Autumn graduation for more than 1200 UC students

More than 1200 students will graduate from the University of Canterbury this week at four ceremonies in the CBS Canterbury Arena in Addington.

The ceremonies will be held on Tuesday 23 and Friday 27 April with 1227 graduands receiving their degrees, diplomas and certificates in person. A further 94 will graduate in absentia.

Vice-Chancellor Dr Rod Carr said graduation was always a special time for the graduates and their friends, families and lecturers, but would be even more so this year “for the special cohort of students who experienced the disruption of the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes”.

A highlight of the week will be the awarding of honorary doctorate degrees to five University of Canterbury alumni, among them a former MP and a media law expert.

Law Commissioner Emeritus Professor John Burrows QC, former MP David Caygill, chemist Dr Richard Garland, former diplomat Simon Murdoch and Malaysian businessman Ngau Boon Keat will be recognised for the significant contribution they have made to their fields during the University’s graduation ceremonies.

Mr Ngau, who is receiving a Doctor of Engineering (honoris causa) will deliver the graduation address on Tuesday morning while Mr Murdoch will deliver the graduation address in the afternoon after receiving a Doctor of Letters (honoris causa).

On Friday morning, Dr Garland will address graduates after receiving a Doctor of Science (honoris causa) and in the afternoon it will be the turn of Professor Burrows who is receiving a Doctor of Laws (honoris causa). Mr Caygill  will receive a Doctor of Commerce (honoris causa) at the Friday afternoon ceremony.                                                                                                                                                                                                 
The week's events start at 10am on Tuesday morning when students from Engineering and Forestry become the first Canterbury University graduates for 2012. At 2pm that afternoon it will be the turn of graduands from Humanities, Social Sciences and Creative Arts to walk across the stage.

On Friday morning students from Science and Education will be capped, followed by Law and Commerce in the afternoon.

Presiding over the ceremonies for the first time will be Chancellor Dr John Wood who took over as Chair of the University Council and ceremonial head of the University in January.

Graduands will walk from the Twigger Street car park into the arena before each ceremony, weather permitting. The University mace will be carried by Assistant Vice-Chancellor (Academic) Dr Hamish Cochrane and Dr Richard Bullen (Humanities), sharing the esquire bedel duties for the Tuesday processions, and Dr Susan Lovett (Educational Studies and Human Development) and Professor Ursula Cheer (Law) will share the role of madam bedel on Friday.