TWU Schedules Winter Commencement Dec. 14 for Denton, Dallas Campuses

12/04/02

DENTON — The fall 2002 semester at Texas Woman's University will draw to a close as commencement ceremonies take place Saturday, Dec. 14 in Denton and Sunday, Dec. 15 in Houston.

Students and family members who have tickets are invited to attend. The Denton ceremonies, which include graduates from the Denton and Dallas campuses, are scheduled at 9 a.m., noon and 3 p.m. in the Kitty Magee Arena in Pioneer Hall, located on Bell Avenue.

TWU Chancellor Dr. Ann Stuart will preside at each ceremony, which includes an academic procession, conferring of degrees and a commencement address.

Approximately 418 undergraduate and 268 graduate degrees will be awarded.

Times for commencement reflect candidate assignments based on specific schools and colleges participating in the ceremonies listed below. Receptions for each ceremony will follow on the second floor of the Student Center, located at Bell Avenue and Administration Drive. As a special treat for children, a holiday activity room featuring games, videos and popcorn will be open in the Student Center. The room will be open during receptions only.

• 9 a.m. — Ceremony I for candidates from the College of Arts and Sciences. Rosanne Keller, an artist and a TWU Distinguished Alum, will deliver the commencement address. A reception will follow from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m.
• Noon — Ceremony II for candidates from the College of Health Sciences and the College of Nursing. State Rep. Myra Crownover will be the commencement speaker for ceremony II. A reception will follow from 1:30-2:30 p.m.
• 3 p.m. — Ceremony III for candidates from the School of Occupational Therapy and the College of Professional Education. Connie Reeves, a 101-year-old member of the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame, will give the commencement address. A reception will follow from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m.

Ms. Keller's art is on permanent display in churches, educational institutions and private collections in the United States, the United Kingdom and India. She currently is working on a life-sized sculpture titled “Dancer — She Gave us Wings” in honor of Dr. Anne Schley Duggan, founder of TWU's Modern Dance Group. The sculpture will be dedicated during the university's Homecoming celebration in April 2003.

In addition to her work as an artist, Ms. Keller is a writer and a world traveler. She has participated in marathons in Alaska, New York City and the United Kingdom. In 1999, she walked 500 miles from the Spanish Pyrenees to Santiago on El Camino De Comostela, the most famous of the medieval pilgrimages. She currently is writing a book on pilgrimage.

Ms. Keller received her bachelor of science degree in speech pathology from TWU in 1959. She was named a TWU Distinguished Alum in 1999.

Rep. Crownover was elected to her first full term in the Texas Legislature in November 2000 after filling the unexpired term of her late husband, Ronny Crownover, a Denton veterinarian who was diagnosed with leukemia shortly after being elected in 1998. She represents District 64, which includes the cities of Denton, Corinth, Lake Dallas, Highland Village, Flower Mound and Lewisville. TWU is included in her district.

During the last legislative session, Rep. Crownover served on the House Committee on pensions and Investments and the House Committee on State Recreational Resources. Texas House Speaker Pete Laney appointed her to the National Conference of State Legislatures' Children, Families and Health Committee.

Rep. Crownover was one of only three freshman legislators nationwide to be named a “2001 Freshman of the Year” by the National Republican Legislators Association. She also received the “Freedom and Family” award and was named one of the “Texas Top Ten” for her conservative voting record.

Ms. Reeves was born in 1901, the same year TWU was founded. She earned her bachelor's degree in speech from TWU, then went to law school at the University of Texas, where she was the only woman in a class of 250. She had to drop out when her family's finances were wiped out during the Great Depression. She became a teacher and also gave horseback-riding lessons at Camp Waldemar, a summer camp for girls in the Texas Hill Country.

Ms. Reeves has taught more than 30,000 girls during her 60-plus years at the camp, including the daughters and granddaughters of her former students.

TWU honored Ms. Reeves with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 1996. She was inducted into the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame in 1997, and she participated this summer in the opening of the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame in Fort Worth. In 1998 she became the first woman to receive the Chester A. Reynolds Award from the National Cowboy Hall of Fame.

The Houston ceremony will take place at 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 15, in the Edwin Hornberger Conference Center of the Texas Medical Center. Rob Mosbacher, president of Mosbacher Energy Company, will be the commencement speaker.

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For Further Information Contact:

Karen Treat
Senior Copywriter
Tel: (940) 898-3456
e-mail: ktreat@twu.edu