Although our commencement ceremony will look different this year, it will never diminish the respect and pride I have in our 2020 graduating class.
SALT LAKE CITY (PRWEB) April 24, 2020
Salt Lake Community College is proud to announce it will celebrate its graduates’ grit and achievements in an online ceremony posted on the school’s website starting June 26.
“Although our commencement ceremony will look different this year, it will never diminish the respect and pride I have in our 2020 graduating class,” said SLCC President Deneece G. Huftalin. “I am in awe of the power of their collective minds and hearts as they enter the workforce or their next educational journey having experienced such a tumultuous time. I have no doubt that the empathy, perspective and innovative thinking they have developed will situate them as confident community leaders who will imagine new ways of work and life with an emphasis on the public good.”
Commencement is typically a cherished occasion at SLCC, honoring the extraordinary accomplishments and successes of its students at a large ceremony held at the Maverik Center. Given the importance of public health guidelines, the college has found a new and interesting way to pay tribute to the class of 2020. SLCC students who RSVP for Commencement will receive a special celebration package that includes the graduate’s diploma, cap and tassel, and a printed commemorative program. In addition, each graduate is invited to submit their photo to be displayed while they are called out by name during the ceremony.
Once posted, the online event will be continuously accessible so that graduates can celebrate with their loved ones at their convenience. This year’s graduates will also be invited to participate next May 7, 2021 in the more traditional ceremony where they will have the opportunity to walk across the stage in front of family and friends.
SLCC’s 2020 Commencement will also feature some of the long-established pomp and circumstance associated with graduation, including entertainment and a commencement address from President Huftalin.
In addition, the college will proudly recognize its Graduates of Excellence and highlight its 2020 Honorary Doctorate recipients, Distinguished Alumni, Teaching Excellence awardees and Distinguished Faculty Lecturer during the online ceremony. SLCC’s 2020 Graduates of Excellence include: Carroll Glidden, General Studies; Joshua Elkins, School of Applied Technology and Technical Specialities; Kaori Schrank, School of Arts, Communication and Media; Madison Cochrane, School of Business; Amanda Farris, School of Health Sciences; Anna Timothy, School of Humanities and Social Sciences; and Juman Al-Haddad, School of Science, Mathematics and Engineering.
This year’s SLCC Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree recipients are Jerry M.Taylor of Taylor Electric, KSL-TV’s former Romper Room host Edna Anderson-Taylor and president of Key Bank’s Utah Market Terry L. Grant. The school’s Distinguished Alumni include Davis M. Smith, founder of Cotopaxi and Christina Andino, social worker for the Canyons School District.
SLCC’s Teaching Excellence Award winners are Assistant Professor of Communications Jodie Jones, Associate Professor of Visual Art & Design Kerry Gonzáles, and online anthropology instructor Marisa Maughan while the college’s Distinguished Faculty Lecturer is music professor Craig E. Ferrin.
This year’s SLCC graduation cohort is comprised more than 3,300 students, including 1,527 students who are the first in their families to attend college and 122 military veterans. The oldest graduate is 64 and the youngest is 16. The SLCC class of 2020 also has 11 graduates who earned their diplomas through the college’s Prison Education Program at the Utah State Prison.
Salt Lake Community College is Utah’s largest open-access college,
educating and training Utah’s most diverse student body in 8 areas of study
at 12 locations and online. The majority of SLCC graduates transfer to four-
year institutions, and thousands more contribute to Utah’s economy by moving directly into the workforce.