Winter commencement set for Dec. 15

December 03, 2018

More than 782 students will march across the stage to receive their degrees at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater 2018 winter commencement. The ceremony begins at 10 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 15, at Kachel Fieldhouse. The event is held as the university continues to celebrate its sesquicentennial, marking 150 years since it was founded, in 1868.

This year’s commencement speaker is Kwame Salter, who graduated magna cum laude from UW-Whitewater with a degree in education in 1968 and went on to earn a master's degree in educational administration and policy studies from UW-Madison. In addition to a corporate career that spanned 22 years at Oscar Meyer and Kraft Foods, Salter was elected to three 3-year terms on the Madison Metropolitan Board of Education, including four years as its president. Salter is one of only nine alumni who have earned both the UW-Whitewater Outstanding Recent Alumni Award, in 1983, and the Distinguished Alumni Award for Professional Achievement, in 2017.

The student speaker is Starr Lee, a journalism major from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, who will be receiving a Bachelor of Arts. A member of the university's Forensics team, she is one of the most decorated forensics students in Warhawk history. Starr has worked at UWW-TV, the campus television station, hosting several high-profile broadcasts, and has served as a member of the Dean's Advisory Board for the College of Arts and Communication. As is true of approximately 40 percent of UW-Whitewater students, Lee is the first in her family to earn a bachelor's degree.

The ceremony will recognize 88 undergraduates from the College of Arts and Communication, 193 from the College of Business and Economics, 154 from the College of Education and Professional Studies and 232 from the College of Letters and Sciences. Of the 667 undergraduate degrees awarded, 24 were completed online. The School of Graduate Studies will award 115 degrees, including 99 master's degrees and 16 doctorates.

The graduating class includes 18 international students, 50 military veterans and 144 nontraditional students, defined as undergraduate students who are 25 years of age or older. In addition, 57 self-identified students with disabilities will receive degrees.

Commencement will be broadcast live online by UWW-TV, the university television station.

For more information: uww.edu/commencement