Dear Graduates of 2024,
On behalf of everyone at the University of Utah, congratulations on reaching this momentous milestone! I am delighted to join with you, your classmates, and your loved ones to celebrate your accomplishment. You’ve done it, and all of us at the U are incredibly proud of you.
When some of you began your journey at the U, the world was in the midst of a global pandemic. Despite facing unprecedented challenges, you persevered, and the degree you’ve earned is a testament to your hard work, resilience, and dedication. Now, armed with your education, you’re on the brink of an exciting future filled with possibility.
Regardless of where your journey takes you next, I encourage you to harness the skills and knowledge you’ve gained to become an agent of positive change. At the U, we’re guided by a vision to inspire, innovate, and serve as we work toward becoming a university with unsurpassed societal impact. Let these values guide you, too, as you build your future and contribute to our global society.
As members of the U community, you helped create a rich, diverse, and vibrant learning environment. You challenged yourself to learn, explore, discover, collaborate, and create. I hope you had unforgettable experiences and made connections that will last a lifetime.
As we celebrate this red-letter day, let’s also recognize the family, friends, faculty, staff, and others who encouraged and supported you along the way. Remember their contributions to your achievements, and know that one day, you might have the chance to be a beacon of light on another student’s journey.
Finally, while commencement marks the closing of a chapter, it also signals the beginning of a new one. As a proud University of Utah alum, I warmly welcome you into our 300,000-strong alumni family. You are joining a worldwide network of U graduates using their exceptional talents and education to make a difference in the world.
Again, congratulations. The world eagerly awaits your contributions. I wish you the best of luck and success as you embark on your future. And remember, you will always have a home here at the U.
Sincerely,
Taylor Randall, HBA ‘90 President, University of Utah
COMMENCEMENT PROGRAM
Prelude Music
Performed by the University of Utah Wind Ensemble — Jason Missal, Conductor
Processional of Official Party, Faculty, and Degree Candidates
The National Anthem
Mara Davis, Vocal Performance Major
Welcome
Taylor R. Randall, President
Recognition of Faculty Award Recipients
Michael L. Good, CEO of University of Utah Health and Senior Vice President for Health Sciences
Presentation of Rosenblatt Prize
Mitzi M. Montoya, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs
Introduction of Student Speaker
Lori McDonald, Vice President for Student Affairs
Student Speaker
Eron Powell
Conferral of Honorary Degrees
Christian Gardner, Chair, Board of Trustees
Honorary Degree Recipients
Pamela J. Atkinson, Catherine Roper Meldrum, Steven G. Parker
Introduction of Speaker
Jack O’Leary, ASUU Student Body President
Commencement Address
Eboo Patel, founder and president, Interfaith America
Welcome to the U Alumni
Glenn Seninger, Alumni Board of Governors, President
Presentation of Candidates and Conferral of Graduate Degrees and Certificates
Darryl Butt, Dean, Graduate School
Presentation of Candidates and Conferral of Baccalaureate Degrees and Certificates
Academic Deans
Utah Fight Song
University of Utah Marching Band
Commencement Recessional
Calvin S. and JeNeal N. Hatch Prize in Teaching
Vincent Cheng
Distinguished Professor, Department of English College of Humanities
Community Engaged Teaching and Scholarship Award
Gregory Smoak
Associate Professor, Department of History College of Humanities
Distinguished Faculty Service Award
Randy Dryer
Professor (Lecturer), S. J. Quinney College of Law Honors College
Isabel Teresa Molina Avella
Assistant Professor (Lecturer)
Associate Director at University Neighborhood Partners College of Social Work
Distinguished Graduate Student and Postdoctoral Mentor Award
Elizabeth R. Tenney
Associate Professor, Department of Management David Eccles School of Business
MaryAnn Christison
Distinguished Professor, Department of Linguistics College of Humanities
Distinguished Professor
Cornelia Ulrich
Professor, Department of Population Health Sciences
Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine
William A. Smith
Jon M. Huntsman Presidential Chair, and Professor
Department of Education, Culture & Society and Division of Ethnic Studies College of Education and School for Cultural and Social Transformation
Beth Krensky
Professor, Department of Art & Art History College of Fine Arts
Davar Khoshnevisan
Professor, Department of Mathematics College of Science and College of Mines and Earth Sciences
Gregory S. Hageman
John A. Moran Presidential Professor
Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences
Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine
Cynthia Mahoney Furse
Professor, Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering
John and Marcia Price College of Engineering
Distinguished Research Award
June Round
Professor, Department of Pathology
Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine
Kimberly Kaphingst
Professor, Department of Communication College of Humanities
Gabriel Bowen
Professor, Department of Geology & Geophysics College of Science and College of Mines and Earth Sciences
THE ROSENBLATT PRIZE
The Rosenblatt Prize, a $50,000 cash award, is presented annually at commencement to “recognize, encourage, and honor excellence in teaching, research, and administrative efforts, collectively or individually.” The prize is granted through an endowment established by the late Utah industrialist Joseph Rosenblatt. The endowment was created to honor Nathan and Tillie Rosenblatt, on the centenary of their immigration to Utah, and in recognition of their legacy of civic leadership and generosity. The award has been given annually since 1984. The most recent prize was awarded in 2023 to Dana Carroll, Distinguished Professor in the Department of Biochemistry in the Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine. The 2024 recipient will be announced during today’s program.
