UA Commencement Set for May 12

Wal-Mart CEO, African American educator and humanitarian to receive honorary degrees during All-University ceremony; guest speakers to highlight special college ceremonies.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - H. Lee Scott, president and chief executive officer of Wal-Mart, and Johnnetta B. Cole, president of Bennett College for Women, will receive honorary degrees and address graduating students at the University of Arkansas 2007 All-University Commencement at 8:45 a.m. Saturday, May 12. The ceremony will be held in Bud Walton Arena. Scott will be given an honorary Doctor of Arts and Humane Letters degree; Cole will receive an honorary Doctor of Arts and Sciences.

H. Lee Scott

Scott was named president and CEO of the world's largest retailer in 2000. His career with Wal-Mart began in 1979, when he joined the company as an assistant director in the logistics division.

Under Scott's leadership, Wal-Mart has delivered record growth and continues to improve operations, formats and merchandise at the company's discount stores, Supercenters, Neighborhood Markets, Sam's Clubs, international operations and walmart.com.

 Scott launched an aggressive corporate sustainability initiative in 2005 and has been widely recognized for his leadership in making Wal-Mart a more environmentally friendly company.

Scott has also focused on reaffirming the company's price leadership position through aggressive rollbacks and innovations such as the $4 generic prescription drug program at Wal-Mart, Sam's Club and Neighborhood Market pharmacies across the United States.

 Scott serves on the board of directors of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and the United Negro College Fund.

 Born in Joplin, Mo., and raised in Baxter Springs, Kan., Scott received his Bachelor of Science in Business from Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kan.  He has also completed the executive development programs at Penn State University and Columbia University.  He and his wife, Linda, live in Rogers, Ark., and have two sons, Eric and Wyatt.

Johnnetta B. Cole

Johnnetta B. Cole

Cole's academic and humanitarian careers span more than three decades. She made history in 1987, when she became the first African American woman to serve as president of Spelman College. She was also the first African American to serve as chair of the Board of United Way of America, a post she held from 2004 to 2006. Throughout her career, in her published work, her community service and her role as an administrator, she has consistently addressed the issue of discrimination in all its forms.

Cole has received numerous awards, including the TransAfrica Forum Global Public Service Award, the Radcliffe Medal, the Eleanor Roosevelt Val-Kill Medal, the 2001 Alexis deTocqueville Award for Community Service from United Way of America, The Joseph Prize for Human Rights presented by the Anti-Defamation League, The Uncommon Height Award from the National Council of Negro Women, and The John W. Gardner Leadership Award from The Independent Sector.

Cole is the mother of three sons and has two granddaughters. In 1998, through the Big Brothers Big Sisters program, she became the "big sister" of a teenager; and she is a mentor to many young women and men. She began her academic studies at the age of 15 at Fisk University, later attending Oberlin College and receiving her doctoral degree from Northwestern University.

• Guests must use the south entrance and be seated in the south section above the main floor.  Guests requiring accommodation can be dropped off at the South entrance.

• Due to increased security on campus, each person entering Bud Walton Arena will be required to pass through a security checkpoint. Cameras and personal items will be checked. Please allow extra time for this preventative measure. Please do not bring backpacks or baggage. These items must be left at the entrance.

8 a.m. Degree candidates and faculty assemble at Bud Walton Arena as follows:

• Undergraduate degree candidates on the lawn outside the South entrance and faculty in the lower-level corridor on the south side of the arena.

• Graduate degree candidates and dissertation directors of doctoral candidates in the truck tunnel under the Harrod (east) entrance.

8:45 a.m. All-University Commencement, Bud Walton Arena

Sam M. Walton College of Business, 12:30 p.m., Barnhill Arena

• Graduates and faculty assemble for procession between 11 a.m. and 11:45 a.m.

• Speaker: Mario Enrique Ramirez.

Mario Enrique Ramirez

Mario Ramirez is national director of executive planning for TIAA-CREF's Wealth Management Group. A graduate of the Sam M. Walton College of Business, Ramirez received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, majoring in financial management and minoring in Spanish. Ramirez has remained a passionate Razorback and active alumnus. He is currently president of the Sam M. Walton College of Business Alumni Society.

Ramirez currently lives in Highland Village, Texas with his wife and three children.

Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences, 1 p.m., Pauline Whitaker Animal Science Center

• Graduates and faculty assemble for procession at 12:30 p.m. in the graduate robing room.

• Speakers: Senior Scholar Brittany Adams and Distinguished Alumnus Cordia Harrington.

