More than 5,000 University of Central Florida students are expected to graduate Dec. 12-13 during three commencement ceremonies at the CFE Arena. 

The ceremonies will be:

  • 9 a.m. Friday, Dec. 12 – College of Education and Human Performance, College of Health & Public Affairs, and Rosen College of Hospitality Management.
  • 2:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 12 – College of Arts & Humanities, College of Graduate Studies, College of Nursing, College of Sciences, and Office of Undergraduate Studies.
  • 9 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 13 – College of Business Administration, College of Engineering & Computer Science, College of Medicine, and College of Optics & Photonics.

    • Doors open 90 minutes before the ceremonies, and graduates begin processing 20 minutes before the ceremonies, which are expected to last about two hours each.

    The Friday morning speaker will be Alan Ginsburg, a real estate developer who founded The CED Companies, which has built more than 85,000 affordable apartment residences. He is active in many professional and charitable organizations, and his philanthropic contributions have benefited causes all over Central Florida, including The UCF College of Medicine Capital Campaign. The college’s Harriet F. Ginsburg Health Sciences Library is named in honor of his late wife. During the ceremonies, Ginsburg will be awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Public Service.

     The Friday afternoon speaker will be Rick Walsh, a founding member of the UCF Board of Trustees and a former senior vice president for corporate affairs of Darden Restaurants. Today he is president of the KnobHill Group, a strategic counseling and development company. He received the 1985 UCF Distinguished Alumnus Award and has served on the UCF Foundation board for more than 10 years. During the ceremonies, Walsh will be awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Commercial Science.

     The Saturday speaker will be Beverly J. Seay, a business executive in the Central Florida modeling and simulation industry for more than 25 years and a member of the UCF Board of Trustees since last year. She also serves as a board member on the Florida High Tech Corridor Council and on the Steering Committee of the UCF Downtown Campus. She chairs the dean’s advisory board for the UCF College of Engineering and Computer Science, and has helped to establish the UCF Women in Science and Engineering program.

    Of the 5,067 students who filed an intent to graduate, there are 4,308 seeking bachelor’s degrees, 659 master’s degrees, three education specialist degrees, 11 educational doctoral degrees, 80 Ph.D.s, and six Doctor of Nursing Practice.

    With these expected graduations, UCF will have awarded 271,257 degrees since classes began in 1968.

    Each guest attending the ceremonies, including children and infants, must have a ticket to enter the arena. Tickets are available from graduates. Guests who do not have tickets can view a live telecast of the ceremony via closed circuit television at the FAIRWINDS Alumni Center, Student Union and on Campus Cable Channel 21.

     Parking for guests will be available in garages C, D and H.

     Additional details about commencement can be found at http://commencement.ucf.edu/2014/fall.