Distinguished Teaching Award
Maureen Mathison
Associate Professor, Department of Writing & Rhetoric Studies College of Humanities
Frank J. Page
Associate Professor (Lecturer), Department of Sociology College of Social and Behavioral Science
Jim Steenburgh
Professor, Department of Atmospheric Sciences College of Science and College of Mines and Earth Sciences
Anandh Babu Pon Velayutham
Associate Professor, Department of Nutrition & Integrated Physiology College of Health
Nora McLachlan Wood
Professor (Lecturer), LEAP Undergraduate Studies
Early Career Teaching Award
Sameer R. Rao
Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering
John and Marcia Price College of Engineering
Priyam Patel
Associate Professor, Department of Mathematics College of Science and College of Mines and Earth Sciences
CoCo James
Assistant Professor (Lecturer), LEAP Undergraduate Studies
Alexander Hyres
Assistant Professor, Department of Education, Culture & Society College of Education
Jennifer Cotton
Assistant Professor (Clinical), Department of Emergency Medicine
Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine
Elizabeth T. Craft
Assistant Professor, School of Music College of Fine Arts
Honors Professor
Melissa Watt
Associate Professor (Lecturer) and Research Associate Professor
Population Health Sciences
Honors College and Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine
John R. Park Teaching Fellowship
Kymberly McDaniel
Assistant Professor, School of Dance College of Fine Arts
Jessica Rudman
Assistant Professor, School of Music College of Fine Arts
Outstanding Public School Teacher
Robert Violano
Midvale Middle School Canyons School District
Public Service Professor
Akiko Kamimura
Associate Professor, Department of Sociology College of Social and Behavioral Science
University Professor (Two-Year Term, 2023-25)
Cynthia Mahoney Furse
Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
John and Marcia Price College of Engineering
Michael Scarpulla
Associate Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Department of Materials Science & Engineering
John and Marcia Price College of Engineering
Presidential Societal Impact Scholar Award
Kevin Perry
Professor, Department of Atmospheric Sciences College of Science and College of Mines and Earth Sciences
V. Kim Martinez
Mary Lois Wheatley Presidential Endowed Chair and Professor
Department of Art & Art History College of Fine Arts
Emily J. Salisbury
Associate Professor, Director, Utah Criminal Justice Center College of Social Work
Baodong Liu
Professor, Department of Political Science and Division of Ethnic Studies College of Social and Behavioral Science School for Cultural and Social Transformation
Amberly Johnson
Assistant Professor (Clinical), Director, Utah Poison Control Center College of Pharmacy
John G. Francis Prize for Undergraduate Student Mentoring
Cynthia Mahoney Furse
Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
John and Marcia Price College of Engineering
Pamela J. Atkinson
Doctor of Humane Letters
Pamela J. Atkinson, known as “Utah’s Mother Teresa,” has worked for decades to help Utahns who are homeless, refugees or poor.
Atkinson grew up in extreme poverty in London and, as a teen, decided there were two ways to leave poverty behind forever: marry a rich man or get a good education.
She didn’t meet a rich man. So, education it was—which eventually led to Atkinson’s work to address the kind of poverty she experienced as a child.
Atkinson worked for Intermountain Health Care as an assistant administrator for patient care, eventually rising to vice president for community initiatives. Once retired, community service became Atkinson’s full-time avocation.
Atkinson has served as a trusted advisor to five Utah governors and collaborates with groups serving those in need. She helped found the Lincoln Family Health Center, the Intermountain Neighborhood Clinic and the Rose Park Family Health Center. Two clinics and two housing centers bear her name, as does The Pamela Atkinson Homeless Trust Fund.
She serves on serves on several boards, among them the State Homeless Coordinating Committee and the State Refugee Advisory Board; she also contributed as a board member to Utah’s educational system, including on the State Board of Regents.
“The more you learn, the more you can do,” she says. “It doesn’t have to be a huge project. A pair of socks and a hat makes a difference.”
Catherine Roper Meldrum
Doctor of Humane Letters
Catherine Roper Meldrum knows that making a difference in the world doesn’t happen in a day. “You do it over time and it adds up,” she says.
