Fall Commencement Ceremonies Dec. 15 to Recognize 1,323 Degree Candidates

Eastern Kentucky University will recognize 1,323 degree candidates at its annual Fall Commencement ceremonies on Saturday, Dec. 15.

The first ceremony, at 9 a.m., will honor degree candidates from the Colleges of Arts & Sciences and Business & Technology. The second ceremony, at 1:30 p.m., will recognize candidates from the Colleges of Education, Health Sciences and Justice & Safety. Both ceremonies will be held in Alumni Coliseum and are open to the public.

Together, the two ceremonies will honor 106 associate degree candidates, 888 bachelor’s degree candidates, 325 master’s degree candidates and four doctoral degree candidates.

The featured speaker for the morning ceremony will be Hardy Tribble, Edgewood, Ky., a 1962 Eastern graduate and a member of the University’s Hall of Distinguished Alumni. Tribble devoted 31 years to the Procter & Gamble Co., retiring in 1996 as a purchasing manager.

Tribble has remained very involved with the University, serving his alma mater as president of the International Alumni Association 1996-97, as a member of the EKU Foundation Board, as a member and former chair of the Business Advisory Council, and as a member and former president of the ROTC Alumni Chapter. In 1997, his generous gift to the College established the Hardy and Judy Tribble Commitment to Excellence Endowment Fund in the College of Business and Technology.

He has also been very active in his church and community.

The afternoon speaker will be Dr. Joseph H. Hamilton, Nashville, Tenn., the Landon C. Garland Distinguished Professor of Physics at Vanderbilt University and one of the world’s leading nuclear physics researchers.

Hamilton, who joined Vanderbilt in 1958, has received numerous awards worldwide for his research, authored or co-authored numerous books and appeared on numerous television programs.

One of approximately 90 living Tennesseans with a biographical sketch in the Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture, Hamilton played a crucial role in two Oak Ridge National Laboratory projects as founder/chair of the University Isotope Separator and founder/director of the Joint Institute for Heavy Ion Research.

Tribble will receive an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree, and Hamilton an honorary Doctor of Science degree.

Speaking as representatives of their graduating class in the morning and afternoon ceremonies, respectively, will be Nicholas Wade, of Danville, and Keith Douglas, of Lexington.

Receptions for the graduates and their families will be held in the Fred Darling Gymnasium in Alumni Coliseum immediately after each ceremony.