Doctoral hooding, commencement ceremonies are Aug. 9-10

Written by  Shannon Thomason
About 1,000 of the estimated 1,666 students expected to graduate will participate in UAB’s summer commencement ceremonies Aug. 9-10 in Bartow Arena. Ceremonies will be livestreamed on the UAB Facebook page. A recording should be available for online viewing at uab.edu/commencement the following week.

Tina Kempin Reuter 350Tina Kempin Reuter, Ph.D. A doctoral hooding and commencement ceremony for nearly all graduate programs will be held 6 p.m. Aug. 9. The UAB Graduate School will confer the university’s highest degrees on 89 students from 20 states and eight countries in 42 disciplines; approximately 59 will participate in the ceremony.

Tina Kempin Reuter, Ph.D., associate professor in the College of Arts and Sciences departments of Political Science and Public Administration and Anthropology, will carry the mace during the Friday ceremony. Reuter, director of UAB’s Institute for Human Rights, is one of 10 graduate faculty to receive the 2019 UAB Graduate Dean’s Excellence in Mentorship Award.

The graduate ceremony speaker will be Laurence Marie Black, who is graduating with a Doctor of Philosophy degree with a concentration in cell biology from the Department of Medicine Division of Nephrology under the mentorship of Anupam Agarwal, M.D. Black, who recently received the Morris Award for Exemplary Leadership, Excellence and Service to UAB, intends to pursue a career in academia and will become a postdoctoral scholar in the Division of Nephrology after graduation.

Gregory Pence 350Gregory Pence, Ph.D.Professor Greg Pence, Ph.D., chair of the College of Arts and Sciences Department of Philosophy and director of the Early Medical School Acceptance Program, will carry the mace when undergraduate diplomas are awarded 9:30 a.m. Aug. 10. Pence received the 2019 Caroline P. and Charles W. Ireland Prize for Scholarly Distinction, presented annually by CAS to a member of the faculty for professional and academic achievements and contributions to the university and local community. 

The undergraduate ceremony speaker will be Enyonam “Enyo” J. Kpomblekou-Ademawou, who is graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in health care management in the pre-professional track from the School of Health Professions. Kpomblekou-Ademawou will pursue her Master of Science degree in health informatics at UAB in the fall with hopes to become a health care leader who helps combat health disparities within under-represented communities.

Information for guests is available on the commencement website. Tickets are not required; but seating for the ceremonies are first-come, first-served. Bartow Arena doors will open one hour prior to each ceremony.

Read the full story at uab.edu/news.