She and her late husband Peter, who co-founded Myriad Genetics, created the Meldrum Foundation to benefit educational endeavors, the arts and cultural activities, and humanitarian programs.
Their gifts include an endowed professorship in the Department of Chemical Engineering; scholarships honoring their parents at the U and Westminster University; a scholarship for first-generation students; and creation of the Meldrum Theatre and renovation of Meldrum House to provide accommodations for Pioneer Theatre Company’s visiting artists, directors and designers.
Meldrum says their giving began with a desire to honor their parents and grew from there. Creating the scholarships, particularly for first-generation students, was especially rewarding, she says, and often has a ripple effect. “Once one person is going then someone else in the family wants to do that, too,” Meldrum says. “Sometimes you build on the success of your family members.”
Meldrum serves on Westminster University’s Woman’s Board and has been an active member of the Philanthropic Educational Organization, known as P.E.O., for 50 years.
Steven G. Parker Doctor of Engineering
Steven G. Parker has a long list of “firsts” and “bests” in the field of computer science, where he is celebrated as one of the most talented researchers in the world. Today, he is the vice president of professional graphics at NVIDIA, the largest maker of computer graphics hardware.
Parker completed a doctoral degree at the U, specializing in visualization algorithms. After graduating in 1999, Parker joined the faculty, subsequently landing numerous large grants to further research in computer graphics. He created the Center for Interactive Ray-Tracing and Photo Realistic Visualization, which led to a start-up company called RayScale. NVIDIA Inc. acquired the company in 2008 and set up an NVIDIA Research Center in Utah, with Parker as director.
Although no longer on the faculty, Parker has maintained his affiliation with the U, serving on the Engineering National Advisory Council for six years and providing influential support where and when needed by the college. He and his wife MeriAnn have made major donations to support the Scientific Computing and Imaging Institute and the John and Marcia Price Computing and Engineering Building.
Rich Brown, Dean of the John and Marcia Price College of Engineering, noted, “His dedication to pushing the boundaries of technology resonate with the university’s vision of making a positive impact on society through education and research and aligns with the university’s ethos of innovation” .
Eboo Patel, Ph.D. Founder and President of Interfaith America
Dr. Eboo Patel leads Interfaith America’s work with governments, universities, private companies and civic organizations to brand faith as a symbol of cooperation, rather than one of divisiveness.
A former teacher and community organizer, Dr. Patel is one of three Presidential Impact Scholars at the University of Utah. At this moment in global history, with conflicts around the world, he urges students, the graduates of the Class of 2024, to be the leaders they are looking for.
“Interfaith leadership is no longer a thought experiment,” Dr. Patel says. “There are groups of students that are no longer talking to one another, and they are largely defined by their religious identity. Could you be a person they go to help facilitate a dialogue in that situation? What skills and knowledge would you need? How would you prepare for that?”
Dr. Patel grew up in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. He received a degree in sociology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a doctorate in the sociology of religion from Oxford University. While at Oxford, Dr. Patel developed several interfaith projects for youth in India, Sri Lanka and South Africa. After college, he taught at an alternative education program for high school dropouts, founded a cooperative living community for activists and artists in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood, and developed the Interfaith Youth Core, bringing together young people of different faiths for service and dialogue.
A Rhodes Scholar and author of five books, including We Need to Build: Field Notes for Diverse Democracy, Dr. Patel is an Ashoka Fellow who also served on President Barack Obama’s inaugural Advisory Council on Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Dr. Patel is a contributing writer for the Deseret News and the host of the podcast “Interfaith America with Eboo Patel.”
GRADUATING CLASS PROFILE 2023-24
(Summer 2023 & Fall 2023 awarded, Spring 2024 applied)
These numbers are based on data available prior to graduation and are subject to change.
COLLEGE CONVOCATIONS
College convocations will be held at the times and in the locations indicated below. Recipients of both undergraduate and graduate degrees should attend the convocations of the colleges in which their major departments are located. Graduation programs will be distributed at individual convocation exercises.
