President to serve as commencement speaker

The University of North Georgia (UNG) will honor a record 1,400-plus graduates in four ceremonies May 5-6. UNG President Bonita Jacobs, who is retiring at the end of June, will deliver the keynote address at all four commencement ceremonies.

"Serving as president of this amazing university has been one of my greatest privileges, and, as we conclude our Sesquicentennial year celebration, I look forward to celebrating this class of graduates and the university's 150-year tradition of producing professional, civic and military leaders," Jacobs said.

For the first time, UNG will hold a graduate ceremony. Set for 3 p.m. May 5, the ceremony is for all students earning master's, specialist and doctoral degrees, regardless of the college from which they are graduating. Almost 200 graduates will take part in that ceremony.

Three ceremonies honoring students earning undergraduate degrees are set for 7 p.m. May 5, 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. May 6 as follows:

7 p.m. May 5

• Mike Cottrell College of Business
• College of Science & Mathematics
• Lewis F. Rogers Institute for Environmental and Spatial Analysis

11 am. May 6

• College of Arts & Letters
• University College

3 p.m. May 6

• College of Education
• College of Health Sciences and Professions

The separate graduate-level ceremony is a major milestone for UNG. Research expenditures, the national standard for measuring research activity, will likely surpass $2.23 million this academic year — a 36% increase over 2016. This growth in research activity and the expanded scope of graduate degree programs have placed UNG on a trajectory to be classified as a Doctoral/Professional University by the Carnegie Commission in 2024.

Jacobs was appointed as president of then-North Georgia College & State University in July 2011, and, when the university consolidated with Gainesville State College to become the University of North Georgia in 2013, she became president of the multi-campus university. Today, UNG has campuses in Blue Ridge, Cumming, Dahlonega, Gainesville, and Oconee County. The university serves more than 18,000 students across its five campuses and online and employs more than 2,100 faculty and staff.

The first woman to serve as president at then-North Georgia College & State University, Jacobs was only the second woman to lead one of the country's six Senior Military Colleges, which include the Citadel, Norwich University, Virginia Military Institute, Virginia Tech, and Texas A&M University.

Graduate and ticket information

Graduates are encouraged to arrive one hour before their ceremony dressed in their gown and cap with its tassel.

To attend, all guests 2 years old and older must have a ticket. Each graduate is issued a certain number of tickets, which can be printed or shown electronically, based on ceremony size.

Students who do not use their allotted tickets can donate them by emailing the Office of University Events at universityevents@ung.edu. After the ticket-claiming period ends at 11:55 p.m. April 12, any unclaimed or unused tickets will be electronically distributed to graduates who requested additional tickets. More ticket information is available on the commencement website.

For those unable to attend the in-person event, the ceremonies will be streamed live on UNG's Facebook page and the commencement website. UNG encourages everyone to celebrate their graduates with the hashtag #UNG23grad on social media.

Individual commissioning ceremonies for 40 members of the Corps of Cadets entering the U.S. Army, Army National Guard, and Army Reserve this semester will be held May 4-5 at the Pennington Military Leadership Center. The events will recognize their service and leadership and formally mark their entrance into the military as second lieutenants. These graduates will also be commissioned collectively during the commencement ceremonies.