First lady to speak at both commencement ceremonies May 15

By Craig Chamberlain

The 123rd commencement of the UI will take place in two ceremonies May 15,
with first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton as the speaker.

Clinton, an accomplished lawyer and children's advocate, will speak at
both the 10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. ceremonies in Assembly Hall. She also will
receive an honorary degree, as will four other dignitaries.

Candidates in the colleges of Applied Life Studies, Communications, Law,
Liberal Arts and Sciences, and Veterinary Medicine; in the School of Social
Work; in the Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations; and in the
Graduate School of Library and Information Science will receive degrees at
the 10:30 a.m. ceremony.

Candidates in the colleges of Agriculture, Commerce and Business
Administration, Education, Engineering, and Fine and Applied Arts will
receive degrees at the 2 p.m. ceremony.

Doors will open for guests with tickets at 9 a.m. for the morning ceremony
and at 12:30 p.m. for the afternoon ceremony. Due to anticipated demand for
tickets by students for their families and friends, seating for the public
will not be available. The 2 p.m. ceremony, including Clinton's speech,
will be broadcast live on WILL-AM (580).

Commencement is held once a year to honor all students who have earned
bachelor's, master's, doctoral and professional degrees and advanced
certificates during the preceding academic year.

More than two-thirds of approximately 6,000 students graduating this month
and approximately 2,000 who graduated in August, October or January are
expected to attend.

Clinton, a native of Park Ridge, Ill., graduated with high honors from
Wellesley College in 1969 and earned a doctor of laws degree from Yale
University in 1973. She began her legal career that year as a staff
attorney for the Children's Defense Fund, a Washington-based children's
advocacy group. In 1974, she was a special counsel for the U.S. House of
Representatives Judiciary Committee, as part of its impeachment inquiry
staff, and from 1974 to 1977 was on the law faculty at the University of
Arkansas. In 1988 and 1991, she was named by the National Law Journal as
one of the 100 most influential lawyers in America.

Clinton will receive an honorary degree of doctor of laws. Scheduled to
join her in receiving honorary degrees at the 1994 commencement:

  * Billy Taylor, pianist, composer and educator: honorary degree of
    doctor of musical arts. Born in Greenville, N.C., in 1921, Taylor
    is nationally recognized as one of the foremost authorities on jazz.
    Known for his appearances on CBS "Sunday Morning," Taylor has been
    guest soloist with 39 orchestras, has performed at more than 60
    colleges and universities, including the UI., and has composed more
    than 300 songs, including ballet scores for Broadway productions and
    music for the children's TV programs "Sesame Street" and "The Electric
    Company." He holds the Wilber D.  Barrett Chair in Music at the
    University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He is the author of the book
    "Jazz Piano: A Jazz History."
  * Barbara Everitt Bryant, research scientist at the National Quality
    Research Center in the School of Business Administration, University of
    Michigan, Ann Arbor: honorary degree of doctor of humane letters. Born
    in 1926 in Ann Arbor, Bryant is the daughter of William L. Everitt,
    former dean of the UI College of Engineering, for whom the campus's
    Everitt Laboratory is named. She earned a bachelor's degree in physics
    from Cornell University, and a master's degree in journalism and a
    doctorate in communications, both from Michigan State University.
    Bryant was the director of the Bureau of the Census, Department of
    Commerce, from 1989 to 1993.
  * Katherine Dunham, dancer, choreographer, anthropologist and scholar:
    honorary degree of doctor of humane letters. Born in 1910 in Joliet,
    Ill., Dunham combined studies in anthropology and dance to discover the
    rich African dance heritage in the Caribbean, which she subsequently
    brought to the stage. Her field research produced such publications as
    "Dance of Haiti" and led to the establishment of the scholarly field
    of dance anthropology. She helped to open Hollywood to black dancers
    and choreographers and fought discrimination with her dance company in
    Brazil.  She also opened the Performing Arts Center for underprivileged
    children in East St. Louis, Ill.
  * Miroslav Marcovich, emeritus professor of classics, University of
    Illinois: honorary degree of doctor of humane letters. Born in Belgrade,
    Yugoslavia, in 1919, Marcovich was professor of classics at the UI from
    1970 to 1989. In 1975, he founded and was the first editor of the journal
    Illinois Classical Studies. He has published more than 300 scholarly
    articles and 20 books on classical Greek and Latin literature, Greek
    and Indian philosophy, Byzantine studies, and neo-Latin literature from
    the period of the Renaissance.