Brittany Adams

Cordia Harrington

The Senior Scholar award is given to the graduating senior with the highest grade point average. Brittany Adams earned a perfect 4.0 GPA. She is a food science major and recipient of a John W. White Outstanding Student Award. She has completed internships at Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh, Scotland, and with Simmons Pet Food in Siloam Springs. She plans to pursue graduate studies with the goal of a career in research with a food company or as a university professor. She is the daughter of Jeff and Jeannie Bonds of Jonesboro.

Cordia Harrington is a 1975 graduate of the University of Arkansas, where she was a foods and nutrition major. She is chief executive officer and owner of four companies based in Nashville, Tenn., involved in the baking and distribution of sandwich buns and other products for major restaurant companies in the United States and abroad.

Harrington began her food industry career in Effingham, Ill., where she bought three McDonald's restaurants. She served on the corporation's bun committee, where her enthusiasm for "everything to do with buns" won her the nickname of "The Bun Lady." When the company needed a new bun supplier, Harrington was chosen to build and operate the Tennessee Bun Co. bakery in Nashville in 1996. The bakery was the fastest automated bakery in the world, producing more than 1,000 buns a minute. She later added the Nashville Bun Co., Bun Lady Transport and Cold Storage of Nashville, all of which are involved in producing, marketing and delivering a variety of baked goods to major restaurant companies.

Harrington was interviewed by Time magazine as one of the leading women entrepreneurs in the United States, has appeared on many national television programs and has received a number of awards, including state awards as Entrepreneur of the Year, Executive of the Year, Woman Business Owner of the Year and the Tennessee Business Ethics Award.

The "Bun Lady International" scholarship in Bumpers College was endowed by Harrington to help students take advantage of study-abroad opportunities. She says an opportunity she had as a UA student to study in Osaka, Japan, her sophomore year was a life-changing experience.

Harrington and her husband, Thomas Harrington, have five children.

School of Architecture, 1 p.m., Arkansas Union Ballroom

• Graduates and faculty assemble for procession at 12:30 p.m. in the hallway north of the ballroom.

• Speaker: Ambassador Richard N. Swett, F.A.I.A.

Richard N. Swett

Ambassador Richard Swett's life experience encompasses architectural design, corporate management, finance, real estate and public service.

He graduated from Yale University in 1979 with a degree in architecture and subsequently practiced architecture in San Francisco with Skidmore, Owings and Merrill and the Bastion Group. He moved on to management positions in development and telecommunications concerns, notably serving as president of the Veritas Group Inc. from 1987 to 1991. The firm engaged in the development of large-scale alternative energy and cogeneration projects; developed and financed sizable Independent Power PURPA plants in the Northeast as well as consulted on energy technology projects.

Swett was elected to Congress from New Hampshire in 1990. He served on the Public Works and Transportation Committee dealing with infrastructure and energy issues until he left office in 1996; he was the only architect to serve in Congress in the 20^th century.

He was appointed U.S. ambassador to Denmark in 1998 and served through 2001. His 2004 book Leadership by Design: An Architecture of Trust, explores the concept of design leadership and diplomacy.

He is a fellow of the American Institute of Architects and a senior fellow of the Design Futures Council. He serves on numerous boards and is the former state chair of the U.S. Olympic Committee.

He is currently president of Swett Associates Inc., a consulting firm based in Bow, N.H. He is also a senior counselor on trade and international relations to APCO Worldwide of Washington, D.C., and vice president of government services to Computer Generated Solutions Inc. of New York City.

J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, 1 p.m., Bud Walton Arena

• Graduates and faculty assemble for procession at 12:15 p.m. inside the truck tunnel under the Harrod (east) entrance.

• Speakers: David Prater and Sarah Fine, graduating seniors.

David Prater

Sarah Fine

David Prater of Sherwood, Ark., is a four-years Honors Scholar graduating with a degree in history. He was awarded the David Edwards Fellowship through the history department. He was recognized nationally by the Committee on Conscience at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum for his columns in the Arkansas Traveler aimed at creating awareness of the genocide in Darfur, Sudan. He plans to continue to work in the field of human rights as well as history.

Sarah Fine, from Greensboro, N.C., received a Sturgis Fellowship to study at the University of Arkansas, where she majored in English literature and American studies, with a minor in classical studies. Fine was invited to join Eta Sigma Phi, the national classics honors fraternity and she received the Phydella Hogan Award for research in American studies. She studied abroad in Ireland in summer 2003 and in Italy in summer 2006. Following graduation, Fine plans to pursue personal writing and research projects, travel, and seek graduate and doctoral degrees in English, with a focus in 20^th century American literature.

