Commencement 2018

The 146th Commencement ceremony begins with the herald trumpet fanfare to begin the traditional walk down the hill into the David Booth Memorial Stadium. Sunday’s ceremony starts at 10:30 a.m., followed by a program and the conferral of degrees by Chancellor Douglas Girod. Other speakers in this year’s program include Dave Murfin, Kansas Board of Regents chair, and Kevin Carroll, national chair of the KU Alumni Association. The entire ceremony lasts about two hours. KU will graduate more than 5,000 candidates for degrees this spring, with students representing 90 Kansas counties, 46 other states, territories and Washington, D.C., and 48 other countries.

The recipient of this year’s honorary Doctor of Science degree is Richard M. Weinshilboum, M.D., in recognition of “his groundbreaking work in pharmacogenomics,” or the study of how drugs respond to DNA, according to KU. Weinshilboum, who earned his bachelor’s and doctorate degrees from KU, is the director of pharmacogenomics and chair of the division of clinical pharmacology at the Mayo Clinic Center for Individualized Medicine.

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Three happy grads after the ceremony. Faculty marshal taking photo of grad and family in front of strong hallDad and grad in front of jumbo screen that says Congrats Class of 2018Tomas Green carries the Class Banner down the hill.


Kevin Carroll, chair of the Kansas Alumni Assoc addresses the studentsDr. Weinshilboum is hooded by Chancellor Girod and Dr. Simari-Vice Chancellor of KU Med. families and friends wait for students to process down the hillHerald Trumpeters mark the start of the ceremony in front of the Campanile.


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