THURSDAY, MAY 2
College of Social Work
8 a.m., Jon M. Huntsman Center
College of Social and Behavioral Science (graduate students)
8:30 a.m., Kingsbury Hall
John and Marcia Price College of Engineering
10:30 a.m., Jon M. Huntsman Center
College of Architecture and Planning
11 a.m., Kingsbury Hall
College of Science and College of Mines and Earth Sciences
1:30 p.m., Jon M. Huntsman Center
FRIDAY, MAY 3
College of Health
8 a.m., Jon M. Huntsman Center
College of Nursing
9 a.m., Kingsbury Hall
College of Social and Behavioral Science
(undergraduate students)
11 a.m., Jon M. Huntsman Center
College of Fine Arts
12 Noon, Kingsbury Hall
College of Humanities
2 p.m., Jon M. Huntsman Center
College of Education
3 p.m., Kingsbury Hall
School for Cultural and Social Transformation
3 p.m., A. Ray Olpin University Union
David Eccles School of Business
5 p.m., Jon M. Huntsman Center
ACADEMIC REGALIA
FRIDAY, MAY 10
S.J. Quinney College of Law
9:30 a.m., Kingsbury Hall
College of Pharmacy
2 p.m., Kingsbury Hall
FRIDAY, MAY 17
Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine
10 a.m., Jon M. Huntsman Center
School of Dentistry
2 p.m., Kingsbury Hall
Academic regalia evolved from the robes, hoods, and caps worn by clerics, monks, and priests—the first students—in the European universities of the Middle Ages. American schools, as a result of their English heritage, have generally standardized the black gown.
Various styles, ornaments, and colors are used to signify levels of academic attainment and areas of academic specialty.
The bachelor’s gown is worn closed at the neck. The master’s and doctoral gowns are worn opened; both feature hoods that display the colors of the academic institution or field of study. The origin of the mortarboard has not been definitely determined, but it existed as far back as 1564. The colors of tassels on the mortarboards of candidates indicate the colleges/schools from which they expect to receive degrees.
The Graduate School (Ph.D. and Ed.D.) Yellow
College of Architecture + Planning Blue Violet
David Eccles School of Business Light Brown
School of Dentistry ................................ Lilac
College of Education
Light Blue
John and Marcia Price College of Engineering Orange
College of Fine Arts Brown
School of Music Pink
College of Health
Sage Green
School for Cultural and Social Transformation White
College of Humanities… White
S. J. Quinney College of Law Purple
Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine Kelly Green
College of Nursing .............................. Apricot
College of Pharmacy Olive Green
College of Science and College of Mines and Earth Sciences Golden Yellow
College of Social and Behavioral Science White
College of Social Work Citron
Various ribbons and cords are worn to designate the receipt of honors and other awards.
LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The University of Utah has both historical and contemporary relationships with Indigenous peoples. Given that the Salt Lake Valley has always been a gathering place for Indigenous peoples, we acknowledge that this land, which is named for the Ute Tribe, is the traditional and ancestral homelands of the Shoshone, Paiute, Goshute, and Ute Tribes and is a crossroad for Indigenous peoples. The University of Utah recognizes the enduring relationships between many Indigenous peoples and their traditional homelands. We are grateful for the territory upon which we gather today; we respect Utah’s Indigenous peoples, the original stewards of this land; and we value the sovereign relationships that exist between tribal governments, state governments, and the federal government. Today, approximately 60,000 American Indian and Alaska Native peoples live in Utah. As a state institution, the University of Utah is committed to serving Native communities throughout Utah in partnership with Native Nations and our Urban Indian communities through research, education, and community outreach activities.
THE MACE
The mace—historically a symbol of authority and peaceful leadership and now a ceremonial object used at formal academic occasions—will be carried before the president and dignitaries as they convene the proceedings. The U’s mace is carved from dark walnut, stands 48 inches tall, and is embellished with copper elements that represent the university seal, the various colleges, and presidents of the institution. The spiral-carved base evokes the nautilus—an organic model of change and growth—while the beehive-shaped endcap symbolizes the state of Utah.
ORDER OF PROCESSIONAL
The official party is composed of the president, members of the university’s Board of Trustees, the commissioner of higher education, representatives of the Utah Board of Higher Education, deans, administrative officers of the university, student body leaders, elected officials, former university presidents, honorary degree recipients, and other special guests.
Candidates for degrees, officials, and faculty enter the Jon M. Huntsman Center from the west entrance at floor level. Candidates are seated according to the academic degree received and the college or school awarding the degree. Degree candidates are led by banner carriers and faculty representing the various colleges.
UNIVERSITY GIFT
The Associated Students of the University of Utah (ASUU) class gift will be a $30,000 contribution toward starting a mobile food pantry program on campus. The mobile pantry will be an extension of the Feed U Pantry located in the Union and will assist in providing more students who may be struggling with food insecurity with fresh produce, dry goods, refrigerated items, and hygiene products. The mobile pantry will allow us to meet students where they are and to more effectively collaborate with colleges across campus.
a lumni
Congratulations on your graduation from the University of Utah and welcome to the U Alumni community! The Office of Alumni Relations exists to support your lifelong relationship with the U. We provide opportunities for alumni to connect with one another, engage in activities that are fun, enriching, and benefit the U, and foster education and advance alumni careers. Learn more about U Alumni by visiting alumni .utah .edu