METROPOLITAN STATE COLLEGE of DENVER Program Contents Letter from the President .......... 3 Program ..................................... 4 Commencement Speaker .......... 5 Metro State: On the Road to Preeminence ...................... 6 Commencement Staff ............... 7 Retirees and In Memoriam ........ 7 Board of Trustees ...................... 7 Academic Attire ........................ 8 Academic Colors ....................... 9 Honor Societies ......................... 9 Fall 2010 Graduation Candidates ......... 10 Summer 2010 Graduates ........ 20 Seating Diagram ..................... 24 1 Dear member of the Summer or Fall 2010 graduating class: Congratulations on the successful completion of your hard-earned baccalaureate degree from Metropolitan State College of Denver. This is a significant achievement, of which you and your family can be justifiably proud. Just as you now have a solid foundation on which to build a career or broaden your education in graduate school, Metro State has secured a strong heritage of academic excellence that will serve the Colorado community into the future. In this, its 45th anniversary year, the College is progressing with initiatives that will enhance the value of your degree. We now offer master’s degrees in accounting, teacher education and social work—and encourage you to consider enrolling if you choose to pursue graduate work. The College is making progress toward its goal of increasing Latino enrollment, going from 13 percent in 2007 to nearly 16 percent today. We have also made significant progress this year on our physical infrastructure: the Center for Visual Art re-opened in June in its new home in the Santa Fe Art District, the state-of- the-art Science Building opened in August, and we have just this month broken ground on the Student Success Building on campus. That building, along with the Hotel and Hospitality Learning Center, will give visibility to Metro State’s unique identity on the Auraria Campus. As one of 1,600 freshly minted Metro State graduates, you are now a part of our heritage, which includes more than 69,000 alumni, all of whom through their tenacity, energy and intelligence are having a significant impact on their community. Here are but a few examples of their achievements: • Shane Kelley (’01, computer information systems), director of the Center for Automation in the Denver region of the Social Security Administration, received the national Service to America Citizen Services Medal in September for improving the delivery of social security benefits to remote and impoverished citizens. • Katherine Archuleta (’71, elementary education) recently left her position as senior advisor to Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper to become chief of staff to U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis. • Lisa Moder (’90, electrical engineering technology) received the 2010 Test Engineer of the Year award by Test & Measurement World magazine in April. • Piper Billups (’99, marketing) founded the Spread Her Wings Foundation in 2009 to assist middle school girls in becoming strong, independent young women. • Cesar Cedillo (’96, history and teacher education licensure) is the principal of Bruce Randolph School, a Denver public school serving students in grades 6-12. Your degree from Metro State symbolizes the knowledge, experiences and skills you have attained that make you ready and qualified to accept the challenge of engaging as a citizen in a culturally diverse society, much as the people highlighted above have done. We eagerly anticipate your accomplishments, both large and small, and your continuing engagement with the Metro State community, which promises you a very warm welcome whenever you return. Please do keep in touch. Sincerely, Stephen M. Jordan, Ph.D. President, Metropolitan State College of Denver 3 Commencement Program Processional Pomp and Circumstance, Op. 39, No. 1 ......................................................................... Sir Edgar Elgar (Please stand for the Procession) The Denver Municipal Band Brass Ensemble Mr. Gerald Endsley, Affiliate Music Faculty, Conductor Star Spangled Banner .......................................................................................................Francis Scott Key The Denver Municipal Band Brass Ensemble Ms. Rami Henry, Music Performance Major, Soprano Dr. Michael J. Kornelsen, Chair, Department of Music, Conductor Dr. Walter L. Barr, Emeritus Professor of Music, Arranger Amazing Grace ....................................................................................................................... John Newton Mr. Larry Folz, Music Performance Major, Saxophone Call to Order ................................................................................................................Dr. Kamran Sahami President, Faculty Senate Presidential Greetings ............................................................................................Dr. Stephen M. Jordan President, Metropolitan State College of Denver Remarks from the Trustees ................................................................................................... Mr. Rob Cohen Chair, Board of Trustees Welcome and Induction into the Alumni Association ..............................................................Mr. Jim Garrison President, Metro State Alumni Association Introduction of the Outstanding Fall Graduate Award Recipient .............................................Dr. John Cochran Dean, School of Business Remarks from the Fall Class of 2010 .............................................................................Ms. Christine Becker Outstanding Fall Graduate Award Recipient Address ..............................................................................................................................Mr. Joe Garcia Colorado Lieutenant Governor-Elect Presentation of Candidates .................................................................................................Dr. Vicki Golich Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Conferring of Degrees .............................................................................................Dr. Stephen M. Jordan Introduction of Candidates ........................................................................................ Dr. Marilyn A. Hetzel Chair, Department of Theatre Mr. Scott Lubinski Assistant Professor of Theatre Presentation of Diplomas School of Business .................................................................................. Dr. John Cochran, Dean School of Letters, Arts and Sciences......................................................Dr. Joan L. Foster, Dean School of Professional Studies ........................................................Ms. Kathy Heyl, Acting Dean Tassel Ceremony ....................................................................................................Dr. Stephen M. Jordan Closing Ceremony.........................................................................................................Dr. Kamran Sahami Recessional Interpreters for the Deaf: Ms. Jean Kelly and Ms. Leora Rosenbaum 4 Commencement Speaker Lieutenant Governor-Elect Joseph A. Garcia Joseph “Joe” Garcia has been a leader in Colorado for decades. With a career that has spanned the areas of law, higher education, housing as well as state and federal government, Garcia’s public service has been extensive. As Gov.-elect John Hickenlooper said of Garcia earlier this year, “Joe doesn’t just love Colorado—he lives Colorado.” When he assumes the position of lieutenant governor in January, Garcia will be the first Latino to hold the position. Gov.-elect Hickenlooper has named Garcia to co-chair his transition team, called Partners for Colorado. As president of Colorado State University-Pueblo from 2006 until November 2010, Garcia oversaw enrollment growth and sustained retention rates, while maintaining fiscal responsibility within the College’s budget. He worked with local groups to expand men’s and women’s sports offerings, including bringing back a football program that had been abandoned decades earlier. He also began CSU-Pueblo’s transformation to a residential campus, from its long history as a commuter campus. As president of Pikes Peak Community College—the second largest community college in the state—from 2001 to 2006, Garcia oversaw three campuses that serve more than 16,000 students annually. Garcia was appointed by then-President Bill Clinton to serve as Rocky Mountain State representative for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in 1999. Prior to that, he had served in Gov. Roy Romer’s cabinet as executive director of the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies for six years. In this capacity, he managed and maintained budgetary responsibility for such Colorado divisions as Banking, Financial Services, Real Estate, Insurance, Civil Rights and the Public Utilities Commission. Garcia was a partner in the Colorado Springs office of the Denver-based law firm Holme Roberts & Owen, and has lectured in classrooms at Colorado College, University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, Pikes Peak Community College, CU Denver, and CSU-Pueblo. He has served on numerous boards and commissions: as chair of the board of directors of the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority, co-chair of Gov. Bill Ritter’s P20 Education Coordinating Council, vice chair of the Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education, a member of the board of trustees for the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and