College of Engineering, 3:30 p.m., Barnhill Arena

• Graduates and faculty assemble for procession at 3 p.m. on the south side of Barnhill Arena.

• Speaker: Robert A. Davidson, president and chief executive officer, Arkansas Best Corp. and ABF Freight System Inc.

Robert A. Davidson

 Robert Davidson was born in Little Rock. He graduated magna cum laude from the University of Arkansas in 1970 with a Bachelor of Science degree in industrial engineering. In 1972 he earned a master's degree in business administration from the university.  He joined Arkansas Best Corp. in 1972, where among his accomplishments he conceived and supervised programming for the motor carrier cost model, widely regarded as the best in the industry. He joined Arkansas Best Freight in 1982 and created the industry's most effective yield management process after deregulation. He also spearheaded the industry's premier Internet site and pioneered the industry's first nationwide personal computer rating program. As president and CEO he heads one of the nation's largest and most successful less-than-truckload motor freight carri­ers, with 12,000 employees and 2006 revenues of $1.8 billion.

He lives in Fort Smith with his wife and three children.

College of Education and Health Professions, 4 p.m., Bud Walton Arena

• Graduates and faculty assemble for procession at 3:30 p.m. inside the truck tunnel under the Harrod (east) entrance.

• Speaker: Tom Kimbrell, executive director of the Arkansas Association of Educational Administrators.

Tom Kimbrell

Tom Kimbrell was elected by the Arkansas Association of Educational Administrators in May 2005 to serve as only the second executive director in its 30-year history. He took over its leadership from Kellar Noggle, who retired at the end of 2005.

Kimbrell formerly served as superintendent of schools in North Little Rock and Paragould.

He earned a bachelor's degree in secondary education from the University of Arkansas in 1984, followed by a master's degree in secondary principalship in 1991 and a doctorate in educational leadership in 2003, both from Arkansas State University.

Kimbrell began his career in education as a classroom math and science teacher and coach in the Pocahontas School District. He worked in the Paragould School District as a teacher, coach, building level administrator and director of fiscal services after spending three years as an assistant principal in his hometown of Corning.

He served for six years on the Arkansas Activities Association Executive Board and was the association's president in 2003-04.

The Arkansas Council on Economic Education honored Kimbrell as the state's Economics Superintendent of the Year in 2002, and he served as president of the council during the 2004-05 school year. He co-chaired the New Facility Standards Committee while serving on the Arkansas Facility Task Force and has served on the Arkansas Commission for Coordination of Educational Reform, the Public Education Technology Advisory Board and the North Central Accreditation State Committee.

Kimbrell currently serves on the Education Commissioner's Advisory Board, the Arkansas Leadership Academy Partners Committee, the University of Arkansas Community Education Leadership Council and the Arkansas Educational Reform Advisory Committee.

Kimbrell and his wife, Tina, live in Cabot with their two children, Kason, 11, and Gracie, 6.

School of Law, 2 p.m. Saturday, Fayetteville Town Center

• Speakers: Al Witte and Jamie Goss Dempsey.

Al Witte

Professor Witte earned a doctoral degree in English from the University of Chicago and taught English literature for several years at Ripon College in Wisconsin before attending law school. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin School of Law and practiced law in Milwaukee before he decided to return to teaching.

Witte joined the faculty of the University of Arkansas School of Law in 1957 and, except for a brief stint at Emory University in the 1960s, he remained a member of the UA faculty until his retirement in 1994. Since then he has served from time to time as an adjunct professor on the faculty.

During his 50 years as a professor, Witte has taught law alongside Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton, served as the president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association and educated prominent state politicians and judges. 

Since his retirement, he has regularly taught a seminar in law and literature.

Jamie Goss Dempsey is the 2006-07 editor-in-chief of the Arkansas Law Review.  She graduated from Georgetown University in 2000 with a bachelor's degree in American studies. Before entering the School of Law she worked in the Teach for America program as a second grade teacher in Ruleville, Miss., and as a recruitment director in the Arkansas Department of Education.

She has worked summer internships with two Little Rock law firms and the Arkansas Attorney General's Office. In Spring 2006 she won the Benjamin J. Altheimer Moot Court Competition.

Following graduation she will return to her hometown of Little Rock to work for U.S. District Judge Leon Holmes.

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Steve Voorhies, manager of media relations
University Relations
(479) 575-3583, voorhies@uark.edu