Editor Jack Rosenthal is graduation speaker

Rosenthal, who has held his current position since 1993, is a 1982 recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing and is a former national urban affairs correspondent.

This year's graduation ceremony--scheduled for 11 a.m. in the UT Bates Recital Hall--will honor 16 December 1996 graduates and approximately 100 May graduates. Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnson will present the Lyndon Baines Johnson Foundation Award for Academic Excellence.

A reception for graduates, their families and friends, faculty, and staff members will be held immediately following the ceremony at the Joe C. Thompson Conference Center.

The university-wide commencement ceremony--which includes a grand procession of degree candidates and faculty, the traditional lighting of the tower, the singing of the alma mater, and fireworks--will be held the same day at 8 p.m.

This year the UT commencement extravaganza is entitled "Every Childhood Holds a Treasure" and features Marian Wright Edelman, founder and president of the Children's Defense Fund.

The ceremony will take place on the South Terrace of the Main Building. In the event of rain, the convocation will be moved to the Frank Erwin Center. For more information visit the Commencement '97 Web page.