Three Alumni Achievement Awards will be presented by the UI Alumni
Association at the Assembly Hall ceremonies:

  * David Blackwell, emeritus professor of mathematics and statistics,
    University of California, Berkeley. A professor at Berkeley from 1954
    until his recent retirement, Blackwell earned three degrees in
    mathematics from the UI. He has been recognized by the National Academy
    of Sciences as a pioneer in statistical decision theory, probability,
    dynamic programming and information theory.
  * Richard G. Cline, chief executive since 1986 of NICOR, an oil and gas
    exploration, production and distribution company based in Naperville,
    Ill.  Cline earned a bachelor's degree in political science from the UI.
    In 1963 he joined the Chicago-based Jewel Companies, where he spent 22
    years, becoming president of the Osco Drug subsidiary, then chairman,
    president and chief executive officer of the parent company, Jewel Foods.
  * Steven B. Sample, president of the University of Southern California
    since March 1991. Sample earned his bachelor's, master's and doctoral
    degrees in engineering from the UI. After teaching at Purdue University,
    he became executive vice president for academic affairs and dean of the
    Graduate College at the University of Nebraska in 1974. In 1982, he
    became president of the State University of New York at Buffalo.

The UI Alumni Association Distinguished Service Award will be presented to
William D. Engelbrecht, president-elect of the Illinois Beef Association
and a former executive vice president of Leo Burnett, Chicago. Engelbrecht,
who actively has supported the university in many volunteer capacities, has
been a leader in encouraging legislative support for education. He earned a
bachelor's degree in journalism and a master's in advertising, both from
the UI. Having retired from advertising, he operates Engelbrecht Angus
Farm, Henry, Ill.

Among other planned activities in honor of the graduating class, the UI
Symphonic Band will give a free concert at 8 p.m. May 14 in the Foellinger
Great Hall of the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. Tickets are not
required.

On Sunday, all graduating students and their guests also are invited to
a reception hosted by UI President and Mrs. Stanley O. Ikenberry and
Chancellor and Mrs. Michael Aiken, from 8:30 to 10 a.m., at the
President's House.

From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, the Illini Union Dining Services Office will
host a Graduation Lunch in the Ballroom at the Illini Union. The price is
$9 for adults; $4.50 for children under age 11. The lunch is open to the
public; reservations are suggested. Reservations and information are
available at 333-0690.

Additional commencement events have been scheduled by many of the
university's individual units. All are on Sunday, except as noted:

COLLEGES
---------
Agriculture - 10 a.m., Foellinger Great Hall, Krannert Center for the
Performing Arts, 500 S. Goodwin Ave., Urbana.

Applied Life Studies - 4 p.m., 100 George Huff Hall, 1206 S. Fourth St.,
Champaign.

Commerce and Business Administration - for MBAs and Executive MBAs,
2:30 p.m. Saturday, Foellinger Great Hall, Krannert Center for the
Performing Arts, 500 S. Goodwin Ave., Urbana; for all others, see
department listings.

Communications - 2 p.m., Foellinger Auditorium, 709 S. Mathews Ave.,
Urbana.

Education - 10 a.m., 100 George Huff Hall, 1206 S. Fourth St.,
Champaign.

Engineering - 5 p.m., Assembly Hall, 1800 S. First St., Champaign.

Liberal Arts and Sciences
   Humanities I - includes Art History; East Asian Languages and Cultures;
   History; Humanities; Linguistics; Philosophy; Russian and East European
   Center; Slavic Languages and Literatures; and Speech Communication -
   1:30 p.m. Saturday, Foellinger Auditorium, 709 S. Mathews Ave., Urbana.

