Contact: Elyse Ashburn Director of Communications (410) 455-2065 eashburn@umbc.edu The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) will hold its Undergraduate Commencement Ceremony on May 21, proceeded by its Graduate Commencement Ceremony on May 18. Subra Suresh, director of the National Science Foundation, will deliver the Undergraduate Commencement address, and Rebecca M. Blank, deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce, will deliver the Graduate Commencement address. UMBC’s Erickson School will also hold a graduation ceremony, with U.S. Senator Benjamin L. Cardin and Gloria G. Lawlah, secretary of the Maryland Department of Aging, delivering addresses. Dates and Locations: UNDERGRADUATE COMMENCEMENT When: Monday, May 21, 2012. Procession begins at 12:30 p.m., followed by the ceremony at 1 p.m. Where: 1st Mariner Arena, 201 West Baltimore Street, Baltimore, MD 21201 GRADUATE COMMENCEMENT When: Friday, May 18, 2012. Procession begins at 9:50 a.m., followed by the ceremony at 10 a.m. Where: UMBC’s Retriever Activities Center (RAC), 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250 ERICKSON SCHOOL GRADUATION When: Thursday, May 17, 2012, at 6:30 p.m. Where: The Skylight Room at UMBC, 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250 Details: At its Undergraduate Commencement Ceremony, UMBC will award bachelor’s degrees to 1,252 students. In addition to delivering the address, Subra Suresh, director of National Science Foundation (NSF), will receive an honorary Doctor of Science degree for his outstanding national leadership in the sciences and engineering and for significant research in the emerging field of nanobiomechanics. UMBC has forged strong ties with the NSF, and leaders from both institutions have worked to strengthen the sciences in American higher education. The NSF has provided significant grant support to UMBC for a wide range of programs, funding work to enhance the transfer student experience; to encourage diversity in graduate study; and to increase the representation of female faculty in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. At its Graduate Commencement Ceremony, UMBC will award 403 master’s degrees and 27 Ph.D.’s. In addition to delivering the address, Rebecca M. Blank, deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce, will receive an honorary Doctor of Public Service degree for her leadership of the nation's premier statistical agencies, the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Economic Analysis. UMBC’s Erickson School will also hold a graduation ceremony, with Benjamin L. Cardin, U.S. Senator from Maryland, and Gloria G. Lawlah, secretary of the Maryland Department of Aging, delivering addresses. More information about the commencement ceremonies is available here.