news

Commerce secretary, White House official, business leaders among commencement speakers

Primary tabs

The Georgia Institute of Technology will confer degrees in three separate commencement ceremonies May 6-7 including speeches from John Holdren, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy; Mary Rockett Brock, philanthropist and co-owner of the Atlanta Dream; and Penny Pritzker, U.S. Secretary of Commerce.

More than 2,000 will receive bachelor’s degrees in two ceremonies on May 7, and the graduate ceremony May 6 will award 900 master’s degrees and 180 doctorates.

The Ph.D. hooding ceremony kicks off the two days of ceremonies at McCamish Pavilion at 10 a.m. May 6. Doors open at 9 a.m., and graduating students should arrive at the adjacent Zelnak Practice Facility no later than 9:15 a.m. Tickets are not required for this event.

The Ph.D. and Master’s Commencement Ceremony is 7 to 9 p.m. in McCamish. Doors open at 5:30 p.m., and graduating students should arrive at Zelnak no later than 6 p.m. The speaker is John Holdren, who serves as an assistant to U.S. President Barack Obama for sciences and technology. During the ceremony, the Institute will confer an honorary doctorate upon Michael Tennenbaum, a Georgia Tech alumnus and founder of the Tennenbaum Institute for Enterprise Transformation at Georgia Tech. Tickets are not required for this event.

The Bachelor’s degree ceremonies are both May 7 with the first from 9 to 11:30 a.m. in McCamish. Doors open at 7:30 a.m., and graduating students should arrive at Zelnak no later than 8 a.m. Graduates will be from the following programs:

  • Computer Science and Computational Media in the College of Computing.
  • Computational Media in the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts.
  • Industrial Design, Building Construction and Architecture in the College of Architecture.
  • Psychology, Discrete Mathematics, Applied Mathematics, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, and Biology in the College of Sciences.
  • Environmental Engineering, Civil Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, Polymer and Fiber Engineering, Industrial Engineering and Aerospace Engineering in the College of Engineering.

Coca-Cola Enterprises CEO John Brock, a double Georgia Tech graduate in chemical engineering, and his wife, Mary Rockett Brock, will receive honorary doctorates during the ceremony. It is the first time in the history of the Institute that a married couple has received honorary degrees. Mary Brock is also a keynote speaker. The Brocks co-chaired the successful $1.8 billion Campaign Georgia Tech, which concluded in December 2015.

The final ceremony of the weekend is 3 to 5:30 p.m. at McCamish and features an address by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker. Doors open at 1:30 p.m., and graduating students should arrive at Zelnak no later than 2 p.m. Graduates will be from the following programs:

  • Literature, Media and Communication; Applied Languages and Intercultural Studies; Public Policy; History, Technology and Society; Science, Technology and Culture; International Affairs and Modern Languages; International Affairs; Economics and International Affairs; Global Economics and Modern Languages; and Economics in the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts.
  • Business Administration in the Scheller College of Business.
  • Biochemistry, Applied Physics, Physics and Chemistry in the College of Sciences.
  • Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Nuclear and Radiological Engineering, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering in the College of Engineering.

Tickets are required for both of Saturday’s ceremonies, and students must participate in their assigned ceremony. Learn more at www.commencement.gatech.edu.

Groups

Status

  • Workflow Status:Published
  • Created By:Lance Wallace
  • Created:04/27/2016
  • Modified By:Fletcher Moore
  • Modified:10/07/2016