Archived News | Return to News Center

May 16, 2012

ULM to award diplomas to record commencement class

In its largest graduating class ever, University of Louisiana at Monroe President Nick J. Bruno, Ph.D., will confer 885 degrees and award diplomas to 882 students during the University of Louisiana at Monroe's spring commencement exercises to be held at 10 a.m., Saturday, May 19 in Fant-Ewing Coliseum on the ULM campus.

Each spring commencement class size has increased since the spring 2009 commencement class of 639 graduates, and since spring 2005, each spring commencement class has exceeded 627 graduates.

In another first, ULM will webcast its spring commencement online at www.ulm.edu/commencement.

Shortly after the conclusion of the event, a full recording of the event will be archived for viewing.

The commencement keynote speaker will be Rep. Charles "Bubba" Chaney. Chaney is a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from District 19, which includes his home town of Rayville, and all or parts of East Carroll, Madison, Morehouse, Ouachita, Richland, and West Carroll parishes.

Chaney, who was elected in 2007, recently received the "2012 Legislator of the Year" honor, presented to him by Rural Hospital Coalition for his dedicated service to the citizens of rural Louisiana. He is a member of the Louisiana House Committee on Agriculture, Appropriations, and Natural Resources.

Top Graduates
There are 6 top graduates in the class who all earned 4.00 grade point averages. They are:

Jennifer Ballard is a General Studies major receiving a Bachelor of General Studies degree in the College of Arts and Sciences. She is from Alexandria, Louisiana and is the daughter of James and Susan Ballard.

Jessica Cimino is a General Studies major receiving a Bachelor of General Studies degree in the College of Arts and Sciences. She is from Destrehan, Louisiana, and is the daughter of Andy and Lisa Cimino.

Fernando Cordova is an Accounting major receiving a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in the College of Business Administration. He is from Monroe, Louisiana, and is the son of José and Kathy Cordova and Mayra and Ricardo Santa Maria.

Kendra Slover is a General Studies major receiving a Bachelor of General Studies degree in the College of Arts and Sciences.  She is from Vidalia, Louisiana, and is the daughter of Ken and Melissa Kunkle and the wife of Colt Slover.

Mary Thiels is a Nursing major receiving a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree in the College of Health Sciences.  She is from Monroe, Louisiana, and is the daughter of David Thiels and Kathy Thiels.

Alair Tudor is an Aviation major receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in the College of Business Administration. He is from Bridgetown, Barbados, and is the son of Philip and LeSondra Tudor. 

Several honor graduates will be recognized during the ceremonies. They are designated as summa cum laude (3.900-4.000), magna cum laude (3.750-3.899) and cum laude (3.500-3.749).

PLEASE NOTE: Some links and e-mail addresses in these archived news stories may no longer work, and some content may include events which are no longer relevent, or reference individuals and/or organizations no longer associated with ULM.