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For more information contact mark.a.kinders@uwrf.edu or brenda.k.bredahl@uwrf.edu.

Commencement Set for May 17

MAY 9, 2008--The University of Wisconsin-River Falls will hold spring commencement in two ceremonies at 9:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. on May 17 in the Robert P. Knowles Physical Education and Recreation Center.

The 9:30 a.m. commencement will include the students from the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences, College of Business and Economics, College of Graduate Studies.

The 2 p.m. commencement will include the students from the College of Arts and Sciences and College of Education and Professional Studies. The Class of 1958 will lead the afternoon processional march.

For the second time in UWRF history, commencement will be streamed online. The link to the streaming site will be available one week prior to the event. The streaming will begin 15 minutes before each ceremony and may be found here at http://www.uwrf.edu/commencement/ by clicking "View this event live online."

State Representative Kitty Rhoades (R-Hudson) will give the keynote commencement address.

Rhoades was elected to office in 1999 and currently serves as co-chair on the Joint Committee on Finance. Her educational background includes a bachelor's degree in secondary education from UWRF and a master's in curriculum and supervision from Illinois State University. She has been a teacher, small business owner with her husband, Frank, and chamber of commerce executive director in Hudson, Wis., and in suburban St. Paul.

In the legislature, she has also served as the chair of the Assembly Committee on Aging and Long Term Care and co-chair of the Joint Legislative Council Committee. Along with her committee chair assignments, Rhoades was a member of the Assembly Committee on Colleges and Universities, the Assembly Committee on Education, the Assembly Committee on Financial Institutions, Conservation and Land Use and Rural Affairs and Forestry.

Psychology Professor Travis Tubré will receive the 2008 Distinguished Teacher of the Year award at the commencement ceremony.

The distinguished teacher award is nominated by graduating seniors and recent graduates; it is the highest award that can be presented to UWRF faculty.

"Dr. Tubré is well liked by all and connects with his students on a personal level. He is a fine example of professor who cares about his teaching but finds a way to balance this with research and advising," wrote a student in a nomination.

Tubré teaches numerous courses in such areas as general psychology, industrial/organizational psychology, employee selection and training, psychological testing, and research methods. He also is an active consultant, researcher, McNair mentor and student advisor.

Tubré has won other awards such as outstanding mentor for the UWRF McNair Scholars Program. He has also received an Excellence in Advising Award and an Excellence in Scholarship Award from the College of Arts and Sciences.

An Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters will be given to UWRF alumnus David Swensen at commencement. Swensen is a 1975 economics graduate and currently the chief investment officer of the Yale University's endowment.

Swensen has been recently elected as a 2008 fellow by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, in the "educational, scientific, cultural and philanthropic administration" affiliation. The AAAS is one of the oldest and prestigious honorary societies with members ranging from Nobel laureates, Pulitzer Prize winners, founding fathers to others with considerable notoriety like B.B. King.

"The academy honors excellence by electing to membership remarkable men and women who have made preeminent contributions to their fields, and to the world," said AAAS President Emilio Bizzi.

Swensen is an internationally renowned institutional fund investment expert who places an emphasis on broad diversification and unconventional approaches to investment management, called the "Yale Model." Using this model, the Yale endowment has grown from $1.3 billion to more than $22.5 billion and is now the largest income source for that institution.

Honorary doctorate degrees are bestowed upon individuals who have made significant contributions to the university, region, state or nation or demonstrated a consistently outstanding record of accomplishment in their field of endeavor. The Doctor of Humane Letters is conferred upon those who distinguish themselves in a field other than science, law, literature or religion.

The River Falls Brass will accompany seniors Katie Herdan, who is majoring in modern language, from St. Joseph, Minn ., as she sings the UWRF Pledge Song, and Heidi Williams, who is majoring in music, from River Falls as she sings the National Anthem. Both singers will perform at both ceremonies.

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