4,100 turn tassels in UA ceremonies

Broyles receives honorary doctorate

NWA Democrat-Gazette/BEN GOFF -- 05/09/15 Audrey Willingham walks back to her seat after receiving her diploma during the University of Arkansas All University Commencement Ceremony in Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville on Saturday May 9, 2015.
NWA Democrat-Gazette/BEN GOFF -- 05/09/15 Audrey Willingham walks back to her seat after receiving her diploma during the University of Arkansas All University Commencement Ceremony in Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville on Saturday May 9, 2015.

FAYETTEVILLE -- For Achille Nentedem, brotherly love trumped distance Saturday. He traveled from Germany to see his younger brother, Michael, receive his engineering doctorate degree at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.

"I was going to be here. It's important. Something like this happens just once in a life," said a beaming Achille Nentedem, video recorder in hand.

The family celebration included their parents Pierre and Louise, who traveled from the African country of Cameroon.

New beginnings and legacies were celebrated during UA's commencement ceremonies. More than 4,100 students signed up to take the stage in caps and gowns in this spring's ceremonies.

Also at Saturday ceremonies, UA honored former Razorbacks head football coach and athletic director Frank Broyles.

"I wish some of my teachers at Georgia Tech were here," said Broyles, 90, after receiving an honorary doctor of humane letters degree at UA's All University Commencement.

The remark drew laughter from the crowd in Bud Walton Arena, the basketball arena that opened in 1993 and was built under Broyles' athletic department leadership -- one of several upgrades to facilities that took place during his tenure.

Broyles earned a degree in industrial management from Georgia Tech. He later became a renowned UA coach, leading the Razorbacks to national prominence in the 1960s. His football record included a 22-game winning streak.

He eventually became UA athletic director, a position he held for more than three decades, eventually stepping down in 2007.

"I've been privileged and honored to represent the University of Arkansas," Broyles said.

At the ceremony, UA System President Donald Bobbitt praised the university's provost, Sharon Gaber, for her work. Gaber is leaving to become president of the University of Toledo in Ohio.

Bobbitt also spoke about the accomplishments of UA Chancellor G. David Gearhart, who is retiring in July.

"The University of Arkansas has experienced unprecedented growth, both in the quality of its academic programs as well as the size of its student body, under his leadership," Bobbitt said of Gearhart. "Over the past seven years, the institution has grown from an enrollment of just more than 19,000 to over 26,000."

UA also presented an honorary degree to James Hildreth, an AIDS researcher who was born in Camden.

"This is your world," Hildreth told the approximately 900 graduate students at the All-University Commencement. "It needs you. It needs your energy, it needs your talents, it needs your creativity."

In all, six graduation ceremonies were held Saturday; another was held Friday. A separate commencement ceremony for law students will be held next Saturday.

Just minutes before the ceremony for UA's J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, Matthew Beard, 30, said he's the first in his family to earn a college degree. He served for five years as a Marine and, with a bachelor's degree in communication, is pursuing a marketing career.

The job outlook for college graduates has improved compared with last year, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers.

"Students who fare well are the students who have done any type of internship or done some type of work related to their major," said Angela Williams, executive director of UA's Career Development Center. She listed engineering, accounting, computer science and business as fields that are especially in demand by employers.

Renee Clay, interim managing director of the George W. Edward Jr. Career Center within UA's Sam M. Walton College of Business, said students with minors in enterprise resource planning have skills that are "very, very sought after right now." The program at UA involves teaching students to configure software to handle multiple business functions.

At Saturday's graduation ceremony for business students, held in Barnhill Arena, Donnie Smith, president and chief executive officer of Tyson Foods Inc., encouraged graduates to become leaders.

"Money may be a popular measure of success, but I promise you it is not a permanent one," Smith said. "Push yourself for more."

Hard work was not a new concept for many receiving degrees Saturday. Derek Walker, 24, said he's been attending classes while also working full time and serving in the National Guard.

"It's a lot of hard work that's finally paying off," said Walker, who is from Gentry and earned a bachelor's degree in communication. "This is kind of a start of a new life in a sense."

In line before the start of UA's All-University Commencement, Laura Wainwright, 24, said she was "beyond excited."

She said she pursued a master's degree in teaching to help her in a job search. Her goal is teaching elementary school.

"It was a very challenging and rewarding experience," she said of college. "I feel very prepared and excited to be in the real world."

Metro on 05/10/2015

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