,020 graduate students and 3,257 undergraduates. The number of students graduating in the spring semester has fluctuated slightly from year to year since 2011, when the university began holding a Fall Commencement in December.

“Everyone should be proud of these graduates – their families, our faculty, everyone who has helped them – and of course, the students themselves,” said Chancellor Joe Steinmetz. “It takes a tremendous amount of work to graduate from college – people forget that sometimes. Each student has followed their own path, each has their own story of what it took to reach this goal, and who helped them. This is what we mean by achieving success one student at a time.”

Among this year’s graduates are the first to benefit from two U of A student success initiatives.

Path program graduates

The Path Program was created in 2014 by the Honors College to recruit students from underrepresented populations across Arkansas and nearby states. Path students are paired with peer and professional mentors who help them adjust to the requirements of college, find financial aid, get involved in campus activities, study abroad, conduct undergraduate research and, in some cases, join the Honors College. The first 11 Path students, who all enrolled in 2014, are all graduating this academic year. Five of them are graduating with honors; six are the first in their family to attend college; and seven had the opportunity to study abroad. These students’ futures include an engineering  job in Jonesboro; medical school; and graduate studies in business, biomedical science and other fields.

Advance Arkansas Graduates

The Advance Arkansas Scholarship was established last spring, to support new, returning and transfer students from Arkansas with  a proven record of academic success, leadership skills, determination, a deep sense of connection to Arkansas and some degree of financial need. Preference is also given to those who are the first in their family to attend college. The first Advance Arkansas scholarships were awarded to 11 seniors this past fall, and all of them are graduating in May. The scholarship program represents a key initiative in Campaign Arkansas of promoting college access to all Arkansans and has already made a difference for many students, some of whom have jobs waiting for them in Arkansas as others are headed to medical school and dental school.

commencement ceremonies

All ceremonies will be livestreamed on the University of Arkansas YouTube Channel.

Friday, May 11

• J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, 3 p.m., Bud Walton Arena.

Students graduating: 1,024

Speaker: Kassidy Joyner, from Rogers, a graduating senior honors economics major with a minor in Japanese 

Saturday, May 12

• All University Commencement, 8:30 a.m., Bud Walton Arena

Students graduating: 844

Speaker: Sherece West-Scantlebury, president and CEO of the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation

Honorary degree recipients: Charles Portis, Jama and Walter Fowler

• College of Engineering, noon, Barnhill Arena

Students graduating: 430

Speaker: Stuart Scott, executive vice president and CIO for J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. 

• Sam M. Walton College of Business, 1 p.m., Bud Walton Arena

Students graduating: 874

Speaker: John Furner, president and CEO of Sam’s Club

• Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design, 1 p.m., Faulkner Performing Arts Center

Students graduating: 58

Speaker: Katherine Darnstadt, founder and principal of Latent Design in Chicago.

• Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences, 3:30 p.m., Barnhill Arena

Students graduating: 311

Speakers: Corrin Troutman, Outstanding Alumna; Olivera Jankovska, Outstanding Young Alumna

• College of Education and Health Professions, 5:30 p.m., Bud Walton Arena

Students graduating: 571

Speaker: Yvette Murphy-Erby, vice provost for diversity and inclusion at the University of Arkansas.

Saturday, May 19

• School of Law, 2 p.m., Fayetteville Town Center

Students graduating: 118

           Speaker: Theresa Fette, founder and CEO of Provident Trust Group