UW Announces Spring 2022 Commencement Programs

A member of Wyoming’s congressional delegation, a renowned mountain guide and author, and the University of Wyoming’s president are keynote speakers for UW’s spring commencement ceremonies Saturday, May 14.

They will be joined by three student speakers for three ceremonies in UW’s Arena-Auditorium.

A separate ceremony for the College of Law will take place in the Buchanan Center for the Performing Arts, with an Albany County district judge delivering that keynote speech. A law student also will speak.

UW is scheduled to accord degrees upon 1,451 undergraduate students, 418 graduate students, 65 College of Law students and 43 School of Pharmacy students.

Each ceremony is scheduled to last about two hours, featuring a keynote speaker, student speaker, a reading of all graduates’ names and presentation of diplomas to each student. The ceremonies will be broadcast live; the links for all of them are here: https://wyolinks.uwyo.edu/2022SpringComm/.

The first ceremony, set for 8:30 a.m., is for undergraduate students graduating from the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, the College of Business, the College of Engineering and Applied Science, the College of Health Sciences and the School of Energy Resources.

The College of Law ceremony is at 10 a.m. in the Performing Arts Center.

The ceremony for master’s and doctoral degree recipients starts at 12:15 p.m.

Beginning at 3:30 p.m., another ceremony is for undergraduate students graduating from the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Education, the Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources and the Office of Academic Affairs.

The keynote speakers and student speakers for the May 14 ceremonies are:

Keynote Speakers

-- 8:30 a.m. ceremony: Joe Kelsey, former guide with Exum Mountain Guides in Jackson and an internationally known author. His guidebook, “Climbing and Hiking in the Wind River Mountains,” has served as a beacon for outdoor recreationists and a magnet for those seeking to explore Wyoming and the Rocky Mountain West. He has written other books that have brought Wyoming to the world as well.

-- 10 a.m. College of Law ceremony: Albany County District Judge Tori Kricken, who will leave the bench later this year to join UW’s faculty. She was sworn in as a judge in the 2nd Judicial District Jan. 3, 2017. Before that, she was the staff attorney for the 2nd Judicial District for about 14 years. She also has served as a district court commissioner, circuit court magistrate and hearing examiner for the Office of Administrative Hearings. She also was in private practice at the firm of Brown and Hiser LLC.

-- 12:15 p.m. ceremony: UW President Ed Seidel, who was appointed as the university’s 28th president July 1, 2020. A relativistic astrophysicist whose specialty is colliding black holes, Seidel has led academic, research and innovation programs at multiple universities in the U.S. and internationally, as well as the National Science Foundation.

-- 3:30 p.m. ceremony: U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis, the first female senator ever elected to represent the Equality State. Born and raised on a ranch outside Cheyenne, Lummis first served the state in the Wyoming House and Senate. She also served as state treasurer and, from 2008-2016, as Wyoming’s representative to the U.S. House. She now serves on the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee; the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee; and the Environment and Public Works Committee, focused on everything from energy and natural resources issues to finance and technology issues such as cryptocurrency.

Student Speakers

-- 8:30 a.m. ceremony: CeeJay Berg, of Rock Springs, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in accounting and economics.

-- 10 a.m. College of Law ceremony: Matthew Minikus, of Raleigh, N.C., graduating with his Juris Doctor.

-- 12:15 p.m. ceremony: Alison Grendahl, of Newcastle, graduating with a master’s degree in higher education administration.

-- 3:30 p.m. ceremony: Maira Sagahon, of Yuma, Colo., graduating with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural education.