Photography: Lexi CoonAt least 1,270 graduating students will walk in commencement exercises this fall at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, on Dec. 9-10, in Bartow Arena. More than 2,242 students are eligible to graduate from UAB this fall.
The university will host two ceremonies: the first for all graduate students, including master’s, educational specialist and doctoral, at 6 p.m. Friday, Dec. 9, and the second for undergraduates at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 10.
For fall 2022, the UAB Graduate School will confer the university’s highest degrees on 151 students from 23 states and six countries, representing 28 disciplines. All graduate students — master’s, educational specialist and doctoral — will participate in Friday’s combined commencement and doctoral hooding ceremony.
The mace will be carried during the ceremonies by Jacqueline A. Nikles, Ph.D., professor and coordinator for undergraduate organic chemistry in the College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Chemistry. Nikles received the 2022 Ellen Gregg Ingalls/UAB National Alumni Society Award for Lifetime Achievement in Teaching. The award is presented annually to a faculty member who has demonstrated an outstanding commitment to teaching throughout their career.
Read more about the fall ceremonies and graduating students:
• Student who put family first graduates from UAB with high distinguished honors
• Online learning during the pandemic leads student to health care administration degree
• Physics graduate finds passion for space, studying coronal mass ejections thanks to UAB mentorship
Parking for the ceremonies will be free. There is no limit on the number of guests who can attend. Graduates will have their photo taken after they cross the stage. All participating students are asked to wear flat shoes. Full details about the ceremonies are available on the UAB commencement website.
Watch the UAB livestream of the ceremonies on Facebook and on YouTube. Use the hashtag #UABClassof2022. Celebrate graduation with the UAB commencement kit, filled with Blazer spirit. Choose from social media filters, GIFs and more, a commencement playlist, plus crafts, decorations and recipes.
The UAB President’s Medal will be awarded to Charles D. Perry Jr. during the Friday evening ceremony. Perry is widely respected as a successful businessman, philanthropist and civic leader throughout Birmingham and the state of Alabama. Perry is co-founder and chairman of the Board of Alabama Capital Network, a community economic development organization facilitating growth in Alabama’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.
He and his wife, Sheri Perry, have had a tremendous impact on the UAB campus and are among UAB’s Top 250 Donors. They have generously provided funds to the Collat School of Business Department of Finance, establishing the Charles and Sheri Perry Jr. Endowed Scholarship to financially support deserving students who might otherwise be unable to attend. They have also made significant contributions to other areas of campus including the Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts, the Alys Robinson Stephens Center for the Performing Arts, UAB Athletics, the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center, UAB School of Nursing, WBHM and the UAB Educational Foundation. Perry is president of the UAB O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center Advisory Board and serves or served on the boards of UAB Health System, the Alys Stephens Center and others.