1,386 degrees were awarded at the undergraduate and graduate levels as more than 6,000 well-wishers celebrated the graduation of the UW Tacoma Class of 2013.
The 2013 BLA will recognize Richard Brandsma of Sound Credit Union, Janine Terrano of Topia Technology, Joseph Wilczek of Franciscan Health System, Michael Slevin of the City of Tacoma, Brian Sonntag with a lifetime achievement award.
The UW Tacoma Convocation is both a revival of an early campus tradition (the last one was held in 1999) and the first one ever of its type, designed to demonstrate the campus's tight affinity with its community.
The Class of 2012 is the largest in UW Tacoma history, with 1,341 newly-minted alumni. At the ceremony in the Tacoma Dome, Susan Dreyfus will deliver the Commencement keynote address.
Luke Xitco of Associated Petroleum Products, Tony Panagiotu of Panagiotu Pension Advisors and John Peterson of Bellarmine Preparatory School will be recognized at the 11th annual awards event.
Kevin Gover, director of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian, will provide the keynote address at the 2012 Martin Luther King Jr. Unity Breakfast.