MADISON—University of Wisconsin System campuses will hold winter commencement ceremonies this month to highlight the achievements of more than 9,000 students who are expected to receive degrees at the close of this fall semester.

While the majority of UW System students graduate in spring, winter commencement illustrates the UW System’s year-round effort to produce graduates for Wisconsin’s workforce, said UW System President Katharine C. Lyall.

“We are pleased that so many students are able to celebrate their graduation at the start of a new year,” Lyall said. “These graduates are well-prepared to make contributions to the state’s economy in 2004.”

Details about commencement activities are available from each UW campus. Speakers and ceremony dates include:

  • UW-Eau Claire: U.S. Senator Russ Feingold and Tamara Lindsey, associate professor of curriculum and instruction and recipient of the Excellence in Teaching Award, Dec. 20.
  • UW-Green Bay: Ellen Kort, Wisconsin’s poet laureate, Dec. 20.
  • UW-La Crosse: John Magerus, dean, College of Liberal Studies; 1996 sociology graduate Luis Gomez; and 1970 College of Business Administration graduate Terry Murphy, Dec. 14.
  • UW-Madison: Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson, Dec. 21.
  • UW-Milwaukee: Interim Chancellor Robert Greenstreet, Dec. 21.
  • UW-Oshkosh: W. Sam Adams, professor, College of Education and Human Services, Dec. 13.
  • UW-Parkside: James Kinchen, professor of music and 2003 winner of the Stella Gray Teaching Award, Dec. 21.
  • UW-Platteville: Jerold P. Franke, president of WISPARK LLC., and a 1973 UW-Platteville graduate, Dec. 13.
  • UW-River Falls: Jennifer Brantley, professor of English and recipient of the 2003 Distinguished Teacher award, Dec. 20.
  • UW-Stevens Point: Robert Summerfelt, professor in the Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management at Iowa State University and a 1957 UWSP graduate, Dec. 13.
  • UW-Stout: Chancellor Charles W. Sorensen, Dec. 13.
  • UW-Superior: Chancellor Julius E. Erlenbach; Provost David J. Prior, Dec. 10.
  • UW-Whitewater: Don Nicolaisen, chief accountant of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and a 1967 UW-Whitewater alumnus, Dec. 20.

Since the UW System was created in 1971, the 13 four-year campus and 13 freshman-sophomore UW Colleges have awarded more than 730,000 degrees.

Media Contact

Erik Christianson UW System 608-262-5061