   Humanities II - includes Classics; Comparative Literature; English;
   English as an International Language; French; Germanic Languages and
   Literatures; Musicology; Religious Studies; and Spanish, Italian and
   Portuguese - 4 p.m.  Saturday, Foellinger Auditorium, 709 S. Mathews
   Ave., Urbana.

   Social Sciences - includes African Studies; Anthropology; Geography;
   Latin American and Caribbean Studies; Political Science; and Sociology -
   1:30 p.m., Foellinger Great Hall, Krannert Center for the Performing Arts,
   500 S. Goodwin Ave., Urbana.

   For all others, see school and department listings

Law - 11 a.m. Saturday, Foellinger Great Hall, Krannert Center for the
Performing Arts, 500 S. Goodwin Ave., Urbana.

Veterinary Medicine - 1:30 p.m., Tryon Festival Theater, Krannert Center
for the Performing Arts, 500 S. Goodwin Ave., Urbana.

INSTITUTES
----------
Labor and Industrial Relations - 1:15 p.m., 141 Commerce West Building,
1206 S. Sixth St., Champaign.

SCHOOLS
--------
Architecture - 10 a.m., Foellinger Auditorium, 709 S. Mathews Ave.,
Urbana.

Art and Design - 9:30 a.m., Tryon Festival Theater, Krannert Center
for the Performing Arts, 500 S. Goodwin Ave., Urbana.

Human Resources and Family Studies - 10 a.m., Recital Hall, Smith
Memorial Hall, 805 S. Mathews Ave., Urbana.

Library and Information Science (Graduate School of) - 1:30 p.m.,
Recital Hall, Smith Memorial Hall, 805 S. Mathews Ave., Urbana.

Life Sciences - 1:30 p.m., 100 George Huff Hall, 1206 S. Fourth St.,
Champaign.

Music - 5:30 p.m., Recital Hall, Smith Memorial Hall, 805 S. Mathews Ave.,
Urbana.

Social Work - 3:30 p.m., Colwell Playhouse, Krannert Center for the
Performing Arts, 500 S. Goodwin Ave., Urbana.

DEPARTMENTS
------------
Accountancy and Economics (CBA) - 12:30 p.m. Saturday, 100 George Huff
Hall, 1206 S. Fourth St., Champaign.

Business Administration and Finance (CBA) - 4 p.m. Saturday, 100 George
Huff Hall, 1206 S. Fourth St., Champaign.

Chemical Engineering - 1:30 p.m., 100 Noyes Laboratory, 505 S. Mathews
Ave., Urbana.

Chemistry and Biochemistry - 1:30 p.m., Colwell Playhouse, Krannert
Center for the Performing Arts, 500 S. Goodwin Ave., Urbana.

Economics (LAS) and Finance (LAS) - 11 a.m. Saturday, Foellinger
Auditorium, 709 S. Mathews Ave., Urbana.

Landscape Architecture - 10:30 a.m., Sunken Garden, Allerton Park,
Route 2, Monticello; in case of rain, 4H Pavilion, Allerton Park.

Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science - 4 p.m., Tryon Festival
Theater, Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, 500 S. Goodwin Ave.,
Urbana.

Physics and Astronomy - 2 p.m. Saturday, 151 Loomis Laboratory of Physics,
1110 W. Green St., Urbana.

Psychology - 4 p.m., Foellinger Great Hall, Krannert Center for the
Performing Arts, 500 S. Goodwin Ave., Urbana.

Theater - 10:30 a.m., Colwell Playhouse, Krannert Center for the
Performing Arts, 500 S. Goodwin Ave., Urbana.

Urban and Regional Planning - 10 a.m., Levis Faculty Center, 919 W.
Illinois St., Urbana.

CONGRATULATORY PROGRAMS
------------------------
African-American Cultural Program - 7:30 p.m. Saturday, George Huff
Hall, 1206 S. Fourth St., Champaign.

La Casa Cultural Latina - 6 p.m. Saturday, Recital Hall, Smith
Memorial Hall, 805 S. Mathews Ave., Urbana.

COMMISSIONING PROGRAM
----------------------
Tri-Service ROTC Commissioning Ceremony - 2 p.m. Monday (May 16),
Festival Theater, Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, 500 S.
Goodwin Ave., Urbana.